County Hazards

Storm events on record through

Grays Harbor County, Washington Storm events, disaster declarations and flood insurance claims on record

This page is a county record of past events and claims. It does not show the flood zone or the risk of an address. For the flood map of an address, use FEMA's address search (opens in a new tab).

NCEI has 31 storm events on record for Grays Harbor County, Washington, from 1950 through 30 Jun 2026.

The newest event on record is a heavy rain event on 24 Feb 2025.

FEMA has 35 disaster declarations on record for the county from 1964 through 1 Oct 2026. The newest is DR-4906 of 7 Apr 2026.

OpenFEMA has 921 NFIP claims on record for the county from 1978 through 8 Sep 2026. The NFIP paid $14 million on these claims.

The NWS collects event reports from a variety of sources, which include (but are not limited to): county, state, and federal emergency management officials, local law enforcement officials, SKYWARN spotters, NWS damage surveys, newspaper clipping services, the insurance industry, and the general public, among others.

The National Weather Service reports property and crop damage estimates using available data at the time of event reporting. These values should therefore be considered broad estimates. Damage amounts are not adjusted for inflation.

Zone (NWS Forecast Zone): A zone is a geographic area defined by the NWS for issuing forecasts, watches, and warnings. While zones often align with counties, they can also represent smaller or subdivided areas within a county to account for differences in weather conditions, such as elevation or proximity to water. Larger-scale events—such as heat, cold, drought, and winter storms—are typically recorded by zone.

The words of the agency. Source: NOAA NCEI, Storm Events Database, page "Frequently Asked Questions", copied on .

This is raw, unedited data from FEMA's National Emergency Management Information System (NEMIS) and as such is subject to a small percentage of human error.

The words of the agency. Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset "Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2", copied on . The page gives: last data refresh 2026-10-01.

It is derived from the National Flood Insurance Program system of record, staged in the program's reporting platform and redacted to protect policy holder personally identifiable information.

The words of the agency. Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset "NFIP Redacted Claims - v3", copied on . The page gives: last data refresh 2026-09-09.

Dates of the data: NCEI storm events through . OpenFEMA disaster declarations through . NFIP claims through .

Since the last update: no change is on record for Grays Harbor County. The site compares the agency data at each update. Updates of the data

The five hazards

Storm events on record for Grays Harbor County by hazard and period (NCEI, through 30 Jun 2026)
Hazard1950 to 20262000 to 20092010 to 20192020 to 2026Newest event
Hail1000
Tornado3001
Flood6203
Wind4010
Winter0000None on record
Other event types17Heat, cold, drought, wildfire, lightning, fog, tropical and other types
All storm events311037

A hazard name opens the page of that hazard for the county. A hazard has a page from 10 events. The year 2026 has the events through 30 Jun 2026 only.

A county count has the events that NCEI gives to the county. It also has the events of a forecast zone that has the name of the county. A zone with another name counts for the state only.

Rates of Grays Harbor County beside the total of the counties of Washington and of the United States
MeasureGrays HarborAll counties of WashingtonAll counties of the United States
Storm events for each 100 square miles, 1950 to 20261.63.849.3
Storm events for each 10,000 residents, 1950 to 20264.03.352.5
NFIP claims for each 1,000 policies in force, 2016 to 202544.0111.7185.3

The columns for the state and the United States total the counties. They count the events of each county in the same way as the county column. The site gives a rate for each 10,000 residents only from 10,000 residents. Residents and area: Census Bureau, 2021.

Newest storm events on record

Heavy Rain

At QUINAULT

Heavy Rain

At (HQM)BOWERMAN FLD HO

Heavy Rain

At (HQM)BOWERMAN FLD HO

Flood

4 miles NNE of INDEPENDENCE. Damage estimate: $3.4 million

Flood

3 miles NNW of BRADY. Damage estimate: $59 thousand

Flood

6 miles NNW of SATSOP. Damage estimate: $60 thousand

TornadoEF1

5 miles SW of NEILTON

Debris Flow

At (HQM)BOWERMAN FLD HO. Damage estimate: $300 thousand

Heavy Rain

At COSMOPOLIS. Damage estimate: $15 thousand

Thunderstorm Wind70 mph (61 knots, measured gust)

At (HQM)BOWERMAN FLD HO

Flood

At ABERDEEN. Damage estimate: $1.2 million

Heavy Rain

At COSMOPOLIS. Damage estimate: $500 thousand

Flood

At (HQM)BOWERMAN FLD HO. Damage estimate: $760 thousand

Heavy Rain

At COUNTYWIDE. Damage estimate: $2.9 million

Heavy Rain

At COSMOPOLIS. Damage estimate: $100 thousand

Heavy Rain

At COUNTYWIDE. Damage estimate: $100 thousand

Storm Surge/Tide

At WESTPORT. Damage estimate: $5 thousand

Storm Surge/Tide

At OCEAN SHRS

Heavy Rain

At COUNTYWIDE

Heavy Rain

At COUNTYWIDE

Heavy Rain

At ABERDEEN. Damage estimate: $20 thousand

Storm Surge/Tide

At OCEAN SHRS. Damage estimate: $1.0 million

Heavy Rain

At ELMA. Damage estimate: $200 thousand

TornadoF0

5 miles S of WESTPORT

TornadoF0

3 miles W of ELMA

The 25 events above are the newest in the NCEI record. A place is the text of the NCEI record: a distance and a direction from a reference place. Wind speed is in miles per hour, with the knots that NCEI gives. The site does not show a place text that names a private property or reads as a person. Download these events (CSV)

Storm events on record for Grays Harbor County by year, 1950 to 2026
DecadeYear that ends in 0Year that ends in 1Year that ends in 2Year that ends in 3Year that ends in 4Year that ends in 5Year that ends in 6Year that ends in 7Year that ends in 8Year that ends in 9All
1950s00000000000
1960s00000000011
1970s10000200003
1980s00000000000
1990s00000013127
2000s022101201110
2010s10100100003
2020s1211110 (part of the year)7

A darker cell has a larger count. The number is in each cell.

NCEI recorded tornado events from 1950, and hail and thunderstorm wind events from 1955. It recorded all event types from 1996. A count before 1996 has fewer event types.

FEMA disaster declarations

FEMA has 35 disaster declarations on record for Grays Harbor County from 1964 through 1 Oct 2026. The newest is DR-4906: SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES.

Disaster declarations that name Grays Harbor County (OpenFEMA, through 1 Oct 2026)
DeclaredNumberTypeIncident typeTitle in the FEMA recordAssistance
DR-4906Major disasterFloodSEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDESIndividual, Public
EM-3629EmergencyFloodSEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDESPublic
DR-4775Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDESPublic
DR-4650Major disasterFloodSEVERE WINTER STORMS, SNOWSTORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODINGPublic
DR-4593Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDESPublic
DR-4539Major disasterFloodSEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDESPublic
DR-4481Major disasterBiologicalCOVID-19 PANDEMICIndividual, Public
EM-3427EmergencyBiologicalCOVID-19Public
DR-4418Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, MUDSLIDES, TORNADOPublic
DR-4253Major disasterFloodSEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, MUDSLIDES, AND A TPublic
DR-4242Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE WINDSTORMPublic
DR-4056Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE WINTER STORM, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDESPublic
DR-1825Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE WINTER STORM AND RECORD AND NEAR RECORD SNOWPublic
DR-1817Major disasterFloodSEVERE WINTER STORM, LANDSLIDES, MUDSLIDES, AND FLOODINGIndividual, Public
DR-1734Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDESIndividual, Public
DR-1682Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE WINTER STORM, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDESPublic
DR-1671Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDESIndividual, Public
DR-1641Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, TIDAL SURGE, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDESPublic
EM-3227EmergencyCoastal StormHURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATIONPublic
DR-1499Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE STORMS AND FLOODINGIndividual, Public
DR-1361Major disasterEarthquakeEARTHQUAKEIndividual, Public
DR-1172Major disasterFloodHEAVY RAINS, SNOW MELT, FLOODING, LAND & MUD SLIDESIndividual, Public
DR-1159Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE WINTER STORMS, LAND & MUDS SLIDES,FLOODINGIndividual, Public
DR-1100Major disasterFloodHIGH WINDS, SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODINGIndividual, Public
DR-1079Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE STORMS, HIGH WIND, AND FLOODINGIndividual, Public
DR-1037Major disasterFishing LossesTHE EL NINO (THE SALMON INDUSTRY)Individual
DR-883Major disasterFloodSEVERE STORMS & FLOODINGIndividual, Public
DR-852Major disasterFloodSEVERE STORMS & FLOODINGIndividual, Public
DR-623Major disasterVolcanic EruptionVOLCANIC ERUPTION, MT. ST. HELENSIndividual, Public
DR-612Major disasterFloodSTORMS, HIGH TIDES, MUDSLIDES & FLOODINGIndividual
DR-545Major disasterFloodSEVERE STORMS,MUDSLIDES, & FLOODINGIndividual, Public
DR-492Major disasterFloodSEVERE STORMS & FLOODINGIndividual, Public
DR-322Major disasterFloodSEVERE STORMS & FLOODINGIndividual, Public
DR-300Major disasterFloodHEAVY RAINS, MELTING SNOWS & FLOODINGPublic
DR-185Major disasterFloodHEAVY RAINS & FLOODINGIndividual, Public

DR is a major disaster declaration. EM is an emergency declaration. FM is a fire management assistance declaration. A declaration for the whole state is on the Washington page. What a disaster declaration is

The dataset includes declared recovery programs and geographic areas (county not available before 1964; Fire Management records are considered partial due to historical nature of the dataset).

The words of the agency. Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset "Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2", copied on . The page gives: last data refresh 2026-10-01.

Flood insurance claims (NFIP)

OpenFEMA has 921 NFIP claims on record for Grays Harbor County from 1978 through 8 Sep 2026.

The NFIP paid $13,960,686 on 729 claims.

The county has 44.0 NFIP claims for each 1,000 policies in force. The rate uses 60 claims with a year of loss from 2016 to 2025. FEMA counts 1,364 residential policies in force on 3 Aug 2026. The claims have every type of building. FEMA counts residential policies only.

NFIP claims in Grays Harbor County by year of loss, 1978 to 2026
DecadeYear that ends in 0Year that ends in 1Year that ends in 2Year that ends in 3Year that ends in 4Year that ends in 5Year that ends in 6Year that ends in 7Year that ends in 8Year that ends in 9All
1970s31215
1980s35811400800084
1990s4102412469381035215
2000s1731603311021171245
2010s346172813310309
2020s06442010 (part of the year)53

A darker cell has a larger count. The number is in each cell.

NFIP claims by year of loss with the amount paid: 38 years
NFIP claims in Grays Harbor County by year of loss, with the amount paid (OpenFEMA, through 8 Sep 2026)
Year of lossClaimsClaims with a paymentAmount paid
20251not shownnot shown
20232not shownnot shown
20224439$1,263,492
20216not shownnot shown
20181not shownnot shown
20173not shownnot shown
20163not shownnot shown
2015281244$5,605,046
20147not shownnot shown
20131not shownnot shown
20126not shownnot shown
20114not shownnot shown
20103not shownnot shown
20097168$1,668,558
2008115$37,577
200710287$1,989,009
20063126$387,679
20053not shownnot shown
20031610$123,586
20023not shownnot shown
200175$17,138
20001not shownnot shown
19993528$766,975
1998106$32,776
19973834$421,275
19966952$591,261
19954not shownnot shown
1994128$139,969
19934not shownnot shown
19922not shownnot shown
19904127$138,457
19868not shownnot shown
19834not shownnot shown
1982117$14,330
19815841$94,338
19803not shownnot shown
1979128$15,888
19783not shownnot shown

A year with fewer than 5 claims shows the count of claims and no amount. A year with 1 to 4 claims with a payment shows no amount either. Such an amount could point to one property. The amount is the sum of the building, contents and increased cost of compliance payments. FEMA counts 70 multiple-loss properties in the county (2 Aug 2026). How FEMA redacts NFIP claims

This dataset is not intended to be an official federal report, and should not be considered an official federal report.

Note, the County Code field may not reflect the individual county the property is located as projects can be associated with more than one county

The words of the agency. Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset "NFIP Redacted Claims - v3", copied on . The page gives: last data refresh 2026-09-09.

FEMA cannot verify the quality and/or timeliness of any data or any analysis derived therefrom after the data has been retrieved from FEMA.gov.

The words of the agency. Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Terms and Conditions, copied on . The page gives: last updated 2025-01-22.

National Risk Index

Risk Index rating
Relatively High
Risk Index score
97.0 of 100
Expected Annual Loss rating
Relatively High
Expected Annual Loss
$212 million
Social Vulnerability rating
Relatively High
Community Resilience rating
Relatively High
National Risk Index of Grays Harbor County by hazard type (FEMA, December 2025 release)
Hazard typeRisk Index ratingExpected Annual Loss
AvalancheVery Low$132
Coastal floodingVery High$23,840,755
Cold waveVery Low$1
DroughtVery Low$33
EarthquakeRelatively High$46,632,506
HailVery Low$3,118
Heat waveRelatively Low$450,503
Ice stormRelatively High$604,431
Inland floodingRelatively Moderate$19,344,020
LandslideRelatively Moderate$112,909
LightningVery Low$39,046
Strong windVery Low$42,013
TornadoVery Low$90,129
TsunamiVery High$120,723,873
WildfireVery Low$14,788
Winter weatherRelatively Low$35,957

The National Risk Index dataset leverages available source data for natural hazard and community risk factors to develop a baseline relative risk measurement for each United States county and Census tract.

The rating is a qualitative categorization that describes the community in comparison to all other communities at the same level, ranging from “Very Low” to “Very High.”

The National Risk Index data are meant for planning purposes only.

The words of the agency. Source: FEMA, National Risk Index Data: Frequently Asked Questions (December 2025, v1.20), copied on .

The labels and the ratings are those of FEMA. Expected Annual Loss is a figure for a whole county. It is not a figure for a property. How to read the National Risk Index

Tropical storm and hurricane tracks

The HURDAT2 record of the National Hurricane Center goes through the 2025 season. It has no track at tropical storm strength within 100 miles of the centre point of Grays Harbor County.

ZIP Codes, cities and towns of Grays Harbor County

Each ZIP Code below has a page with its NFIP claims by year. 5 more ZIP Codes have fewer than 5 claims and no page.

A city or town has no page of its own. This page is the record for the whole county, which has these places:

  • Aberdeen
  • Aberdeen Gardens
  • Amanda Park
  • Brady
  • Central Park
  • Cohassett Beach
  • Copalis Beach
  • Cosmopolis
  • Elma
  • Grayland
  • Hogans Corner
  • Hoquiam
  • Humptulips
  • Malone
  • Markham
  • McCleary
  • Moclips
  • Montesano
  • Neilton
  • Oakville
  • Ocean City
  • Ocean Shores
  • Ocosta
  • Oyehut
  • Pacific Beach
  • Porter
  • Queets
  • Qui-nai-elt Village
  • Santiago
  • Satsop
  • Taholah
  • Westport

Official channels

These links open the pages of the agencies. The site checked the links on .

Cite this page

County Hazards. "Grays Harbor County, Washington: storm events, disaster declarations and flood insurance claims on record". https://countyhazards.com/county/wa/grays-harbor/. Data: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database through 30 Jun 2026; FEMA OpenFEMA disaster declarations through 1 Oct 2026; FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP claims through 8 Sep 2026. Page made on .

Where the data comes from

  • Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026.
  • Disaster declarations: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, read on 1 Oct 2026.
  • NFIP claims: OpenFEMA NFIP Claims, as of 8 Sep 2026. Multiple-loss properties: 2 Aug 2026. Policies in force: 3 Aug 2026.
  • National Risk Index: FEMA, December 2025 release. Storm tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through the 2025 season.
  • Residents, area, places and adjacent counties: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage.

How the counts are made · Corrections · Hazards in all states: hail, tornado, flood, wind, winter

Questions

How many tornado events are on record for Grays Harbor County?
NCEI has 3 tornado events on record for Grays Harbor County from 1950 through 30 Jun 2026. No event has a rating of EF2 or F2, or a higher rating.
How large is the hail on record for Grays Harbor County?
NCEI has 1 hail event on record from 1955 through 30 Jun 2026. No event has a hail size of 1.75 inches or more. NCEI names 1.75 inches a golf ball.
Which month has the most storm events on record for Grays Harbor County?
December has 11 of the 31 storm events on record from 1950 through 30 Jun 2026.
How many NFIP claims are there for each 1,000 policies in force in Grays Harbor County?
The county has 44.0 NFIP claims for each 1,000 policies in force. The rate uses 60 claims with a year of loss from 2016 to 2025. FEMA counts 1,364 residential policies in force on 3 Aug 2026. The claims have every type of building. FEMA counts residential policies only.