Queens County, New York
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 36081 · population 2,404,353 · 109 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 769 records for Queens County, New York from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 461 days; the most frequent are floods and flash floods (212 records). NOAA records 212 flood or flash floods there since 1996, with 27 deaths; its 14,948 flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA) rank 30th of 2,942 U.S. counties; the deadliest named storm on its flood record is Hurricane Sandy (2012). The deadliest day on its record was October 29, 2012: high wind and coastal flood records filed for Queens County that day count 18 deaths across 5 records. FEMA has issued 25 declarations naming the county since 1965, 21 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
- 769on 461 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 10886 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $110Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 5strongest EF1
- FEMA declarations
- 25latest 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 Queens County most?
The most frequent records are floods and flash floods: 212 since 1996. The rank column places the county among New York's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floods | 212 | 130 | 1996-2025 | 27 | 21 | $79M | 1 of 58 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 154 | 97 | 1958-2026 | 2 | 24 | $701K | 1 of 58 |
| Winter storms | 130 | 82 | 1996-2026 | 2 | 15 | – | 2 of 58 |
| High wind and dust storms | 127 | 94 | 1996-2026 | 11 | 8 | $5.7M | 1 of 58 |
| Hail | 28 | 20 | 1963-2021 | 0 | 0 | $8K | 2 of 58 |
| Heat | 28 | 20 | 1999-2019 | 33 | 0 | – | 2 of 58 |
| Heavy rain | 22 | 22 | 1996-2015 | 0 | 1 | – | 1 of 58 |
| Rip currents and high surf | 19 | 19 | 1998-2024 | 24 | 2 | – | 1 of 58 |
| Hurricanes and tropical storms | 13 | 7 | 2003-2020 | 1 | 0 | $5K | 1 of 58 |
| Lightning | 9 | 6 | 2004-2020 | 0 | 8 | $55K | 3 of 58 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 9 | 6 | 2009-2015 | 0 | 0 | $1.2M | 1 of 58 |
| Drought | 8 | 8 | 2002-2002 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 of 58 |
| Extreme cold | 5 | 5 | 2000-2007 | 6 | 0 | – | 19 of 58 |
| Tornadoes | 5 | 5 | 1985-2018 | 2 | 7 | $23M | 1 of 58 |
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 Queens County had?
NOAA records 5 tornadoes in Queens County from 1985 to 2018, the strongest rated EF1, with 2 deaths and 7 injuries recorded in the county. That is 1st of 58 New York counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. 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 5 tornadoes whose track touched Queens County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 5, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person, 2 of them in Queens County.
| Date | Tornado | Rating | Path | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-09-16 15:42, as SPC files it | New York | EF1 | 4 mi | 1 |
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in New York.
Every tornado record filed for Queens County (5)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-08-02 | College Pt, Queens County | EF0 0.75 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $12K |
| 2012-09-08 | Rockaway Beach, Queens County | EF0 0.98 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $26K |
| 2011-08-28 | Hollis, Queens County | EF0 1 mi x 220 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2010-09-16 | Flushing, Queens County | EF1 4 mi x 100 yd | 2 | 1 | $23M |
| 1985-10-05 | Queens County | F1 1.5 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 6 | – |
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 Queens County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 22, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($12,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindFresh Pond, Queens County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $12K |
| 2026-06-12 | Thunderstorm WindWoodhaven, Queens County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-11 | Thunderstorm WindForest Hills, Queens County | 60 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-11 | Thunderstorm WindRichmond Hill, Queens County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $5K |
| 2026-06-06 | Thunderstorm WindWoodhaven, Queens County | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $10K |
| 2026-06-06 | Thunderstorm WindWoodhaven, Queens County | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-06 | Thunderstorm WindKennedy Inl Arp, Queens County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-06 | Thunderstorm WindFlushing, Queens County | 53 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-06 | Thunderstorm WindCollege Pt, Queens County | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 2026-06-06 | Thunderstorm WindAuburndale, Queens County | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $4K |
| 2026-06-06 | Thunderstorm WindForest Hills, Queens County | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-16 | Thunderstorm WindKennedy Inl Arp, Queens County | 63 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-08-01 | HeatQueens County · forecast zone Queens An oppressive air mass moved slowly east across the region from August 1 to August 3. This was preceded by a hot dry air mass, when temperatures reached at least 90 degrees for 5 consecutive days at LaGuardia Airport, from July 27 to July 31.Excessive heat occurred mainly from noon to midnight each day for 3 ... | 14 | 0 | – | |
| 2012-10-29 | Coastal FloodQueens County · forecast zone Southern Queens Coastal communities along Southern Queens experienced two successive tidal cycles with at least moderate coastal flooding. The peak of this surge occurred Monday Night as Sandy made landfall in Southern New Jersey, with widespread record coastal flooding occurring along Jamaica Bay exceeding the FEMA 100 year base ... | 7 | 0 | – | |
| 2011-07-21 | Excessive HeatKings County and Queens County · forecast zone Kings (Brooklyn) Excessive heat between 95 and 105 degrees, along with heat indices in excess of 105 degrees occurred for a couple of days. | 7 | 0 | – | |
| 2012-10-29 | Coastal FloodKings County and Queens County · forecast zone Kings (Brooklyn) Coastal communities along Southern Brooklyn experienced two successive tidal cycles with at least moderate coastal flooding. The peak of this surge occurred Monday Night as Sandy made landfall in Southern New Jersey, with widespread record coastal flooding occurring along New York Harbor and Jamaica Bay exceeding the ... | 5 | 0 | – | |
| 1997-03-06 | High WindQueens County · forecast zone Queens As a large and intense low pressure system moved from Kentucky east-northeast just north of New York City and across Eastern Massachusetts, it caused high winds. Winds gusted over 60 MPH at many locations. They knocked down trees and power lines on houses and streets.In Laurelton of Queens, a 75 foot tall maple tree ... | 4 | 6 | – | |
| 2010-07-04 | Excessive HeatQueens County · forecast zone Queens Hot temperatures in excess of 90 degrees began July 4th and continued through July 7th. The temperature eclipsed 100 degrees at several locations during this time. | 4 | 0 | – | |
| 2007-02-04 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillQueens County · forecast zone Queens An arctic air mass caused subfreezing temperatures across the local area for 5 consecutive days; from February 4th through February 8th. During this time, the daily mean temperature averaged nearly 15 degrees below normal. Based on a report by the NYC Medical Examiner's Office, hypothermia, was a direct cause of at ... | 4 | 0 | – | |
| 2021-09-01 | Flash FloodWoodside, Queens County A 50 year old man, 48 year old woman, and 2 year old boy died when a basement apartment on 64th Street near Laurel Hill Boulevard in Elmhurst, Queens flooded. | 3 | 0 | – |
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-09-16 | TornadoFlushing, Queens County | EF1 4 mi x 100 yd | 2 | 1 | $23M |
| 1996-10-19 | Flash FloodCountywide, Queens County | 0 | 0 | $6.8M | |
| 1996-10-19 | Coastal FloodQueens County · forecast zone Queens | 0 | 0 | $5.6M | |
| 2014-12-24 | Dense FogQueens County · forecast zone Northern Queens | 0 | 0 | $1.2M | |
| 1999-01-03 | Flash FloodCountywide, Queens County | 0 | 0 | $886K | |
| 2018-03-02 | High WindQueens County · forecast zone Southern Queens | 58 kt wind | 0 | 1 | $588K |
| 2010-05-08 | Strong WindQueens County · forecast zone Queens | 46 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $271K |
| 2010-06-24 | Thunderstorm WindLittle Neck, Queens County | 70 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $135K |
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 Queens 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 | – | – | – | – | 24 | 67 | 71 | 50 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 1 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 33 | 48 | 35 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 5 | 26 | 65 | 34 |
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 8 | 15 | 71 z | 33 |
| Hail | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 3 |
| Heat | – | – | – | – | 1 | 4 | 23 | 0 |
High wind and dust storms in the 2010s: 71 records against 15 in the decade before, 71 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Queens County days with a record above.
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 Queens County. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 84 · Feb 74 · Mar 58 · Apr 33 · May 25 · Jun 83 · Jul 107 · Aug 113 · Sep 74 · Oct 39 · Nov 29 · Dec 50 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Queens County
FEMA's register lists 25 declarations that include Queens County: 15 major disasters, 10 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (9) and severe storm (3).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-05 | DR-4615 | Hurricane | Remnants of Hurricane Ida |
| 2021-09-02 | EM-3572 | Hurricane | Remnants of Hurricane Ida |
| 2021-08-22 | EM-3565 | Hurricane | Hurricane Henri |
| 2020-10-02 | DR-4567 | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Isaias |
| 2020-03-20 | DR-4480 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3434 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2012-10-30 | DR-4085 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| 2012-10-28 | EM-3351 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| 2011-08-31 | DR-4020 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene |
| 2011-08-26 | EM-3328 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene |
| 2011-02-18 | DR-1957 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm |
| 2010-10-14 | DR-1943 | Tornado | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds |
| 2007-08-31 | DR-1724 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornado |
| 2005-09-30 | EM-3262 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2004-08-03 | DR-1534 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2003-08-23 | EM-3186 | Other | Power Outage |
| 2003-03-27 | EM-3184 | Snowstorm | Snow |
| 2001-09-11 | DR-1391 | Fire | Fires and Explosions |
| 2000-10-11 | EM-3155 | Other | West Nile Virus |
| 1996-01-12 | DR-1083 | Snowstorm | Blizzard of 96 (Severe Snow Storm) |
| 1993-03-17 | EM-3107 | Snowstorm | Severe Blizzard |
| 1984-04-17 | DR-702 | Flood | Coastal Storms & Flooding |
| 1975-10-02 | DR-487 | Flood | Storms, Rains, Landslides & Flooding |
| 1971-09-13 | DR-311 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1965-08-18 | DR-204 | 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 Queens County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 212 flood or flash flood records for Queens County from 1996 to 2025, on 130 days, with 27 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Queens County ranks 30th of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims
| Storm | Began | Records | Deaths in the county |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Sandy | 2012-10-29 | 2 | 12 |
| Hurricane Ida | 2021-09-01 | 7 | 11 |
| Tropical Storm Isaias | 2020-08-04 | 1 | 1 |
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $708 million on 14,948 claims filed in Queens County; the most in one year was 7,717 in 2012. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1978: 177 · 1979: 358 · 1980: 331 · 1981: 160 · 1982: 66 · 1983: 173 · 1984: 360 · 1985: 78 · 1986: 14 · 1987: 87 · 1988: 9 · 1989: 50 · 1990: 16 · 1991: 136 · 1992: 1,058 · 1993: 189 · 1994: 22 · 1995: 21 · 1996: 147 · 1997: 18 · 1998: 28 · 1999: 66 · 2000: 22 · 2001: 20 · 2002: 23 · 2003: 25 · 2004: 64 · 2005: 267 · 2006: 28 · 2007: 125 · 2008: 38 · 2009: 33 · 2010: 138 · 2011: 1,342 · 2012: 7,717 · 2013: 28 · 2014: 172 · 2015: 13 · 2016: 24 · 2017: 16 · 2018: 73 · 2019: 16 · 2020: 14 · 2021: 308 · 2022: 454 · 2023: 273 · 2024: 72 · 2025: 28 · 2026: 51.
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 Queens County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Queens County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $377 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Weather | Very High | $1.6M | 9.5 a year (modeled) |
| Cold Wave | Very High | $46M | once in about 2 years (modeled) |
| Strong Wind | Very High | $9.8M | 5.4 a year (modeled) |
| Heat Wave | Very High | $58M | 11 modeled event-days a year |
| Riverine Flooding | Very High | $185M | 3.3 a year (modeled) |
| Coastal Flooding | Very High | $9.5M | 4.4 a year (modeled) |
| Earthquake | Relatively High | $35M | once in about 506 years (modeled) |
| Hurricane | Relatively High | $25M | once in about 6 years (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Queens 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 YorkEvery New York tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
- Floods in New YorkThe state's floods and flash floods, by county, year and month
- The New York recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
- FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Queens CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Queens County's FEMA declarations (CSV)25 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis