Washington tornado risk
King County has the highest tornado risk in Washington, scoring 73.2 out of 100 — rated "Relatively Moderate" by FEMA's National Risk Index. NOAA has recorded 22 tornado events across Washington over the past decade.
| # | County | NRI score | Rating |
NOAA events 2016–2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | King County | 73.2 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 2 | Spokane County | 42.7 | Relatively Low | 5 |
| 3 | Pierce County | 41.2 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 4 | Snohomish County | 38.8 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 5 | Clark County | 31.3 | Relatively Low | 4 |
| 6 | Thurston County | 25 | Very Low | 1 |
| 7 | Kitsap County | 23.7 | Very Low | 1 |
| 8 | Cowlitz County | 20.5 | Very Low | 1 |
| 9 | Benton County | 19.6 | Very Low | 2 |
| 10 | Yakima County | 19.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 11 | Lewis County | 17.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 12 | Grant County | 15.5 | Very Low | 1 |
| 13 | Mason County | 13.8 | Very Low | 1 |
| 14 | Grays Harbor County | 13.2 | Very Low | 1 |
| 15 | Whatcom County | 13.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 16 | Franklin County | 12.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 17 | Stevens County | 12.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 18 | Clallam County | 12 | Very Low | 0 |
| 19 | Walla Walla County | 11.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 20 | Island County | 11.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 21 | Skagit County | 11.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 22 | Whitman County | 10.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 23 | Jefferson County | 9.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 24 | Chelan County | 9.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 25 | Lincoln County | 7.6 | Very Low | 2 |
| 26 | Kittitas County | 7.4 | Very Low | 1 |
| 27 | Pacific County | 7.3 | Very Low | 1 |
| 28 | Adams County | 7.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 29 | Asotin County | 6.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 30 | Douglas County | 6.7 | Very Low | 1 |
| 31 | Okanogan County | 6.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 32 | Klickitat County | 6.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 33 | Pend Oreille County | 5.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 34 | Skamania County | 5.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 35 | Ferry County | 4.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 36 | San Juan County | 4.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 37 | Wahkiakum County | 3.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 38 | Columbia County | 3.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 39 | Garfield County | 2.1 | Very Low | 0 |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0, December 2025. Scores are 0–100 percentile rankings among all US counties. See the methodology page for definitions. Download the full CSV for all counties.
Tornado risk nationally:
Other hazard risks in Washington:
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest tornado risk county in Washington?
King County, WA has the highest tornado risk in Washington, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 73.2 out of 100 (rated "Relatively Moderate").
What causes tornado risk in Washington?
Tornado risk concentrates in the central and southern plains ("Tornado Alley") and the Southeast ("Dixie Alley"), where atmospheric conditions favor supercell thunderstorm development. The highest scores often belong to counties with significant mobile home and manufactured housing stock, which carries disproportionate tornado mortality risk.