PlainHazard

Washington high wind and dust storms

Every recorded high wind record since 1996 · 39 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 2,210 high wind and dust records in Washington from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 76 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the December 14, 2006 high wind: 14 deaths, 311 injuries and $77.1 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 15 records. Washington ranks 24th of 52 states and territories by count and 31st of 51 per square mile.

High wind and dust storms in Washington, 1996 to 2026

Wind 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
2,2101996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
76average
Deaths
88500 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$1.6Bas filed
Busiest year
2015159 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 high wind and dust records common in Washington?

Washington averages about 76 high wind and dust records a year since 2000, 24th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2015 (159). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Washington records 333 high wind and dust records since 1996, 31st of 51 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Rhode Island 7061
  2. 2. New Jersey 4882
  3. 3. Massachusetts 4776
  4. 4. Delaware 3705
  5. 5. Maryland 1330
  6. 6. Connecticut 1301
  7. 7. Vermont 1178
  8. 8. Hawaii 1067
  9. 9. New York 1028
  10. 10. Wyoming 900
  11. 31. Washington 333

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 Washington have the most high wind and dust records?

Per square mile, Wahkiakum County leads Washington: 230 days with a high wind record since 1996, 874.8 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Wahkiakum County has the most wind records (306 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).

  1. Wahkiakum County 874.8 (306)
  2. Island County 590.0 (130)
  3. San Juan County 546.2 (95)
  4. Pacific County 249.6 (299)
  5. Kitsap County 162.0 (74)
  6. Walla Walla County 100.8 (175)
  7. Jefferson County 93.7 (272)
  8. Cowlitz County 86.8 (126)
  9. Franklin County 86.2 (120)
  10. Clark County 81.1 (63)
  11. Thurston County 76.1 (56)
  12. Whatcom County 72.6 (158)

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 the windy season in Washington?

Washington's high wind and dust records by month. The busiest month is November (431 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 352 · Feb 211 · Mar 245 · Apr 121 · May 65 · Jun 18 · Jul 15 · Aug 46 · Sep 77 · Oct 210 · Nov 431 · Dec 419 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest high wind and dust records in Washington?

Washington: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2006-12-14 High WindKing County and Kitsap County · forecast zone Seattle/Bremerton Area One storm episode: 15 records in 14 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong Pacific Ocean rain and wind storm struck Washington on the night of Dec 14th through the morning of the 15th. The storm initially brought one to two inches of heavy rainfall to parts of western Washington on the 14th, producing areas of urban and small stream flooding and overwhelming drainage systems. ... 64 kt wind 14 311 $77M
2015-08-29 High WindWhatcom County · forecast zone Western Whatcom One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. High wind struck parts of Western Washington beginning around mid morning on Saturday August 29th and continued into the afternoon hours. Widespread tree damage and power outages occurred, about 450,000 in total. Storm force winds developed over the coastal waters and Northern Inland waters. Solid Gale force winds ... 58 kt wind 4 4 $4.4M
1997-08-26 High WindEast Slopes Southern Cascades · forecast zone East Slopes Southern Cascades Four people were killed when high wind blew a tree onto their truck near Bumping Lake. Two people were injured when two trees blew down on their camper trailer near Bumping Lake. Numerous trees fell across Bumping Lake Road. Summer homes along highway 410 were damaged by falling trees...one was destroyed. A large ... 4 4 –
1997-10-29 High WindWhatcom County · forecast zone Western Whatcom Winds at the Bellingham airport were sustained 31 mph with gusts to 51 mph through most of the night. Out over the waters around Lummi Island a 58 foot boat, the Miss Lindsay, with 4 people aboard was overturned and the four onboard perished. Wind waves of 5 to 6 feet were suspected in their deaths. 4 0 –
2015-11-17 High WindLincoln County and Spokane County · forecast zone Spokane Area The ASOS at Spokane International Airport 3 miles east southeast of Airway Heights, WA reported a wind gust of 61 MPH at 2:50 PM PST. The windstorm that resulted in this wind gust resulted in four fatalities. Two direct and two indirect. The two indirect fatalities include A 66 year old man died from a stroke and was ... 53 kt wind 4 0 –
2010-04-30 Strong WindKlickitat County · forecast zone East Columbia River Gorge Strong winds and the resulting waves capsized an 18 foot fishing boat on Lake Celilo near Wishram. Four people were thrown off the boat. Three people drowned and 1 person suffered minor hypothermia. 30 kt wind 3 1 –
2007-12-02 High WindGrays Harbor County · forecast zone Central Coast One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places, 2007-12-02 to 2007-12-03; the totals are the episode's. A deep Pacific storm system offshore created strong south to north pressure differences along the coast for an extended period of time. The unique characteristic of the high wind was its duration--high wind lasted for about 18 hours on the coast. At one point, about 73,000 customers were without power. It took about a ... 70 kt wind 2 12 $36M
1997-03-30 High WindSnohomish County · forecast zone Everett And Vicinity One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Two deaths were reported from a wind storm that hit on Easter Sunday. One woman was killed when a tree fell on the pickup truck her husband was driving. Another man died when his canoe overturned in the winds and seas on Burley Lagoon off of Puget Sound. Many other boaters on Puget Sound needed rescuing, although a ... 2 4 $460K
2021-01-13 High WindLincoln County and Spokane County · forecast zone Spokane Area One storm episode: 3 records; the totals are the episode's. A strong cold front swept through eastern Washington on the morning of January 13th. Following moderate mountain snow and valley rain, severe winds raced through the region. Widespread gusts of 50 to 60 mph were observed across the Columbia Basin, with 60 to 70 mph winds observed in the Spokane and Coeur d – Alene ... 62 kt wind 2 2 $3.4M
2014-10-25 Strong WindLewis County and Thurston County · forecast zone Southwest Interior One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. A powerful autumn wind storm rolled through most of Western Washington Saturday evening, bringing wind gusts of 50-60 mph and knocking out power to over 150,000 people. Most wind speeds have reported gusts in the 45-55 mph range around the Puget Sound region, but a few places near the water bested 60 mph. Both the 520 ... 26 kt wind 2 1 $2.5M

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 high wind and dust records in Washington

Washington: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2020-09-08 High WindCowlitz County and Skamania County · forecast zone South Washington Cascades One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 58 kt wind 0 0 $1.2B
2006-12-14 High WindKing County and Kitsap County · forecast zone Seattle/Bremerton Area One storm episode: 15 records in 14 places; the totals are the episode's. 64 kt wind 14 311 $77M
2002-08-16 High WindDouglas County and Okanogan County · forecast zone Nc&S Okanogan X Extreme Se Part/Extreme N Douglas One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 67 kt wind 0 0 $42M
2007-12-02 High WindGrays Harbor County · forecast zone Central Coast One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places, 2007-12-02 to 2007-12-03; the totals are the episode's. 70 kt wind 2 12 $36M
2003-12-04 High WindKing County and 2 more · forecast zone Central Cascade Foothills One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 69 kt wind 0 3 $24M
2007-01-07 High WindChelan County and Douglas County · forecast zone Wenatchee Area One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 64 kt wind 0 20 $17M
2007-12-02 High WindPacific County and Wahkiakum County · forecast zone South Coast One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 90 kt wind 2 0 $15M
2002-04-13 High WindKing County · forecast zone W King/X Se Kitsap 55 kt wind 0 0 $13M

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

Are high wind and dust records becoming more frequent in Washington?

Washington'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.

High wind and dust storms: Washington and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeWashingtonUnited StatesWashington's share
1996-9921314,0261.5%
2000s72837,2542.0%
2010s92141,7482.2%
2020-2634836,3001.0%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent high wind and dust records in Washington

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-03-11 High WindLincoln County and Spokane County · forecast zone Spokane Area 59 kt wind 0 0 $100K
2026-03-11 High WindPend Oreille County and 2 more · forecast zone Northeast Mountains 50 kt wind 0 0 $1K
2026-03-11 High WindFerry County and Okanogan County · forecast zone Okanogan Highlands 63 kt wind 0 0 $20K
2026-03-11 High WindBenton County and 3 more · forecast zone Lower Columbia Basin 61 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-03-08 Strong WindPend Oreille County and 2 more · forecast zone Northeast Mountains 38 kt wind 0 0 $1K
2026-03-08 High WindLincoln County and Spokane County · forecast zone Spokane Area 37 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-03-08 High WindChelan County · forecast zone Central Chelan County 50 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-03-08 Dust StormAdams County and Grant County · forecast zone Moses Lake Area 0 0 –
2026-03-08 High WindAsotin County and Garfield County · forecast zone Lower Garfield & Asotin 35 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-03-07 High WindAsotin County and Garfield County · forecast zone Northeast Blue Mountains 50 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-03-07 High WindChelan County · forecast zone Central Chelan County 38 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-03-07 High WindChelan County and Douglas County · forecast zone Wenatchee Area 50 kt wind 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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