Original analysis of federal weather and river data
Bellingham rain, freeze and flood data
Most water damage in Whatcom County traces back to the October-to-March rain, the arctic snaps that freeze pipes, or the Nooksack leaving its banks. Below is the record for each, pulled from the Bellingham airport weather station, the USGS river gauge at Ferndale and NFIP claims.
Average rain by month (inches)
Average days with measurable rain, by month
Six things the records show
- Many wet days, modest totals. 33.8 inches a year at the airport (1991-2020), spread across roughly 169 days with rain. October through March carries 69% of it. An average December has 20 wet days; an average July, 4.
- More one-inch days lately. Over 2016-2025 the airport averaged 4.6 days a year with at least an inch of rain, up from 2.8 over 1991-2020. Its wettest three-day stretch ended November 15, 2021 with 5.57 inches. The whole of November 2021 totaled 14.57 inches.
- Freezes arrive in bunches. Over 2016-2025: 5.3 nights a year at 20°F or below (4.7 over 1991-2020) and 5.5 days a year that never got above freezing. Those nights stack up in runs, like 8 straight starting December 25, 2021 (low 6°F) and 6 starting January 11, 2024 (low 3°F).
- Both record Nooksack peaks are within living memory. The top two annual peaks at Ferndale since 1945: 57,000 cubic feet per second (November 10, 1990) and 56,300 (November 16, 2021). Since 1990, the yearly peak has reached the NWS minor flood stage (18 feet) in 15 of 35 water years.
- The December 2025 flood is still provisional. USGS hasn't added it to the annual peak file. Its provisional daily data top out at a mean of 34,200 cubic feet per second on December 11, 2025. NFIP data already show 297 claims for the month with $21.6 million paid.
- The valley files most of the claims. Whatcom County has 1,211 NFIP claims, $53.0 million paid in total, or $51,852 per paid claim. The three Nooksack valley towns hold 59% of them, and the two floods of November 2021 and December 2025 make up 83% of every dollar paid.
Highest flow each water year, Nooksack River at Ferndale (cubic feet per second)
Highest peak flows at Ferndale
| Date | Peak flow (cfs) | Stage | NWS category |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 10, 1990 | 57,000 | 23.56 ft | Major |
| November 16, 2021 | 56,300 | 23.89 ft | Major |
| February 10, 1951 | 55,000 | n/a | n/a |
| January 8, 2009 | 51,700 | 22.76 ft | Moderate |
| November 11, 1989 | 47,800 | n/a | n/a |
| November 30, 1995 | 47,200 | 22.05 ft | Moderate |
| December 3, 1975 | 46,700 | n/a | n/a |
| November 25, 2004 | 42,300 | 21.21 ft | Moderate |
| October 26, 1945 | 41,600 | n/a | n/a |
| January 5, 1984 | 41,500 | n/a | n/a |
Annual peaks from USGS station 12213100. Stage is listed only for 1990 and later, the years that line up with current NWS categories at gauge NKSW1 (action 15 ft, minor 18, moderate 20.5, major 23).
Nights per year at 20°F or colder, Bellingham International Airport
Recent cold snaps
| Began | Nights at 20°F or below | Lowest |
|---|---|---|
| February 11, 2025 | 3 | 14°F |
| January 11, 2024 | 6 | 3°F |
| December 18, 2022 | 6 | 11°F |
| December 1, 2022 | 2 | 17°F |
| December 25, 2021 | 8 | 6°F |
| January 13, 2020 | 5 | 15°F |
| February 10, 2019 | 2 | 15°F |
| February 3, 2019 | 5 | 15°F |
Runs of back-to-back nights at or under 20°F at the Bellingham airport, 2008 on.
Average nights at 25°F or colder, by month
Federal flood insurance claims per year, Whatcom County
Wettest three-day stretches
| Ending | Rain |
|---|---|
| November 15, 2021 | 5.57 in |
| November 10, 1990 | 4.90 in |
| January 12, 1976 | 4.53 in |
| February 15, 1982 | 4.27 in |
| December 19, 2017 | 4.03 in |
| January 24, 1984 | 3.83 in |
Any three consecutive days, summed, at the Bellingham airport from 1949 through 2026.
Flood claims and housing by ZIP code
These counts cover NFIP flood policies and nothing else. A burst pipe or a roof leak is a homeowners claim, so the bulk of indoor water damage is invisible in this table.
| ZIP | Area | NFIP claims | Nov 2021 | Dec 2025 | Paid | Median year built | Built before 1980 | Renter occupied | Homes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98295 | Sumas | 348 | 135 | 136 | $23,237,792 | 1985 | 20% | 42% | 1,229 |
| 98247 | Everson | 294 | 105 | 97 | $11,607,925 | 1983 | 24% | 27% | 3,285 |
| 98248 | Ferndale | 166 | 24 | 12 | $4,698,930 | 1994 | 15% | 23% | 10,799 |
| 98226 | North Bellingham | 71 | 6 | 0 | $1,927,934 | 1995 | 14% | 38% | 20,980 |
| 98276 | Nooksack | 70 | 23 | 40 | $5,800,535 | 2003 | 14% | 14% | 631 |
| 98264 | Lynden | 49 | 11 | 6 | $1,396,093 | 1992 | 22% | 32% | 8,622 |
| 98230 | Blaine and Birch Bay | 45 | 5 | 0 | $782,579 | 1993 | 21% | 20% | 9,615 |
| 98244 | Deming and Glacier | 29 | 3 | 0 | $397,762 | 1987 | 20% | 7% | 1,966 |
| 98281 | Point Roberts | 25 | 1 | 0 | $418,098 | 1980 | 37% | 14% | 2,105 |
| 98229 | Lake Whatcom and Sudden Valley | 24 | 6 | 5 | $1,585,198 | 1987 | 16% | 30% | 14,543 |
| 98225 | South and central Bellingham | 18 | 2 | 1 | $291,233 | 1976 | 41% | 60% | 24,205 |
| 98262 | Lummi Island | 7 | 0 | 0 | $126,035 | 1979 | 34% | 11% | 860 |
| 98240 | Custer | 3 | 2 | 0 | $35,224 | 1989 | 9% | 7% | 1,345 |
| 98266 | Maple Falls | 2 | 0 | 0 | $113,377 | 1988 | 12% | 24% | 2,088 |
Claims: OpenFEMA FIMA NFIP redacted claims (v3), every year, by the ZIP on the claim. Housing: Census ACS 2020-2024 five-year tables (B25001, B25003, B25034, B25035) for each ZCTA. Sort by clicking a header.
Federal disaster declarations for storms and floods
| Incident began | Event | Type |
|---|---|---|
| December 9, 2025 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | Emergency |
| December 5, 2025 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | Major disaster |
| November 5, 2021 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | Major disaster |
| January 20, 2020 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | Major disaster |
| December 10, 2018 | Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides, Tornado | Major disaster |
| January 30, 2017 | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides | Major disaster |
| August 29, 2015 | Severe Windstorm | Major disaster |
| August 9, 2015 | Wildfires and Mudslides | Major disaster |
| January 6, 2009 | Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding | Major disaster |
| December 12, 2008 | Severe Winter Storm and Record and Near Record Snow | Major disaster |
| August 29, 2005 | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Emergency |
| October 15, 2003 | Severe Storms and Flooding | Major disaster |
| December 26, 1996 | Severe Winter Storms, Land and Muds Slides,Flooding | Major disaster |
| November 7, 1995 | Severe Storms, High Wind, and Flooding | Major disaster |
| December 20, 1990 | Severe Storms and High Tides | Major disaster |
| November 9, 1990 | Severe Storms and Flooding | Major disaster |
| January 27, 1983 | Severe Storms, High Tides and Flooding | Major disaster |
| December 31, 1979 | Storms, High Tides, Mudslides and Flooding | Major disaster |
| December 10, 1977 | Severe Storms,Mudslides, and Flooding | Major disaster |
| December 13, 1975 | Severe Storms and Flooding | Major disaster |
| February 9, 1971 | Heavy Rains, Melting Snows and Flooding | Major disaster |
Storm and flood declarations covering Whatcom County, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
Method
Weather. Daily rain and temperature for the Bellingham airport station (GHCN USW00024217), pulled from NOAA's Applied Climate Information System for 1949 through October 28, 2026. We count a day as wet at 0.01 inch or more. A year with more than ten missing days is dropped from the averages; 71 complete years remain.
The Nooksack. Yearly peak flow and gage height at USGS station 12213100 in Ferndale from 1945, set against the NWS flood categories for NKSW1. We skip stage comparisons before 1990, when the gauge was set up differently. For water year 2026, provisional daily means stand in until USGS posts the official peak.
Claims, declarations, housing. NFIP redacted claims (v3) and disaster declarations from OpenFEMA, filtered to Whatcom County, and Census ACS 2020-2024 five-year housing tables by ZCTA.
What it can't tell you. A single weather station and a single river gauge can't speak for every lot in the county. Read it as a picture of the region, and get a house looked at in person.
Reuse. Anyone may republish these charts and tables under CC BY 4.0, linking back to this page.