States › Washington › Skagit County

Skagit 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 53057 · 130,696 residents (2021) · 1,730 sq mi · dominant hazard Flood

Hail · 0Tornado · 0Flood · 10Wind · 0Winter · 0

Skagit 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.

Skagit County, Washington, has 16 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them floods and flash floods.

That is 0.9 events per 100 square miles, below the Washington figure of 15.1, and 1.2 per 10,000 residents against 12.9 statewide.

0 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 1 death and 7 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $19M.

FEMA has designated the county in 29 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 1,294 claims since 1978, of which 1,027 were paid, totalling $23M (about $22K per paid claim). FEMA counts 2,457 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Moderate" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Moderate" ($81M a year across 18 hazards).

0events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

16events since 19501 death, 7 injuries recorded

29disaster declarationslast 7 Apr 2026

1,294NFIP flood claims$23M paid

Compared with Washington and the United States

Measure	Skagit 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	1.2	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)	$19M	$4.6B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	9.9	2.1	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$22K	$29K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	9.3	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

Flood: 4Lightning: 1Other: 3

Flood: 3Other: 2

Flood: 3

01950s01960s01970s01980s01990s82000s52010s32020s

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

Trend: 13 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 3 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

Flood10

Other5

Lightning1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Flood	10	1	1.2%	detail
■ Other	5	—	0.7%
■ Lightning	1	—	0.9%

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
28 Nov 2021	Flood	Flood	—	$3.0M	—	1	—	County
24 Jun 2007	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	5	County
29 Jul 2009	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$4K	—	—	2	County
12 Nov 2021	Flood	Flood	—	$12M	—	—	—	County
8 Jan 2009	Flood	Flood	—	$2.0M	—	—	—	County
4 Nov 2006	Flood	Flood	—	$1.6M	—	—	—	County
12 Dec 2010	Flood	Flood	—	$300K	—	—	—	County
11 Aug 2024	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$103K	—	—	—	County
11 Aug 2013	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$100K	—	—	—	County
5 Sep 2013	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$100K	—	—	—	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	Individual assistance, 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	Individual assistance, Public assistance
8 Apr 2021	DR-4593	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
23 Apr 2020	DR-4539	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, 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
24 Aug 2015	FM-5109	Fire management assistance	Fire	Goodell Fire	Public assistance
25 Mar 2011	DR-1963	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	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	Individual assistance, Public assistance
8 Dec 2007	DR-1734	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
14 Feb 2007	DR-1682	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
12 Dec 2006	DR-1671	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Individual assistance, 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, Public assistance
17 Jan 1997	DR-1159	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms, Land & Muds Slides,Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Feb 1996	DR-1100	Major disaster	Flood	High Winds, Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
3 Jan 1996	DR-1079	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, High Wind, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public 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
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
13 Dec 1975	DR-492	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Feb 1971	DR-300	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains, Melting Snows & Flooding	Public 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 Skagit County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19781,294

Paid claims1,027

Total paid$23M

Average paid claim$22K

Repetitive-loss properties14128 severe

Residential policies in force2,4574.9% of 50,621 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	2	1	$40,907	$40,907
2025	124	111	$7,834,698	$70,583
2023	1	0	$0	—
2022	10	8	$348,615	$43,577
2021	70	57	$2,174,666	$38,152
2020	7	4	$16,120	$4,030
2018	7	2	$61,469	$30,734
2017	8	7	$155,543	$22,220
2016	6	5	$121,870	$24,374
2015	11	6	$53,521	$8,920
2014	5	3	$101,737	$33,912
2012	3	1	$1,669	$1,669
2011	13	5	$51,581	$10,316
2010	6	4	$10,047	$2,512
2009	23	20	$172,921	$8,646
2008	3	1	$6,464	$6,464
2007	2	0	$0	—
2006	96	79	$1,416,522	$17,931
2005	1	1	$23,879	$23,879
2004	14	11	$97,580	$8,871
2003	178	155	$3,963,076	$25,568
2002	1	1	$9,225	$9,225
2001	3	1	$23,640	$23,640
2000	1	1	$3,078	$3,078
1999	5	2	$30,675	$15,337

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 Moderatescore 88.8 of 100

Expected annual loss$81MRelatively Moderate

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$33,954,287
Earthquake	Relatively Moderate	$32,562,059
Coastal flooding	Relatively High	$7,027,246
Volcanic activity	Relatively High	$3,345,041
Ice storm	Relatively High	$1,227,413
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$920,483
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$701,091
Tsunami	Very Low	$355,182
Lightning	Relatively Low	$250,059
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$162,406
Avalanche	Relatively Low	$107,417
Tornado	Very Low	$83,832
Landslide	Relatively Moderate	$82,938
Wildfire	Very Low	$57,172
Hail	Very Low	$11,589
Strong wind	Very Low	$5,771
Drought	Very Low	$181

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

98284 416
98273 247
98255 224
98233 130
98237 122
98232 57
98267 29
98235 12
98257 12
98283 8
98221 7
98238 7
98274 5

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 Skagit County, WA?

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

Has Skagit County had a tornado?

NCEI records no tornado in Skagit County since 1950.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Skagit County?

7 Apr 2026: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides, a major disaster declaration for flood. The county appears in 29 declarations since 1953.

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

1,294 NFIP claims since 1978, 1,027 of them paid, for $23M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

How does Skagit County compare with the rest of Washington?

0.9 recorded events per 100 square miles against 15.1 statewide, and 9.9 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.