Hudson County, New Jersey
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 34017 · population 723,485 · 46 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 438 records for Hudson County, New Jersey from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 335 days; the most frequent are floods and flash floods (157 records). NOAA records 157 flood or flash floods there since 1996, with 3 deaths; its 5,198 flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA) rank 94th of 2,942 U.S. counties; the deadliest named storm on its flood record is Hurricane Irene (2011). The deadliest single record is the January 22, 2016 winter storm, filed for the forecast zone Hudson, which covers the county: 3 deaths. FEMA has issued 24 declarations naming the county since 1965, 20 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Remnants of Hurricane Ida” on September 5, 2021.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 438on 335 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 1311 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $10Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 1strongest F1
- FEMA declarations
- 24latest 2021
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Hudson County most?
The most frequent records are floods and flash floods: 157 since 1996. Census land area gives no figure for Hudson County under this code, so it carries no per-area rank.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floods | 157 | 104 | 1996-2025 | 3 | 7 | $6.1M | – |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 80 | 61 | 1956-2026 | 1 | 3 | $242K | – |
| Winter storms | 79 | 79 | 1996-2026 | 3 | 0 | – | – |
| High wind and dust storms | 53 | 52 | 1996-2025 | 3 | 0 | $2.4M | – |
| Hail | 19 | 14 | 1985-2012 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
| Heavy rain | 16 | 16 | 1996-2006 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
| Drought | 11 | 11 | 2001-2002 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
| Heat | 6 | 6 | 1999-2013 | 3 | 0 | – | – |
| Lightning | 5 | 5 | 1999-2009 | 0 | 0 | $42K | – |
| Extreme cold | 4 | 4 | 2000-2004 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
| Hurricanes and tropical storms | 4 | 4 | 2003-2020 | 0 | 1 | – | – |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 2 | 2 | 2002-2009 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
| Tornadoes | 1 | 1 | 1976-1976 | 0 | 0 | $1.3M | – |
| Wildfires | 1 | 1 | 2001-2001 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.
How many tornadoes has Hudson County had?
NOAA records 1 tornado in Hudson County from 1976 to 1976, the strongest rated F1, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.
Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 1 tornado whose track touched Hudson County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 1, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in New Jersey.
Every tornado record filed for Hudson County (1)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976-07-07 | Hudson County | F1 3 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.
When was the last damaging storm in Hudson County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 6, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($2,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-06 | Thunderstorm WindJersey City, Hudson County | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 2026-03-16 | Thunderstorm WindCommunipaw, Hudson County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-02-23 | BlizzardHudson County · forecast zone Hudson | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-25 | Winter StormHudson County · forecast zone Hudson | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-12-26 | Winter WeatherHudson County · forecast zone Hudson | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-12-19 | High WindHudson County · forecast zone Hudson | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-12-13 | Winter WeatherHudson County · forecast zone Hudson | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-10-30 | High WindHudson County · forecast zone Hudson | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-08-13 | Flash FloodHarrison, Hudson County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-08-13 | Thunderstorm WindSecaucus, Hudson County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 2025-08-13 | Thunderstorm WindGreenville, Hudson County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2025-07-25 | Thunderstorm WindKearny, Hudson County | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $500 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.
The deadliest and costliest records
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-01-22 | Winter StormHudson County · forecast zone Hudson Trained spotters and an NWS cooperative observer in Harrison reported snowfall of 25 to 27 inches. | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 1999-07-04 | HeatEssex County and Hudson County · forecast zone Hudson An extremely hot and humid airmass covered the region from July 4th through July 6th.On Sunday July 4th, temperatures soared into the mid and upper 90s. The combination of high temperatures and moderate humidity caused most heat indices to range from 100 to 105 degrees.On Monday July 5th, many new maximum temperature ... | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2012-10-29 | High WindHudson County · forecast zone Hudson A wind gust up to 77 mph was reported near Bayonne around 805 pm. A wind gust up to 68 mph was reported in Harrison. An 86 year old female fell in her home. She was without power due to the high winds, and she died due to the fall. | 67 kt wind | 2 | 0 | $1.2M |
| 2011-08-28 | FloodEast Newark, Hudson County A 47-year-old man drowned when he tried to walk to safety after his car was disabled in flooding on Harrison Ave. in Kearny and plunged into a drainage canal obscured by the flood. A 60 year old male in North Bergen, Hudson County, NJ died from a fall while cleaning out the gutters of his house. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2008-06-10 | Thunderstorm WindEast Newark, Hudson County Numerous trees and wires were reported down in Kearny, including one which fell on a person, injuring them. | 61 kt wind | 1 | 1 | $4K |
| 2021-09-01 | Flash FloodKearny, Hudson County A car carrying two Seton Hall University students was overcome by flood waters on Main Avenue near Benson Avenue in Passaic. The body of one of the students, an 18 year old woman, was later found in Kearny after being swept down the Passaic River. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1999-03-04 | Strong WindEssex County and Hudson County · forecast zone Hudson A 43 year old construction worker was blown off a scaffold in Jersey City when west winds gusted from 40 to 50 mph. Strong and gusty west winds developed behind a strong cold front. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2021-09-01 | Flash FloodEast Newark, Hudson County Seven people were injured when the roof of the U.S. Postal Service's bulk mail facility on Harrison Avenue in Kearny collapsed due to heavy rain. 300 people were inside at the time. There were also multiple roads in the area with significant flooding. | 0 | 7 | – |
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-04-15 | FloodEast Newark, Hudson County | 0 | 0 | $3.8M | |
| 2005-04-02 | FloodEssex County and Hudson County · forecast zone Hudson | 0 | 0 | $1.5M | |
| 1999-09-16 | Flash FloodCountywide, Hudson County | 0 | 0 | $709K | |
| 1998-11-11 | High WindEssex County and Hudson County · forecast zone Hudson | 0 | 0 | $453K | |
| 2008-06-10 | Thunderstorm WindHarrison, Hudson County | 90 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $69K |
| 2008-06-10 | Thunderstorm WindEast Newark, Hudson County | 85 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $48K |
| 2008-06-10 | Thunderstorm WindEast Newark, Hudson County | 61 kt wind | 1 | 1 | $4K |
| 2025-08-13 | Thunderstorm WindSecaucus, Hudson County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2K |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250K, in the dollars of the day) holds: July 7, 1976 (tornado, Hudson County).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.
Is it getting more frequent?
Records per decade for Hudson County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 27 | 38 | 52 | 40 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 31 | 15 | 12 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 5 | 23 | 34 | 17 |
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 10 | 13 | 15 | 15 |
| Hail | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| Heavy rain | – | – | – | – | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
Records by month in Hudson County. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 41 · Feb 42 · Mar 31 · Apr 22 · May 31 · Jun 33 · Jul 75 · Aug 48 · Sep 38 · Oct 30 · Nov 19 · Dec 28 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Hudson County
FEMA's register lists 24 declarations that include Hudson County: 12 major disasters, 12 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (8) and snowstorm (4).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-05 | DR-4614 | Hurricane | Remnants of Hurricane Ida |
| 2021-09-02 | EM-3573 | Hurricane | Remnants of Hurricane Ida |
| 2020-03-25 | DR-4488 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3451 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2016-03-14 | DR-4264 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm |
| 2012-10-30 | DR-4086 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| 2012-10-28 | EM-3354 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| 2011-08-31 | DR-4021 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene |
| 2011-08-27 | EM-3332 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene |
| 2011-02-04 | DR-1954 | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm |
| 2007-04-26 | DR-1694 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding |
| 2005-09-19 | EM-3257 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2003-09-23 | EM-3188 | Other | Power Outage |
| 2003-03-20 | EM-3181 | Snowstorm | Snow |
| 2001-09-19 | EM-3169 | Fire | Fires and Explosions |
| 2000-11-01 | EM-3156 | Other | West Nile Virus |
| 1999-09-17 | EM-3148 | Hurricane | Hurricane Floyd Emergency Declarations |
| 1996-11-19 | DR-1145 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 1996-01-13 | DR-1088 | Snowstorm | Blizzard of 96 (Severe Snow Storm) |
| 1993-03-17 | EM-3106 | Snowstorm | Severe Blizzard |
| 1992-12-18 | DR-973 | Flood | Coastal Storm, High Tides, Heavy Rain, & Flooding |
| 1980-10-19 | EM-3083 | Drought | Water Shortage |
| 1971-09-04 | DR-310 | Flood | Heavy Rains & Flooding |
| 1965-08-18 | DR-205 | Drought | Water Shortage |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.
How many floods has Hudson County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 157 flood or flash flood records for Hudson County from 1996 to 2025, on 104 days, with 3 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Hudson County ranks 94th of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims
| Storm | Began | Records | Deaths in the county |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Irene | 2011-08-28 | 1 | 2 |
| Hurricane Ida | 2021-09-01 | 2 | 1 |
| Tropical Storm Isaias | 2020-08-04 | 1 | 0 |
| Hurricane Floyd | 1999-09-16 | 1 | 0 |
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $177 million on 5,198 claims filed in Hudson County; the most in one year was 2,334 in 2012. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1978: 22 · 1979: 61 · 1980: 49 · 1981: 53 · 1982: 19 · 1983: 69 · 1984: 45 · 1985: 28 · 1986: 17 · 1987: 16 · 1988: 6 · 1989: 24 · 1990: 10 · 1991: 8 · 1992: 105 · 1993: 15 · 1994: 4 · 1995: 32 · 1996: 78 · 1997: 6 · 1998: 12 · 1999: 72 · 2001: 7 · 2002: 5 · 2003: 43 · 2004: 63 · 2005: 33 · 2006: 23 · 2007: 225 · 2008: 10 · 2009: 14 · 2010: 130 · 2011: 654 · 2012: 2,334 · 2013: 23 · 2014: 20 · 2015: 15 · 2016: 28 · 2017: 21 · 2018: 44 · 2019: 3 · 2020: 35 · 2021: 645 · 2022: 9 · 2023: 21 · 2024: 9 · 2025: 15 · 2026: 18; the other years: 0.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.
FEMA's modeled risk for Hudson County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hudson County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $189 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flooding | Very High | $8.3M | 3.8 a year (modeled) |
| Heat Wave | Relatively High | $17M | 9.3 modeled event-days a year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | $128M | 3 a year (modeled) |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | $3.2M | 5.4 a year (modeled) |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | $485K | 9.2 a year (modeled) |
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | $7.1M | once in about 2 years (modeled) |
| Tornado | Relatively High | $5.3M | once in about 51 years (modeled) |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | $11M | once in about 489 years (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Hudson County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.
Next
- Tornadoes in New JerseyEvery New Jersey tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
- Floods in New JerseyThe state's floods and flash floods, by county, year and month
- The New Jersey recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
- FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Hudson CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Hudson County's FEMA declarations (CSV)24 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis