AbstractWe present a new approximation of the expected damage for Gaussian loads. The approximation is based on an exact relationship between the rainflow cycle count and the range‐pair exceedances count. This relationship links the intensity of rainflow amplitudes to expectations of marked crossings of the random load. The method is best suited for the fatigue life prediction for locally stationary Gaussian loads with slowly varying means and covariance functions. These results are illustrated with numerical example