States › Washington › 1997
Washington, 1997
The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.
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.
Events by hazard
Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1997 was 196 against 145 in 1996.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Aug 1997 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 75 mph | — | 4 | 4 |
| 19 Jan 1997 | Forecast zone | Debris Flow | — | — | 4 | — |
| 29 Oct 1997 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 51 mph | — | 4 | — |
| 11 Jan 1997 | Forecast zone | Avalanche | — | — | 3 | — |
| 26 Aug 1997 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 70 mph | — | 2 | — |
| 16 Jan 1997 | Forecast zone | Ice Storm | — | — | 1 | 5 |
| 30 Mar 1997 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 82 mph | $250,000 | 1 | 4 |
| 1 Jan 1997 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | $20,000,000 | 1 | — |
| 30 Mar 1997 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 82 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 8 Mar 1997 | Forecast zone | Avalanche | — | — | 1 | — |
| 1 Oct 1997 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 52 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 15 Mar 1997 | Kitsap | Heavy Rain | — | $750,000 | — | 3 |
| 5 Jul 1997 | King | Lightning | — | — | — | 2 |
| 3 Apr 1997 | Forecast zone | High Wind | 64 mph | $10,000 | — | 1 |
| 6 Aug 1997 | Snohomish | Lightning | — | — | — | 1 |
| 3 Apr 1997 | King | Lightning | — | — | — | 1 |
| 20 Mar 1997 | Forecast zone | Flood | — | $1,200,000 | — | — |
| 15 Mar 1997 | Grays Harbor | Heavy Rain | — | $1,200,000 | — | — |
| 14 Aug 1997 | Spokane | Wildfire | — | $800,000 | — | — |
| 14 Aug 1997 | Stevens | Wildfire | — | $400,000 | — | — |
| 31 May 1997 | Spokane | Tornado | F1 | $350,000 | — | — |
| 31 May 1997 | Lincoln | Tornado | F1 | $300,000 | — | — |
| 26 Aug 1997 | Okanogan | Thunderstorm Wind | 76 mph | $100,000 | — | — |
| 31 May 1997 | Pierce | Tornado | F1 | $150,000 | — | — |
| 5 Jul 1997 | Mason | Lightning | — | $70,000 | — | — |
| 21 Jul 1997 | Stevens | Tornado | F1 | $20,000 | — | — |
| 21 Jul 1997 | Stevens | Tornado | F1 | $20,000 | — | — |
| 21 Jul 1997 | Okanogan | Tornado | F1 | $10,000 | — | — |
| 21 Jul 1997 | Okanogan | Tornado | F1 | $10,000 | — | — |
| 31 May 1997 | Clark | Tornado | F0 | $10,000 | — | — |
| 26 Aug 1997 | Yakima | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 24 Aug 1997 | Snohomish | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 26 Aug 1997 | Grays Harbor | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 22 Dec 1997 | Grays Harbor | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 15 Sep 1997 | Clark | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
| 26 Aug 1997 | Okanogan | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.
Federal disaster declarations in 1997
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Aug 1997 | FM-2194 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Olympia Command Fire | 0 |
| 14 Aug 1997 | FM-2193 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Tum Tum Fire | 0 |
| 21 Jul 1997 | FM-2192 | Fire management assistance | Fire | Benton City Fire | 0 |
| 21 Jul 1997 | DR-1182 | Major disaster | Flood | Fl00ding, Snow Melt | 1 |
| 2 Apr 1997 | DR-1172 | Major disaster | Flood | Heavy Rains, Snow Melt, Flooding, Land & Mud Slides | 13 |
| 17 Jan 1997 | DR-1159 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms, Land & Muds Slides,Flooding | 38 |
| 7 Jan 1997 | DR-1152 | Major disaster | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Ice Storm | 3 |
Flood insurance claims with a 1997 date of loss
409 NFIP claims, 308 of them paid, for $4,183,891.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (29 Sep 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 30 Sep 2026.