Oregon winter storms
Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 36 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 2,768 winter storm records in Oregon from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 91 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 12, 2024 winter storm: 9 deaths, 16 injuries and $44.8 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 4 records. Oregon ranks 38th of 51 states and territories by count and 43rd of 50 per square mile.
Winter storms in Oregon, 1996 to 2026
Winter storm records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- 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
- Records
- 2,7681996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 91average
- Deaths
- 52105 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $282Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2008201 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are winter storm records common in Oregon?
Oregon averages about 91 winter storm records a year since 2000, 38th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2008 (201). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Oregon records 288 winter storm records since 1996, 43rd of 50 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, 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 winter storm records?
Per square mile, Hood River County leads Oregon: 339 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 649.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Hood River County has the most winter storm records (543 since 1996); 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).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is winter storm season in Oregon?
54% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The busiest month is January (748 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 748 · Feb 632 · Mar 240 · Apr 91 · May 10 · Jun 2 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 27 · Nov 279 · Dec 739 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest winter storm records in Oregon?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-01-12 | Winter StormClackamas County and 2 more · forecast zone Greater Portland Metro Area One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places, 2024-01-12 to 2024-01-13; the totals are the episode's. A very strong arctic front moved across Western Washington and Oregon on the 12th and 13th dropping temperatures below freezing. With cold air in the lowlands, all precipitation fell as freezing rain for areas along the coast, valleys in the Coast Range, and Willamette Valley northward into southwest Washington. This ... | 9 | 16 | $45M | |
| 2024-01-16 | Ice StormClackamas County and 2 more · forecast zone Greater Portland Metro Area One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. The cold air mass remained in place from the initial arctic air mass with freezing temperatures continuing. Bouts of precipitation brought more freezing rain, snow as well. | 6 | 0 | – | |
| 2007-12-20 | Winter WeatherBenton County and 2 more · forecast zone Southern Willamette Valley One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places, 2007-12-20 to 2007-12-21; the totals are the episode's. A potent Pacific storm and associated cold front brought strong winds to the coast and heavy snow to the Cascades. Behind the front in the unstable airmass, snow levels dropped and cold air hung over the forecast area. Three car crashes were reported, one due to hail on the road, and two due to slick roads, which ... | 4 | 0 | – | |
| 2007-12-31 | Winter WeatherHood River County · forecast zone Upper Hood River Valley One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Moisture left over from rains the weekend before in combination with areas of fog forming in areas of below freezing temperatures led to the formation of black ice on roadways throughout much of the forecast area. Two casualties were reported after vehicle accidents occured, and were reported to be caused by the black ... | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2011-11-03 | Winter WeatherMorrow County and 2 more · forecast zone Southern Blue Mountains Low pressure moving along a stalled cold front brought heavy snowfall to higher elevations of Grant County. Snowfall amounts in inches included 7 miles east southeast of John Day (6) and Blue Mountain Spring SnoTel (5). A car accident on slushy Highway 395 between Mount Vernon and Fox claimed two lives. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 1998-01-12 | Ice StormBenton County and 3 more · forecast zone Columbia/C & W Multnomah/Washington/Nw Clackamas One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A series of storms accompanied by very cold arctic air from Alaska and Canada brought widespread snow and then freezing rain to Southwest Washington and Northern Oregon from Saturday afternoon, January 10, through Wednesday afternoon, January 14. Up to three feet of snow accumulated in the Cascades and Columbia Gorge, ... | 2 | 0 | $2.4M | |
| 1998-01-02 | Winter StormHood River County and Multnomah County · forecast zone South Central Oregon A car skidded to the shoulder of Hwy 97 just south of the Hwy 62 intersection and crashed into a snowplow head-on, killing both occupants of the car, a father and son from Canada. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2007-01-16 | Heavy SnowLake County · forecast zone Central & Eastern Lake County Icy roads were blamed for a major automotive accident that killed two people. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2010-12-04 | Winter WeatherBaker County · forecast zone Baker Oregon State Police reported a commercial truck rollover on Interstate 84 near milepost 334 at approximately 11:22 AM MST resulting in one fatality and one injury. Multiple rollover and collision accidents as well as commercial truck jack- knife incidents were reported throughout the day. | 1 | 11 | – | |
| 2000-02-12 | Heavy SnowUnion County · forecast zone Grand Ronde Valley Brief heavy snow led to an accident on westbound Interstate 84 near North Powder that claimed one life and injured 4 others. The driver of a sports utility vehicle lost control on the slick surface and overturned several times, ejecting the passengers. | 1 | 4 | $34K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest winter storm records in Oregon
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-01-18 | Heavy SnowMalheur County · forecast zone Lower Treasure Valley | 0 | 0 | $120M | |
| 2024-01-12 | Winter StormClackamas County and 2 more · forecast zone Greater Portland Metro Area One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places, 2024-01-12 to 2024-01-13; the totals are the episode's. | 9 | 16 | $45M | |
| 2008-12-20 | Winter StormClackamas County and 2 more · forecast zone Greater Portland Metro Area One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 0 | $42M | |
| 2021-02-11 | Winter StormClackamas County and 2 more · forecast zone Greater Portland Metro Area One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places, 2021-02-11 to 2021-02-14; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $27M | |
| 2019-02-24 | Heavy SnowBenton County and 2 more · forecast zone Southern Willamette Valley One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $20M | |
| 2023-02-22 | Heavy SnowClackamas County and 2 more · forecast zone Greater Portland Metro Area | 0 | 0 | $19M | |
| 1998-01-12 | Ice StormBenton County and 3 more · forecast zone Columbia/C & W Multnomah/Washington/Nw Clackamas One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 0 | $2.4M | |
| 2019-02-23 | Heavy SnowCrook County and 2 more · forecast zone Central Oregon | 0 | 0 | $1.7M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are winter storm records becoming more frequent in Oregon?
Oregon's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Oregon | United States | Oregon's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 375 | 32,893 | 1.1% |
| 2000s | 1,034 | 88,805 | 1.2% |
| 2010s | 784 | 103,626 | 0.8% |
| 2020-26 | 575 | 62,015 | 0.9% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent winter storm records in Oregon
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-14 | Heavy SnowDeschutes County and 2 more · forecast zone East Slopes Of The Oregon Cascades | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-01 | Heavy SnowDeschutes County and 2 more · forecast zone East Slopes Of The Oregon Cascades | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-01 | Winter StormDouglas County and 2 more · forecast zone South Central Oregon Cascades | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-01 | Winter StormDouglas County · forecast zone Eastern Douglas County Foothills | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-17 | Heavy SnowUnion County and Wallowa County · forecast zone Wallowa County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-16 | Winter StormJackson County and 2 more · forecast zone Siskiyou Mountains & Southern Oregon Cascades | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-16 | Winter StormDouglas County and 2 more · forecast zone South Central Oregon Cascades | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-16 | Winter StormJackson County · forecast zone Jackson County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-16 | Winter StormDouglas County · forecast zone Eastern Douglas County Foothills | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-16 | Winter StormCurry County and Josephine County · forecast zone Eastern Curry County & Josephine County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-16 | Winter StormCoos County and Douglas County · forecast zone Central Douglas County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-16 | Heavy SnowUmatilla County and 2 more · forecast zone Northern Blue Mountains | 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.
Federal disaster declarations for winter storm records in Oregon
FEMA has declared 15 disasters in Oregon for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 15 were major disasters, the latest on April 13, 2024.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-04-13 | DR-4768 | Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Landslides, and Mudslides | 13 |
| 2021-05-04 | DR-4599 | Severe Winter Storm | 7 |
| 2019-05-02 | DR-4432 | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 5 |
| 2017-08-08 | DR-4328 | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 4 |
| 2017-01-25 | DR-4296 | Severe Winter Storm and Flooding | 2 |
| 2016-02-17 | DR-4258 | Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 14 |
| 2014-04-04 | DR-4169 | Severe Winter Storm | 4 |
| 2012-03-02 | DR-4055 | Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 12 |
| 2011-02-17 | DR-1956 | Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Mudslides, Landslides, and Debris Flows | 6 |
| 2009-03-02 | DR-1824 | Severe Winter Storm, Record and Near Record Snow | 10 |
| 2007-02-22 | DR-1683 | Severe Winter Storm and Flooding | 10 |
| 2004-02-19 | DR-1510 | Severe Winter Storms | 30 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Hood River County: the county's whole recordThe Oregon county with the most winter storm records per square mile
- Winter storms across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in OregonTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- High wind and dust storms in Oregon3,172 records
- Extreme cold in Oregon1,168 records
- Hail in Oregon856 records