States › Washington › Jefferson County

Jefferson County, Washington

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 53031 · 33,605 residents (2021) · 1,804 sq mi · dominant hazard Other

Hail · 0Tornado · 0Flood · 4Wind · 0Winter · 0

Jefferson County within Washington. Dots: Flood event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

The NCEI record lists 16 events for Jefferson County, Washington, between 1950 and 2026; other events account for the largest share.

That is 0.9 events per 100 square miles, below the Washington figure of 15.1, and 4.8 per 10,000 residents against 12.9 statewide.

0 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 1 death and 0 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $11M.

FEMA has designated the county in 30 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides (major disaster, 7 Apr 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 53 claims since 1978, of which 35 were paid, totalling $623K (about $18K per paid claim). FEMA counts 193 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Low" ($17M a year across 18 hazards).

0events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

16events since 19501 death, 0 injuries recorded

30disaster declarationslast 7 Apr 2026

53NFIP flood claims$623K paid

Compared with Washington and the United States

Measure	Jefferson County	Washington	US
Recorded events since 1950	16	10,014	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	0.9	15.1	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	4.8	12.9	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	0	130	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	1	321	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$11M	$4.6B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.6	2.1	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$18K	$29K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	5.2	10.7	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Lightning: 1Other: 1

Lightning: 1Other: 6

Flood: 3Lightning: 1Other: 1

Flood: 1Other: 1

01950s01960s01970s01980s21990s72000s52010s22020s

Recorded events in Jefferson County by decade and hazard group. FloodLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 10 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 6 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Other9

Flood4

Lightning3

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Other	9	1	1.2%
■ Flood	4	—	0.5%
■ Lightning	3	—	2.8%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
21 Aug 2001	Heavy Rain	Other	—	—	—	1	—	County
4 Nov 2006	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$5.5M	—	—	—	County
2 Dec 2007	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$3.0M	—	—	—	County
20 Oct 2003	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$800K	—	—	—	County
5 Jan 2006	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$700K	—	—	—	County
12 Jan 2021	Flood	Flood	—	$554K	—	—	—	County
10 Dec 2014	Flood	Flood	—	$300K	—	—	—	County
14 Nov 2015	Flood	Flood	—	$200K	—	—	—	County
15 Dec 1999	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$170K	—	—	—	County
6 Feb 2015	Debris Flow	Other	—	$150K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
7 Apr 2026	DR-4906	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
12 Dec 2025	EM-3629	Emergency	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
28 Apr 2024	DR-4775	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
12 Jan 2023	DR-4682	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
29 Mar 2022	DR-4650	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding	Public assistance
5 Jan 2022	DR-4635	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
8 Apr 2021	DR-4593	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
22 Mar 2020	DR-4481	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3427	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
4 Mar 2019	DR-4418	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides, Tornado	Public assistance
2 Feb 2016	DR-4253	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides, And A T	Public assistance
15 Jan 2016	DR-4249	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
15 Oct 2015	DR-4242	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Windstorm	Public assistance
2 Mar 2009	DR-1825	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm And Record And Near Record Snow	Public assistance
30 Jan 2009	DR-1817	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, And Flooding	Public assistance
8 Dec 2007	DR-1734	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
12 Dec 2006	DR-1671	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
17 May 2006	DR-1641	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Tidal Surge, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
7 Sep 2005	EM-3227	Emergency	Coastal Storm	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
7 Nov 2003	DR-1499	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
1 Mar 2001	DR-1361	Major disaster	Earthquake	Earthquake	Individual assistance
2 Apr 1997	DR-1172	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains, Snow Melt, Flooding, Land & Mud Slides	Public assistance
17 Jan 1997	DR-1159	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms, Land & Muds Slides,Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
3 Jan 1996	DR-1079	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, High Wind, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 Aug 1994	DR-1037	Major disaster	Fishing Losses	The El Nino (The Salmon Industry)	Individual assistance
8 Mar 1991	DR-896	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & High Tides	Public assistance
26 Nov 1990	DR-883	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
15 Feb 1986	DR-757	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Public assistance
21 May 1980	DR-623	Major disaster	Volcanic Eruption	Volcanic Eruption, Mt. St. Helens	Individual assistance, Public assistance
31 Dec 1979	DR-612	Major disaster	Flood	Storms, High Tides, Mudslides & Flooding	Individual assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Jefferson County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197853

Paid claims35

Total paid$623K

Average paid claim$18K

Repetitive-loss properties50 severe

Residential policies in force1931.0% of 19,139 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	1	0	$0	—
2022	5	4	$124,891	$31,223
2021	1	0	$0	—
2019	1	0	$0	—
2018	1	0	$0	—
2017	1	1	$2,883	$2,883
2016	2	1	$4,132	$4,132
2015	2	2	$160,849	$80,425
2014	5	4	$47,964	$11,991
2012	1	1	$16,324	$16,324
2010	1	0	$0	—
2009	1	1	$18,045	$18,045
2007	5	3	$65,385	$21,795
2003	3	1	$24,300	$24,300
2002	2	1	$3,294	$3,294
2001	1	1	$28,158	$28,158
1997	2	2	$19,417	$9,709
1996	1	1	$19,487	$19,487
1995	1	0	$0	—
1994	3	2	$16,671	$8,336
1993	1	0	$0	—
1986	1	1	$1,753	$1,753
1983	1	1	$2,694	$2,694
1982	5	4	$16,946	$4,237
1980	2	2	$33,767	$16,883

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Lowscore 64.4 of 100

Expected annual loss$17MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Earthquake	Relatively Moderate	$10,072,822
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$5,201,472
Coastal flooding	Relatively Moderate	$515,208
Tsunami	Very Low	$286,966
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$219,702
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$189,256
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$162,287
Heat wave	Very Low	$124,451
Landslide	Relatively Moderate	$122,644
Tornado	Very Low	$40,778
Lightning	Very Low	$14,025
Wildfire	Very Low	$6,867
Strong wind	Very Low	$6,445
Hail	Very Low	$1,368
Avalanche	Very Low	$888
Drought	Very Low	$2
Volcanic activity	Very Low	$0

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

No HURDAT2 track at tropical-storm strength passes within 100 miles of the county's centre point (through the 2025 season).

ZIP codes with flood claims

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Jefferson County, WA?

NCEI records no hail events in Jefferson County since 1950. Reports depend on someone observing and reporting the hail, so absence of a record is not proof of absence.

Has Jefferson County had a tornado?

NCEI records no tornado in Jefferson County since 1950.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Jefferson County?

7 Apr 2026: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides, a major disaster declaration for flood. The county appears in 30 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Jefferson County, and how much was paid?

53 NFIP claims since 1978, 35 of them paid, for $623K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Jefferson County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Low" for overall risk, "Relatively Low" for expected annual loss, "Very High" for social vulnerability and "Relatively High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Jefferson County compare with the rest of Washington?

0.9 recorded events per 100 square miles against 15.1 statewide, and 1.6 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 2.1. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.