New Jersey natural disasters

The state's storm and disaster record · population 9,282,999 · 21 counties and county equivalents

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 26,859 storm events in New Jersey since 1950, 25,661 of them since 1996 when every event type began to be recorded, and the Storm Prediction Center counts 193 tornadoes in the state since 1950. The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events (6,055). In NOAA's storm record since 1950, the deadliest storm in New Jersey is Hurricane Ida (September 1, 2021): 29 deaths, 7 injuries and $254 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 17 records filed by several offices. FEMA has made 59 declarations for New Jersey since 1955, 55 for natural hazards; 43 were major disasters.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm events recorded in New Jersey 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 $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 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 events recorded: 26,8591950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 3432,847 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $29.1Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes (SPC): 1931950 to 2025
FEMA declarations: 5943 major disasters

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); tornado count: NOAA Storm Prediction Center, 1950-2025; damage in 2025 dollars (BLS CPI-U). Search the record at NCEI.

What natural disasters happen in New Jersey?

By NOAA's records, New Jersey's most frequent hazards are severe thunderstorm wind events (6,055), winter storm records (5,132), floods and flash floods (3,787); the deadliest are rip current and surf records (67 deaths). Each hazard is counted over the years NOAA has recorded it everywhere: tornadoes since 1950, hail and thunderstorm wind since 1955, everything else since 1996. Open a hazard for its years, months, counties and worst events.

New Jersey: records by hazard to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Last 10 years	Killed	Injured	Damage	Counties
Severe thunderstorm wind	6,055	2,710	24	283	$158M	21 of 21
Winter storms	5,132	1,304	48	911	$127M	21 of 21
Floods	3,787	1,385	61	205	$24.2B	21 of 21
High wind and dust storms	3,591	357	57	89	$4.0B	21 of 21
Heat	1,706	198	41	927	–	21 of 21
Heavy rain	1,160	119	4	12	$6.3M	21 of 21
Hail	1,154	328	0	0	$23M	21 of 21
Drought	886	0	0	0	$71M	21 of 21
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds	838	390	1	4	$1.2M	21 of 21
Extreme cold	663	21	12	8	$311K	21 of 21
Lightning	632	64	24	200	$34M	21 of 21
Rip currents and high surf	476	41	67	96	$63M	14 of 21
Hurricanes and tropical storms	395	36	3	10	$25M	21 of 21
Tornadoes	207	53	1	80	$296M	21 of 21
Wildfires	177	5	0	22	$2.6M	17 of 21

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: every record counted once in the state; "last 10 years" is 2017-2026 (2026 to June 30, 2026).

What were the deadliest disasters in New Jersey?

The storms with the most deaths since 1950, from the National Weather Service's own entries. NOAA files one storm as several records when it crosses forecast zones and counties or changes type, and groups them under one episode; each row here is an episode, with its totals and the narrative of its deadliest record. Before 1996 tornado records carry no episode and stand alone. The narrative says what happened: some deaths the National Weather Service files under a weather type had another cause beside the weather.

New Jersey: the 10 storm episodes with the most deaths
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2021-09-01	Hurricane Ida · Flash FloodRiegel Ridge, Hunterdon County One named storm filed by several offices: 17 records in 2 episodes; the totals are the storm's. Post Tropical Cyclone Ida brought heavy rain to New Jersey on September 1. Rainfall totals were as high as 5 to 10 inches. The heavy rain caused significant flash flooding, mainly in the northern half of the state. It resulted in widespread property damage. There were several fatalities.		29	7	$254M
2012-10-29	Hurricane Sandy · High WindMiddlesex County · forecast zone Middlesex One named storm filed by several offices: 42 records in 2 episodes, 2012-10-29 to 2012-10-30; the totals are the storm's. Post Tropical Storm Sandy was the costliest natural disaster by far in the state of New Jersey. Record breaking high tides and wave action combined with sustained winds as high as 60 to 70 mph with wind gusts as high as around 90 mph to batter the state. Statewide, Sandy caused an estimated 29.4 billion dollars in ...	61 kt wind	29	3	$32.1B
1999-07-04	HeatMiddlesex County · forecast zone Middlesex One storm episode: 7 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. A very strong and oppressive high pressure system that extended from the surface to aloft gave New Jersey a brutal heat wave that included the entire Independence Day weekend. There were seventeen heat related deaths and around 100 reported heat related injuries. High temperatures reached the 90s for the first time on ...		17	160	–
2012-10-29	High WindEssex County · forecast zone Eastern Essex One storm episode: 8 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. Post Tropical Storm Sandy was the costliest natural disaster in Northeast New Jersey. Tropical Storm Sandy formed in the Caribbean Sea on October 22. After drifting slowly southwest on October 23, Sandy turned to the north and intensified to a hurricane on October 24, just before making landfall in Jamaica. Hurricane ...	68 kt wind	15	0	$6.9M
2016-01-23	Winter StormPassaic County · forecast zone Eastern Passaic One storm episode: 5 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. Low pressure moving across the deep South on Thursday January 21st and Friday January 22nd intensifed and moved off the Mid Atlantic coast on Saturday January 23rd, bringing heavy snow and strong winds to northeast New Jersey, and blizzard conditions to the urban corridor and some nearby areas. Governor Chris Christie ...		11	0	–
2011-08-27	Hurricane Irene · Storm Surge/TideOcean County · forecast zone Eastern Ocean One named storm filed by several offices: 41 records in 2 episodes, 2011-08-27 to 2011-08-28; the totals are the storm's. Irene produced torrential downpour rains that resulted in major flooding and a number of record breaking crests on area rivers, tropical storm force wind gusts with record breaking outages for New Jersey utilities, one confirmed tornado and a three to five foot storm surge that caused moderate to severe tidal flooding ...		10	0	$1.0B
1999-07-04	HeatEssex County · forecast zone Essex One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. 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 ...		10	0	–
1999-09-16	Hurricane Floyd · Flash FloodCountywide, Bergen County One named storm filed by several offices: 27 records in 2 episodes; the totals are the storm's. Torrential record rainfall, which caused serious widespread urban, small stream, and river flooding, preceded the remnants of Hurricane Floyd, which passed over Western Suffolk County of Long Island from 7 pm to 9 pm on September 16th.Deaths: Flooding caused 3 deaths: 2 in Bergen County and 1 in Passaic County. In ...		6	188	$967M
2007-03-16	Winter WeatherGloucester County · forecast zone Gloucester One storm episode: 9 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. A nor'easter caused sleet to fall across the greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Area and the Raritan Basin and heavy snow and sleet to fall across northwestern New Jersey. The nor'easter caused thousands of accidents and six known fatalities. New Jersey State Police responded to over 2,000 calls for assistance. There ...		6	66	–
2017-06-15	Rip CurrentMonmouth County · forecast zone Eastern Monmouth One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places, 2017-06-15 to 2017-06-18; the totals are the episode's. Meteorological conditions were favorable for moderate to high rip current conditions from the 15th through the 18th. Unfortunately, four people died due to rip currents and one other person was injured.		4	1	–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed in this state, summed over the records of each episode (EPISODE_ID); a forecast-zone record counts the zone's deaths once. A tornado's whole-track deaths (SPC), on the state's tornado page, can be higher when the track crossed a state line. Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest records in New Jersey

New Jersey: the 8 records with the most damage since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2012-10-29	Coastal FloodOcean County · forecast zone Eastern Ocean		0	0	$9.6B
2012-10-28	Coastal FloodMonmouth County · forecast zone Eastern Monmouth		1	0	$6.4B
2012-10-29	Coastal FloodOcean County · forecast zone Western Ocean		2	0	$3.2B
2012-10-29	High WindMonmouth County · forecast zone Eastern Monmouth	76 kt wind	0	0	$1.9B
2012-10-29	High WindOcean County · forecast zone Western Ocean	76 kt wind	3	0	$643M
2012-10-29	Coastal FloodMiddlesex County · forecast zone Middlesex		0	0	$643M
1999-09-16	Flash FloodCountywide, Somerset County		2	100	$634M
2012-10-29	High WindAtlantic County · forecast zone Eastern Atlantic	79 kt wind	1	0	$386M

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 $25M, in the dollars of the day) holds: July 13, 1975 (tornado, Cumberland County).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. BLS consumer price index.

Which counties in New Jersey have the most records?

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950 attributed to each county (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

Every county in New Jersey

Billion-dollar disasters in New Jersey

NOAA counted 75 weather or climate disasters from 1980-2024 that cost at least $1 billion (adjusted for inflation) and affected New Jersey, led by severe storm (32). The most recent: Hurricane Debby (2024); Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreak and Severe Weather (2024); Central and Northeast Severe Weather (2024).

New Jersey: billion-dollar disasters by type, 1980-2024
Type	Events	Total cost (NOAA's range)
Severe Storm	32	$2.0B-$5.0B
Winter Storm	18	$5.0B-$10.0B
Tropical Cyclone	13	$50.0B-$100.0B
Drought	7	$500M-$1.0B
Flooding	4	$1.0B-$2.0B
Freeze	1	$5M-$100M

Every one of the 75, newest first

Hurricane Debby2024
Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreak and Severe Weather2024
Central and Northeast Severe Weather2024
Central, Southern, Eastern Severe Weather2024
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central, Southern, Northeastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2024
Southern Tornado Outbreak and East Coast Storm2024
Southern/Eastern/Northwestern Drought and Heat Wave2024
East Coast Storm and Flooding2023
Northeastern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Rockies Hail Storms and Central and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Northeastern Winter Storm/Cold Wave2023
Central and Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2022
North Central Hail Storms2022
Southeast Tornado Outbreak2022
Hurricane Ida2021
Tropical Storm Elsa2021
Eastern Severe Weather2021
Southeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2021
Hurricane Isaias2020
Central, Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2020
Southeast and Eastern Tornado Outbreak2020
South, East and Northeast Severe Weather2020
Rockies, Central and Northeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2019
Southeast, Ohio Valley and Northeast Severe Weather2019
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2018
Southern and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2018
Northeast Winter Storm2018
Central and Eastern Winter Storm2018
Rockies and Northeast Severe Weather2016
Southeast and Eastern Tornadoes2016
South Carolina and East Coast Flooding2015
Central and Northeast Severe Weather2015
Central and Eastern Winter storm, Cold Wave2015
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Tornadoes and Flooding2014
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm2014
Hurricane Sandy2012
Plains/East/Northeast Derecho2012
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave2012
Northeastern Winter Storm2011
Tropical Storm Lee2011
Hurricane Irene2011
Northeast Flooding2010
Northeast Winter Storm2010
Midwest/Mid-Atlantic Severe Weather2008
U.S. Drought2008
Western/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave2007
East/South Severe Weather and Flooding2007
Northeast Flooding2006
Hurricane Jeanne2004
Hurricane Ivan2004
Hurricane Isabel2003
U.S. Drought2002
Tropical Storm Allison2001
Hurricane Floyd1999
Eastern Drought/Heat Wave1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Central and Eastern Severe Storms and Flooding1998
Northern Plains and Great Lakes Derecho, Tornadoes1998
Mississippi and Ohio Valley Severe Weather and Flooding1997
Blizzard/Floods1996
Central, Southern and Northeast Drought/Heat Wave1995
Southeast Ice Storm1994
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1994
East Coast Blizzard and Severe Weather1993
Northeast Winter Storm1992
Hurricane Gloria1985
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1985
Tornadoes, Severe Storms, Floods1984
Freeze/Cold Wave1983
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm, Cold Wave1982

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, state summary for New Jersey, 1980-2024 (NCEI's last update; the product is archived). A disaster that affected several states counts in each. NCEI billion-dollar disasters.

Federal disaster declarations in New Jersey

FEMA has made 59 declarations for New Jersey since 1955: 43 major disasters, 13 emergencies and 3 fire management assistance declarations. The most common incident types are severe storm (19), hurricane (12), flood (8).

1950s 1
1960s 3
1970s 6
1980s 3
1990s 9
2000s 14
2010s 15
2020s 8

The 15 most recent declarations in New Jersey
Declared	Number	Type	Title	Areas named
2025-04-24	FM-5581	Fire	Jones Road Fire	1
2023-08-11	DR-4725	Severe Storm	Severe Storm and Flooding	1
2021-09-05	DR-4614	Hurricane	Remnants of Hurricane Ida	21
2021-09-02	EM-3573	Hurricane	Remnants of Hurricane Ida	21
2021-04-28	DR-4597	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm	5
2020-12-11	DR-4574	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Isaias	11
2020-03-25	DR-4488	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	23
2020-03-13	EM-3451	Biological	Covid-19	21
2018-06-08	DR-4368	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm	6
2016-03-14	DR-4264	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm	17
2015-07-22	DR-4231	Severe Storm	Severe Storm	4
2012-10-30	DR-4086	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	21
2012-10-28	EM-3354	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	21
2012-07-19	DR-4070	Severe Storm	Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds	3
2011-11-30	DR-4048	Severe Storm	Severe Storm	11

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Flood insurance claims in New Jersey

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $6.5 billion on 201,761 claims in 21 New Jersey counties. Claims count insured losses only.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk across New Jersey's counties

How FEMA's National Risk Index rates New Jersey's counties overall: a model of expected future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of events.

Relatively High 9
Relatively Moderate 8
Relatively Low 4

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.