New York natural disasters

The state's storm and disaster record · population 20,190,196 · 62 counties and county equivalents

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 56,795 storm events in New York since 1950, 51,758 of them since 1996 when every event type began to be recorded, and the Storm Prediction Center counts 536 tornadoes in the state since 1950. The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events (19,988). In NOAA's storm record since 1950, the deadliest storm in New York is the December 23, 2022 blizzard: 44 deaths and $15.6 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 6 records. FEMA has made 118 declarations for New York since 1954, 109 for natural hazards; 85 were major disasters.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm events recorded in New York 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: 56,7951950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 6471,813 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $9.0Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes (SPC): 5361950 to 2025
FEMA declarations: 11885 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 York?

By NOAA's records, New York's most frequent hazards are severe thunderstorm wind events (19,988), winter storm records (13,456), floods and flash floods (6,836); the deadliest are winter storm records (133 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 York: records by hazard to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Last 10 years	Killed	Injured	Damage	Counties
Severe thunderstorm wind	19,988	7,739	46	398	$924M	62 of 62
Winter storms	13,456	4,541	133	487	$741M	62 of 62
Floods	6,836	2,434	117	50	$5.3B	62 of 62
Hail	5,067	761	0	90	$161M	62 of 62
High wind and dust storms	4,845	2,287	65	153	$322M	62 of 62
Extreme cold	2,837	989	24	0	$29M	61 of 62
Heat	1,402	869	121	1	$2.8M	48 of 62
Lightning	582	109	19	272	$19M	57 of 62
Tornadoes	563	119	32	318	$1.3B	62 of 62
Heavy rain	438	145	2	9	$2.0M	59 of 62
Drought	377	42	0	0	$89M	56 of 62
Hurricanes and tropical storms	122	28	12	2	$22M	26 of 62
Rip currents and high surf	120	28	73	11	$76M	9 of 62
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds	116	28	2	14	$1.2M	43 of 62
Wildfires	34	4	0	3	$321K	17 of 62
Landslides and avalanches	12	7	1	5	$872K	7 of 62

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 York?

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 York: the 10 storm episodes with the most deaths
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2022-12-23	BlizzardErie County · forecast zone Northern Erie One storm episode: 6 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. A historic lake effect blizzard occurred northeast of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario during the Christmas holiday weekend. The combination of high winds in excess of 70 mph and heavy lake effect snow resulted in devastating impacts across western New York and also east of Lake Ontario from December 23 through December 27. ...		44	0	$16M
2006-08-01	HeatKings County · forecast zone Kings (Brooklyn) One storm episode: 6 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. 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 ...		42	0	–
2012-10-29	Hurricane Sandy · Coastal FloodRichmond County · forecast zone Richmond (Staten Is.) One storm episode: 6 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. Post Tropical Storm Sandy was the costliest natural disaster in Southeast New York. 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 ...		39	0	–
1999-07-04	HeatKings County · forecast zone Kings (Brooklyn) One storm episode: 5 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. However, at Central Park, the Heat Index peaked ...		33	0	–
2012-10-29	High WindNassau County · forecast zone Southern Nassau One storm episode: 15 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. Post Tropical Storm Sandy was the costliest natural disaster in Southeast New York. 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 ...	70 kt wind	29	4	$17M
2011-07-21	Excessive HeatKings County and Queens County · forecast zone Kings (Brooklyn) One storm episode: 5 records in 4 places, 2011-07-21 to 2011-07-22; the totals are the episode's. An oppressive hot and humid air mass produced excessive heat that resulted in day time temperatures 95 to 105 degrees with night time lows in the 70s and 80s. Heat indices peaked around 115 degrees during Friday afternoon, July 22. Prolonged excessive heat led to the death of at least 20 people in Southeast, NY; 19 in ...		20	0	–
2021-09-01	Hurricane Ida · Flash FloodWoodside, Queens County One storm episode: 23 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. Extremely heavy rainfall associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ida overspread southeast New York during the evening of September 1 and continued through the early morning hours of September 2. Rainfall totals ranged from 5-8 inches across much of the region, with much of that rain falling in just a few hours. The ...		18	0	$513M
2011-08-28	Hurricane Irene · Flash FloodClarksville, Albany County One named storm filed by several offices: 28 records in 6 episodes; the totals are the storm's. Tropical Storm Irene tracked north northeast across eastern New York and western New England during Sunday, August 28th, producing widespread flooding, and damaging winds across the region. Irene tracked from a position over New York City around 8 AM EST Sunday, to approximately 10 miles west of Danbury, CT at 10 AM ...		13	1	$88M
2007-02-04	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillQueens County · forecast zone Queens One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 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 ...		11	0	–
1989-11-16	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, South Blooming Grove to Washingtonville, killed 9 (SPC) · TornadoOrange County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (8, in 7 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F1 9.1 mi x 100 yd	9	19	$25M 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: 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 York

New York: the 8 records with the most damage since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Killed	Injured	Damage
2011-09-07	FloodOwego, Tioga County	0	0	$405M
2006-06-27	Flash FloodCountywide, Delaware County	2	0	$366M
2006-06-27	Flash FloodCountywide, Broome County	0	0	$293M
2011-09-07	FloodPark Terrace, Broome County	0	0	$223M
2011-09-07	FloodWest Endicott, Broome County	0	0	$210M
2006-10-12	Lake-Effect SnowErie County · forecast zone Northern Erie	1	0	$190M
1998-09-07	Thunderstorm WindBaldwinsville, Onondaga County	3	7	$163M
2006-06-27	Flash FloodCountywide, Tioga County	0	0	$146M

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: November 16, 1989 (tornado, Orange County, 9 killed); July 10, 1989 (tornado, Schoharie County); June 24, 1960 (tornado, Schenectady County); July 10, 1989 (tornado, Putnam County); May 2, 1983 (tornado, Oneida 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 York 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 York

Billion-dollar disasters in New York

NOAA counted 95 weather or climate disasters from 1980-2024 that cost at least $1 billion (adjusted for inflation) and affected New York, led by severe storm (48). The most recent: Hurricane Debby (2024); Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreak and Severe Weather (2024); Hurricane Beryl (2024).

New York: billion-dollar disasters by type, 1980-2024
Type	Events	Total cost (NOAA's range)
Severe Storm	48	$2.0B-$5.0B
Winter Storm	21	$5.0B-$10.0B
Tropical Cyclone	16	$50.0B-$100.0B
Flooding	5	$2.0B-$5.0B
Drought	4	$500M-$1.0B
Freeze	1	$5M-$100M

Every one of the 95, newest first

Hurricane Debby2024
Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreak and Severe Weather2024
Hurricane Beryl2024
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
East Coast Storm and Flooding2023
Northeastern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Northeastern Flooding and North Central Severe Weather2023
Rockies Hail Storms and Central and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Northeastern Winter Storm/Cold Wave2023
Central and Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2022
North Central and Eastern Severe Weather2022
Central Derecho2022
Southeast Tornado Outbreak2022
Southeast, Central Tornado Outbreak2021
Hurricane Ida2021
Tropical Storm Fred2021
Tropical Storm Elsa2021
Southeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2021
Northwest, Central, Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2021
Hurricane Isaias2020
Southeast and Eastern Tornado Outbreak2020
South, East and Northeast Severe Weather2020
Southeast Tornadoes and Northern Storms and Flooding2020
Southeast, Ohio Valley and Northeast Severe Weather2019
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2018
Central and Northeast Severe Weather2018
Southern and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2018
Northeast Winter Storm2018
Central and Eastern Winter Storm2018
Midwest Severe Weather2017
North Central Severe Weather and Tornadoes2017
Midwest Tornado Outbreak2017
Rockies and Northeast Severe Weather2016
Southeast and Eastern Tornadoes2016
West/Northeast/Southeast Drought2016
Central and Northeast Severe Weather2015
Central and Eastern Winter storm, Cold Wave2015
Michigan and Northeast Flooding2014
Rockies/Midwest/Eastern Severe Weather2014
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Tornadoes and Flooding2014
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm2014
Midwest/Plains/Northeast Tornadoes2013
Midwest/Plains/East Tornadoes2013
Hurricane Sandy2012
Southern Plains/Midwest/Northeast Severe Weather2012
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave2012
Northeastern Winter Storm2011
Tropical Storm Lee2011
Hurricane Irene2011
Groundhog Day Blizzard2011
Midwest/Northeast Severe Storms and Flooding2010
Northeast Flooding2010
Midwest/Mid-Atlantic Severe Weather2008
Western, Central and Northeast Severe Weather2008
Western/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave2007
East/South Severe Weather and Flooding2007
Northeast Flooding2006
Hurricane Jeanne2004
Hurricane Ivan2004
Hurricane Frances2004
Severe Storms, Hail, Tornadoes2004
Hurricane Isabel2003
Southern Derecho and Eastern Severe Weather2003
Severe Storms/Hail2003
Severe Storms and Tornadoes2002
U.S. Drought2002
Hurricane Floyd1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Central and Eastern Severe Storms and Flooding1998
Northern Plains and Great Lakes Derecho, Tornadoes1998
Northeast Ice Storm1998
Mississippi and Ohio Valley Severe Weather and Flooding1997
Blizzard/Floods1996
Southeast Ice Storm1994
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1994
East Coast Blizzard and Severe Weather1993
Northeast Winter Storm1992
Hurricane Bob1991
Severe Storms, Tornadoes1991
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1989
Hurricane Gloria1985
Ohio and Pennsylvania Tornado Outbreak1985
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 York, 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 York

FEMA has made 118 declarations for New York since 1954: 85 major disasters, 30 emergencies and 3 fire management assistance declarations. The most common incident types are severe storm (31), flood (27), snowstorm (21).

1950s 3
1960s 5
1970s 15
1980s 8
1990s 19
2000s 30
2010s 18
2020s 20

The 15 most recent declarations in New York
Declared	Number	Type	Title	Areas named
2024-11-15	FM-5547	Fire	Jennings Creek Fire	1
2024-10-21	DR-4839	Severe Storm	Severe Storm and Flooding	3
2024-09-24	DR-4825	Tropical Storm	Remnants of Tropical Storm Debby	11
2024-09-20	DR-4818	Tropical Storm	Severe Storm and Flooding	1
2024-08-29	DR-4814	Flood	Severe Storm, Tornadoes, and Flooding	5
2024-08-25	EM-3613	Severe Storm	Severe Storm and Flooding	1
2024-01-30	DR-4755	Flood	Severe Storm and Flooding	3
2023-07-22	DR-4723	Severe Storm	Severe Storms and Flooding	9
2023-03-15	DR-4694	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm	5
2022-12-26	EM-3590	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	2
2022-11-20	EM-3589	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm	11
2021-10-08	DR-4625	Hurricane	Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred	9
2021-09-05	DR-4615	Hurricane	Remnants of Hurricane Ida	14
2021-09-02	EM-3572	Hurricane	Remnants of Hurricane Ida	14
2021-08-22	EM-3565	Hurricane	Hurricane Henri	26

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

Flood insurance claims in New York

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $5.7 billion on 174,558 claims in 62 New York 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 York's counties

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

Relatively High 8
Relatively Moderate 15
Relatively Low 31
Very Low 8

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