Hail history in Seattle, WA
No NOAA hail reports within 15 miles of the center of Seattle since 2010. NOAA also recorded high wind on 1 day, with gusts up to 60 mph.
Ranks #177 of 200 US cities for days with hail 1 inch or larger, 2016 to 2025.
Source: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center
Data through November 1, 2026
No NOAA hail reports within 15 miles since 2010
Source: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center
Data through November 1, 2026
About this data
- Distances are from the center of Seattle, not from any one property. Look up a street address below for a single building.
- Reports come from trained spotters and the public, so they cluster near towns and roads.
- No report does not mean no hail. Hail can fall where no one is there to report it.
- This is not a damage or insurance assessment.
1 high-wind day within 15 miles since 2010, strongest gust 60 mph
Source: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center
Data through November 1, 2026
Most recent high-wind days
| Date | Highest gust | Nearest report |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 13, 2010 | 60 mph | 9.9 mi |
About this data
- Distances are from the center of Seattle, not from any one property. Look up a street address below for a single building.
- Reports come from trained spotters and the public, so they cluster near towns and roads.
- No report does not mean no hail. Hail can fall where no one is there to report it.
- Wind speed is the highest reported gust; some reports have no speed.
- This is not a damage or insurance assessment.
Gusts, tornadoes and hurricanes in Seattle
Estimated peak gusts
No day since October 1, 2021 had an estimated peak gust of 58 mph or more at Seattle.
Estimates: the highest gust of each storm day in NOAA’s hourly 2.5 km wind analysis (URMA), which fills in between weather stations. Analyses like this smooth out short thunderstorm gusts, so they are best for widespread wind (hurricanes, winter storms, high wind days); for thunderstorm wind, NOAA’s wind reports are the better record. Not a measurement at any building.
Tornadoes within 10 miles
NOAA recorded 3 tornadoes whose path came within 10 miles of Seattle since 1950; the strongest was rated EF3.
| Day | Rating | Path length | Closest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 11, 2001 | EF0 | 8 miles | |
| Dec 12, 1969 | EF3 | 3.8 miles | 6.3 miles |
| Sep 28, 1962 | EF1 | 0.1 miles | 8.3 miles |
Source: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center. Ratings before 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
No hurricane or tropical storm in NOAA's records brought modeled tropical-storm-force winds (39 mph) to Seattle.
Modeled from NOAA’s best tracks for open, flat ground; not measurements. How we model hurricane winds
2 radar hail days within 15 miles since 2020, largest 1.0 in or more
Source: NOAA MRMS radar (MESH), from October 14, 2020. Estimates of the largest hail in each 1 km cell, not measurements.
1 day with radar hail 1 inch or larger, 0 at 2 inches or larger, within 15 miles of Seattle’s center.
Biggest radar hail days
- 0.75 in+
- 1.0 in+
- 1.5 in+
- 2.0 in+
- 2.5 in+
- 3.0 in+
Most recent radar hail days
| Date | Largest radar estimate |
|---|---|
| Feb 9, 2025 | 0.75 in or more |
| Dec 17, 2024 | 1.0 in or more |
Storms in Seattle
Washington gets fewer lightning strikes per unit area than any other lower 48 state, and Seattle averaged 2.5 thunderstorm days each June to September from 1990 to 2019.1 Within 124 nautical miles of the Seattle radar, NOAA's Storm Prediction Center logged 95 severe hail, wind and tornado reports from 1980 to 2006, with a primary season of May 10 to July 12.2 Each winter, several Pacific low pressure systems bring 40 to 60 mph winds west of the Cascades, and about two or three times a decade a windstorm gusts to 70 mph or more.3
Notable storms
- November 19, 2024On November 19, 2024, unusually strong east winds gusted to 59 mph at Sea-Tac Airport, and NOAA's records note shingles blown off in Seattle.4,5
- December 14, 2010A squall line early on December 14, 2010, brought outflow gusts of 45 to 70 mph and ripped the roof off a lumber storage building in Maple Valley.6
- December 14, 2006A Pacific windstorm on the night of December 14 to 15, 2006, the strongest since the 1993 Inauguration Day storm, cut power to close to 1.5 million customers in western Washington. NOAA's storm records list about $16.8 million in property damage in the Seattle and Bremerton area.7
- January 20, 1993The Inauguration Day windstorm on January 20, 1993, set a record 88 mph gust on the roof of the University of Washington's Atmospheric Sciences building, with 75 mph at Alki Point and 64 mph at Sea-Tac Airport. In Washington, six people died and about 870,000 customers lost power.3
- November 14, 1981On November 14, 1981, a deep Pacific storm gusted to 67 mph at Sea-Tac Airport and 75 mph on the Evergreen Point Bridge. A 70-foot relay tower blew down in downtown Seattle, and 400,000 Puget Power customers lost power.3
- October 12, 1962The Columbus Day Storm on October 12, 1962, gusted to 83 mph at West Point in Seattle and 100 mph in Renton. Across Oregon and Washington, 46 people died, 53,000 homes were damaged and about one million homes lost power.3
Warnings and alerts
AlertSeattle is the City of Seattle's official emergency alert system, and its optional community notifications cover severe weather such as high winds and thunderstorms.8
Sources
- 1. Office of the Washington State Climatologist: Thunderstorms in WA during the Summers of 1990-2019
- 2. NOAA Storm Prediction Center: ATX Severe Weather Climatology
- 3. Clifford Mass, University of Washington: Chapter 4: Windstorms
- 4. NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: High Wind, Seattle and Vicinity, November 19, 2024
- 5. NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: High Wind, Seattle and Vicinity, November 19, 2024 (shingles)
- 6. NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: Thunderstorm Wind, King County, December 14, 2010
- 7. NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: High Wind, Seattle/Bremerton Area, December 14, 2006
- 8. City of Seattle Office of Emergency Management: AlertSeattle - Emergency Alerts
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Questions about hail in Seattle
Source: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center
Data through November 1, 2026
- How often does it hail in Seattle?
- NOAA has no hail reports within 15 miles of the center of Seattle since 2010. Reports come from people who saw the hail, so no report does not mean no hail.