PlainHazard

Oregon tornadoes

Every recorded tornado since 1950 · 30 counties with a record

Oregon has recorded 136 tornadoes from 1950 through 2025, about 3.0 a year since 2000, with 1 rated F3/EF3 or stronger (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). The costliest was the December 14, 2010 tornado ($1.6 million in 2025 dollars). Oregon ranks 41st of 52 states and territories by count and 49th of 51 per square mile.

Tornadoes in Oregon, 1950 to 2025

Tornadoes per year (SPC; a tornado that crossed a state line counts in each state it touched).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
  • 1996: tornado reports rose with NEXRAD Doppler radar, mid-1990s (SPC)
Tornadoes
1361950 to 2025
A year since 2000
3.0average
Deaths
05 injuries
F3/EF3 or stronger
11% of tornadoes
Busiest year
199714 tornadoes

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025 (state segments). SPC severe weather database.

Are tornadoes common in Oregon?

Oregon averages about 3.0 tornadoes a year since 2000, 41st of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 1997 (14). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Oregon records 14 tornadoes since 1950, 49th of 51 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Florida 701
  2. 2. Oklahoma 658
  3. 3. Mississippi 614
  4. 4. Louisiana 579
  5. 5. Illinois 567
  6. 6. Kansas 564
  7. 7. Iowa 555
  8. 8. Alabama 537
  9. 9. Indiana 492
  10. 10. Maryland 438
  11. 49. Oregon 14

Source: NOAA SPC, tornadoes 1950-2025, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Oregon have the most tornadoes?

Per square mile, Multnomah County leads Oregon: 6 days with a tornado record since 1950, 13.9 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Marion County has the most tornado records (11 since 1950); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Multnomah County 13.9 (6)
  2. Marion County 8.5 (11)
  3. Washington County 8.3 (6)
  4. Columbia County 7.6 (5)
  5. Clatsop County 6.0 (5)
  6. Yamhill County 5.6 (4)
  7. Tillamook County 4.5 (7)
  8. Lincoln County 4.1 (4)
  9. Clackamas County 3.7 (8)
  10. Benton County 3.0 (2)
  11. Umatilla County 2.8 (9)
  12. Polk County 2.7 (3)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1950 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is tornado season in Oregon?

Oregon's tornadoes by month. The busiest month is June (25 tornadoes).

The values, month by month

Jan 1 · Feb 1 · Mar 5 · Apr 14 · May 17 · Jun 25 · Jul 8 · Aug 9 · Sep 16 · Oct 22 · Nov 11 · Dec 7 (records).

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments by the month they began, 1950-2025.

Where have the strongest tornadoes tracked in Oregon?

  • F2/EF2
  • F3/EF3
  • F4/EF4
  • F5/EF5
  • no end point filed
5 tornadoes rated 2 or higher drawn from start to end of the whole track (a track that crossed into Oregon from another state is drawn in full); 128 rated 0 or 1 are left off the map.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, start and end points of each track; county lines: Census Bureau cartographic boundaries (2017), via us-atlas. SPC severe weather database. Census cartographic boundary files.

The strongest tornadoes in Oregon

Oregon: the highest-rated tornadoes, 1950-2025
DateCountiesRatingPath in stateWidthKilled
1972-04-05Vancouver · MultnomahF30.1 mi50 yd0
1968-06-11WallowaF29.6 mi880 yd0
1993-12-08Newberg · Yamhill, WashingtonF26 mi120 yd0
2010-12-14Aumsville · MarionEF25 mi150 yd0
2016-10-14Manzanita · TillamookEF20.7 mi225 yd0
1966-08-25MalheurF119.1 mi100 yd0
1997-04-30MalheurF13 mi30 yd0
2022-05-06UmatillaEF12.87 mi175 yd0
1957-04-12ClackamasF12.5 mi50 yd0
2004-07-19GrantF12.2 mi100 yd0

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database; F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after.

The longest tornado paths in Oregon

Oregon: the longest paths inside the state, 1950-2025
DateTornado and countiesRatingPath in stateWidthKilled
1966-08-25MalheurF119.1 mi100 yd0
1957-04-12Gilliam, MorrowF016.2 mi200 yd0
1968-06-11WallowaF29.6 mi880 yd0
1993-12-08Newberg · Yamhill, WashingtonF26 mi120 yd0
2010-12-14Aumsville · MarionEF25 mi150 yd0
1997-04-30MalheurF13 mi30 yd0
2022-05-06UmatillaEF12.87 mi175 yd0
1957-04-12ClackamasF12.5 mi50 yd0
1999-12-02LaneF02.3 mi–0
2004-07-19GrantF12.2 mi100 yd0

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments: path length and width inside the state. SPC severe weather database.

Tornadoes in every Oregon county

All 30 counties: tornadoes whose track touched each, and the strongest
Oregon: tornadoes whose track touched each county since 1950, most first
CountyTornadoesStrongest
Marion County11F/EF2
Umatilla County9F/EF1
Clackamas County8F/EF1
Harney County7F/EF0
Lane County7F/EF1
Tillamook County7F/EF2
Wallowa County7F/EF2
Washington County7F/EF2
Deschutes County6F/EF1
Malheur County6F/EF1
Multnomah County6F/EF3
Baker County5F/EF0
Clatsop County5F/EF1
Columbia County5F/EF1
Klamath County5F/EF1
Linn County5F/EF1
Lincoln County4F/EF0
Yamhill County4F/EF2
Curry County3F/EF0
Grant County3F/EF1
Jefferson County3F/EF0
Morrow County3F/EF1
Polk County3F/EF1
Benton County2F/EF0
Lake County2F/EF0
Douglas County1F/EF0
Gilliam County1F/EF0
Union County1F/EF0
Wasco County1F/EF0
Wheeler County1F/EF0

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database: whole tornadoes whose track touched the county (any state segment listing it). SPC severe weather database.

The costliest tornadoes in Oregon

Oregon: the most damaging tornadoes since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2010-12-14 TornadoAumsville, Marion County On December 14th at 11:40 AM PST, a tornado with an Enhanced Fujita Scale rating of EF2 moved northeast across the community of Aumsville, Oregon. The estimated length of the tornado path was 5 miles with a width of 150 yards. There were two minor injuries, fifty structures damaged, more than thirty large trees blown ... EF2 5 mi x 150 yd 0 2 $1.6M
2016-10-14 TornadoManzanita, Tillamook County NWS Storm Survey Team confirmed a EF-2 Tornado went through Manzanita, with estimated peak winds of 125-130 mph. Tornado started as a waterspout over the Pacific Ocean and came onshore near Treasure Cove Lane and continued northeast through Manzanita. EF2 0.7 mi x 225 yd 0 0 $1.2M
2002-11-09 TornadoBrookings, Curry County A spotter called at 1500 PST on 11/7 and reported the waterspout/tornado that occurred 9 hours earlier. F0 0.5 mi x 0 yd 0 0 $820K
2017-09-19 TornadoLacomb, Linn County Tornado touched down along Green Mountain Road. Although tornado appeared to not be on the ground the entire path, the damage path appears to be 0.69 mile long. The tornado damaged five open barns, damaged 5 to 10 plus additional sheds or barns, brought down two power poles, and snapped six trees 4-12 inches in ... EF1 0.69 mi x 167 yd 0 0 $289K
2009-05-06 TornadoWallowa County Eyewitnesses saw the cover being ripped off the sewer ponds and rotating debris being blown into the air across the Wallowa Rover. EF0 0.24 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $138K
2013-06-13 TornadoMc Minnville, Yamhill County A tornado touched down near the intersection of 14th St. and NE Kirby St. in McMinnville Oregon. Several 8-10 inch diameter trees were snapped at this location. The tornado continued Southeast for one block through a residential neighborhood with some tree damage noted. The tornado lifted a camper and deposited it ... EF1 0.25 mi x 53 yd 0 0 $127K
2018-10-29 TornadoForest Grove, Washington County Multiple greenhouse structures were damaged at a farm on Thatcher Road. Witness accounts also confirmed a tornado. The tornado was likely on the ground for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. EF0 0.07 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $118K
1996-12-05 TornadoEugene, Lane County A cool unstable airmass produced thunderstorms over Westrern Oregon. A small tornado touched down in North Eugene inflicting an estimated 50,000 dollars in damage to a residential neighborhood, mostly from downed trees falling on houses. F0 0.5 mi x 40 yd 0 0 $94K

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $25M, in the dollars of the day) holds: June 11, 1968 (tornado, Wallowa County).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are tornadoes becoming more frequent in Oregon?

Oregon's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. The Storm Prediction Center notes that tornado reports rose especially around the installation of the NEXRAD Doppler radar network in the mid-1990s, so a rising count is partly better detection; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Tornadoes: Oregon and the United States by decade
DecadeOregonUnited StatesOregon's share
1950s44,8370.08%
1960s126,8630.17%
1970s98,6330.10%
1980s98,2500.11%
1990s3612,2050.29%
2000s3012,8920.23%
2010s2112,2320.17%
2020-25158,2340.18%

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments.

The most recent tornadoes in Oregon

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-08-06 TornadoBruce, Benton County EFU 0.09 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
2024-11-11 TornadoRockaway, Tillamook County EF0 0.25 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $10K
2024-10-31 TornadoSouthbeach, Lincoln County EF0 0.16 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $8K
2024-03-05 TornadoBlue Mtn, Umatilla County EF0 0.15 mi x 3 yd 0 0 –
2023-11-05 TornadoCanyon City, Grant County EF0 0.23 mi x 75 yd 0 0 –
2023-06-27 TornadoState Line, Umatilla County EF0 0.11 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2023-06-27 TornadoRiley, Harney County EF0 2.13 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2023-06-18 TornadoHarrisburg, Linn County EF0 0.3 mi x 150 yd 0 0 –
2022-10-24 TornadoWest Woodburn, Marion County EF0 0.04 mi x 17 yd 0 0 $25K
2022-10-22 TornadoCherryville, Clackamas County EF0 0.87 mi x 248 yd 0 0 $50K
2022-06-11 TornadoBarnhart, Umatilla County EFU 0.02 mi x 15 yd 0 0 –
2022-05-06 TornadoBingham Spgs, Umatilla County EF1 2.87 mi x 175 yd 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

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