County Hazards

States › Washington › 2003

Washington, 2003

The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.

269events recorded226 in 2002
4deaths recorded37 injuries
$41Mproperty damage (estimates)$20K crop damage
4disaster declarations425 NFIP claims, $6.7M paid
← 20022004 →

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

Wind82
Winter66
Flood50
Other39
Hail12
Wildfire8
Tropical7
Tornado2
Lightning2
Cold1

Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 2003 was 269 against 226 in 2002.

Counties with the most recorded events

CountyEvents in 2003
Spokane County9
San Juan County5
Yakima County5
Cowlitz County4
Kittitas County4
Walla Walla County4
Clark County3
Grant County3
Pend Oreille County3
Thurston County3
Benton County2
Chelan County2
King County2
Lewis County2
Pacific County2
Skamania County2
Stevens County2
Wahkiakum County2
Clallam County1
Grays Harbor County1
Jefferson County1
Kitsap County1
Klickitat County1
Lincoln County1
Mason County1

Notable events

DateCountyEvent typeMagnitudeProperty damageDeathsInjuries
12 Dec 2003Forecast zoneAvalanche——12
28 Oct 2003Forecast zoneHigh Wind60 mph$2,000,0001—
13 Dec 2003Forecast zoneAvalanche——1—
12 Mar 2003Forecast zoneHigh Wind75 mph—1—
28 Oct 2003Forecast zoneDust Storm———20
16 Sep 2003SpokaneHail0.25 in$50,000—10
4 Dec 2003Forecast zoneHigh Wind79 mph$12,500,000—3
17 May 2003ThurstonLightning—$1,000—1
13 Apr 2003CowlitzHail0.25 in——1
20 Oct 2003Forecast zoneFlood—$9,500,000——
16 Oct 2003Forecast zoneFlood—$3,500,000——
4 Dec 2003Forecast zoneHigh Wind69 mph$2,000,000——
20 Oct 2003Forecast zoneFlood—$1,600,000——
19 Nov 2003Forecast zoneHigh Wind78 mph$1,000,000——
2 Jan 2003Forecast zoneHigh Wind46 mph$1,000,000——
12 Mar 2003San JuanHigh Wind46 mph$1,000,000——
16 Oct 2003San JuanHigh Wind69 mph$1,000,000——
16 Jul 2003OkanoganWildfire—$1,000,000——
20 Oct 2003JeffersonHeavy Rain—$800,000——
20 Oct 2003PierceHeavy Rain—$800,000——
4 Dec 2003Forecast zoneHigh Wind66 mph$500,000——
20 Oct 2003ClallamHeavy Rain—$400,000——
18 Nov 2003Forecast zoneStrong Wind46 mph$300,000——
19 Nov 2003Forecast zoneHeavy Snow—$300,000——
20 Oct 2003MasonHeavy Rain—$300,000——
28 Nov 2003Forecast zoneStrong Wind54 mph$200,000——
28 Nov 2003Forecast zoneHigh Wind47 mph$200,000——
20 Oct 2003KitsapHeavy Rain—$200,000——
20 Oct 2003Forecast zoneDebris Flow—$150,000——
1 Jan 2003Forecast zoneHigh Wind58 mph$100,000——
20 Oct 2003Grays HarborHeavy Rain—$100,000——
20 Oct 2003KingHeavy Rain—$100,000——
20 Oct 2003ThurstonHeavy Rain—$100,000——
20 Oct 2003WhatcomHeavy Rain—$100,000——
28 Nov 2003Forecast zoneStrong Wind49 mph$50,000——
28 Nov 2003Forecast zoneStrong Wind45 mph$50,000——
31 Jan 2003Forecast zoneFlood—$50,000——
2 Jan 2003Forecast zoneStorm Surge/Tide—$50,000——
31 Jan 2003Forecast zoneFlood—$50,000——
15 Oct 2003ThurstonTornadoF0$5,000——

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 2003

DeclaredNumberTypeIncidentTitleCounties
7 Nov 2003DR-1499Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storms And Flooding15
6 Sep 2003FM-2498Fire management assistanceFireWa-Needle Fire-09-06-20031
16 Jul 2003FM-2481Fire management assistanceFireWa-Okanogan City Fire-07-16-20031
12 Jul 2003FM-2477Fire management assistanceFireWa-Middle Fork Fire-07-12-20031

Flood insurance claims with a 2003 date of loss

425 NFIP claims, 336 of them paid, for $6,683,240.

Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.