New York extreme cold
Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 61 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 2,837 extreme cold records in New York from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 99 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the February 4, 2007 extreme cold/wind chill in Queens County: 11 deaths across 4 records. New York ranks 2nd of 51 states and territories by count and 5th of 50 per square mile.
Extreme cold in New York, 1996 to 2026
Cold records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- 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
- Records
- 2,8371996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 99average
- Deaths
- 240 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $29Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2026240 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are extreme cold records common in New York?
New York averages about 99 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 2nd of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2026 (240). Per 10,000 square miles of land, New York records 602 extreme cold records since 1996, 5th of 50 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in New York have the most extreme cold records?
Per square mile, Schenectady County leads New York: 68 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 332.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Warren County has the most cold records (148 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the cold season in New York?
53% of its extreme cold records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (1,144 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 1,144 · Feb 359 · Mar 49 · Apr 280 · May 468 · Jun 24 · Jul 42 · Aug 0 · Sep 31 · Oct 290 · Nov 11 · Dec 139 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest extreme cold records in New York?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | – | |
| 2005-01-27 | Cold/Wind ChillSuffolk County · forecast zone Southwest Suffolk One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. Temperatures fell to 8 to 13 degrees above zero from Farmingdale east to Shirley, NY between 6 am and 8 am. Combined with north winds averaging 15 mph, wind chill temperatures fell to approximately 10 degrees below zero. Three deaths were reported by Newsday. All bodies were found in the snow close to their homes. | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2000-01-17 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillQueens County · forecast zone Queens One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. An arctic cold front swept across the region during Sunday afternoon, January 16th. Strong and gusty northwest winds combined with well below normal temperatures and produced extremely low wind chill values mainly from midnight to 10 am on January 17th and from 1 am to noon on January 18th.On January 17th, wind speeds ... | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2013-11-13 | Cold/Wind ChillKings County · forecast zone Kings (Brooklyn) Typical cold late fall weather resulted in a hypothermia related death of a male in Brooklyn due to exposure. Cold air along with gusty winds were the contributing factors. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2007-03-06 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillBronx County · forecast zone Bronx An arctic air mass produced average daily temperatures up to 19 degrees below normal from March 6th through the 9th. Based on a report from the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, a 45 year old man died in the Bronx on March 8, 2007. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1997-01-19 | Cold/Wind ChillNassau County · forecast zone Nassau A man was found dead in a 100 foot long tunnel under Arterial Highway in Glen Cove of Nassau County. It was determined that he died from exposure to cold temperatures. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2022-01-26 | Cold/Wind ChillOtsego County · forecast zone Otsego A college student walked onto the grounds of a bus garage at around 2:15am but was not found until 7am. He had suffered from long-term exposure to sub-zero temperatures and was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Temperatures early in the morning ranged from -8 to -12°F. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2019-01-30 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillErie County · forecast zone Northern Erie Behind the front that caused widespread blowing and drifting snow across the area with localized blizzard conditions in Buffalo and Watertown, temperatures dipped below zero in the entirety of the area. This combined with wind gusts of 35 to 50 mph dropped wind chills substantially below zero. One homeless man died of ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2018-01-05 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillWarren County · forecast zone Southeast Warren A deep upper level trough swept across the southern US and turned northeastward offshore of the east coast from the morning of January 3 through the morning of January 4, 2018. The interaction between the cold upper trough and the relatively warmer Atlantic waters resulted in tremendous intensification of a surface ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2004-01-26 | Cold/Wind ChillSt. Lawrence County · forecast zone Southerwestern St. Lawrence A woman froze to death outside her home. She was 101 years old, and officials report her as not dressed for the cold. Early morning minimum temperatures on the 26th were between 12 and 24 degrees below zero in St Lawrence county. Autopsy reports indicate she died from hypothermia. | 1 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest extreme cold records in New York
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-05-01 | Frost/FreezeUlster County · forecast zone Eastern Ulster One storm episode: 6 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $27M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are extreme cold records becoming more frequent in New York?
New York's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | New York | United States | New York's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 130 | 5,539 | 2.3% |
| 2000s | 859 | 14,792 | 5.8% |
| 2010s | 1,168 | 18,162 | 6.4% |
| 2020-26 | 680 | 15,329 | 4.4% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent extreme cold records in New York
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-12 | Frost/FreezeLewis County · forecast zone Lewis | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-12 | Frost/FreezeJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-12 | Frost/FreezeOswego County · forecast zone Oswego | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-12 | Frost/FreezeErie County · forecast zone Southern Erie | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-12 | Frost/FreezeAllegany County · forecast zone Allegany | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-12 | Frost/FreezeCattaraugus County · forecast zone Cattaraugus | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-12 | Frost/FreezeChautauqua County · forecast zone Chautauqua | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-12 | Frost/FreezeLivingston County · forecast zone Livingston | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-12 | Frost/FreezeWyoming County · forecast zone Wyoming | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-12 | Frost/FreezeGenesee County · forecast zone Genesee | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-12 | Frost/FreezeErie County · forecast zone Northern Erie | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-03 | Frost/FreezeErie County · forecast zone Southern Erie | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Next
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