Paterson

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Passaic County, the county that contains Paterson.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Passaic County, the county that contains Paterson.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Passaic County, the county that contains Paterson.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Passaic County.

Mapped by NJ GS (8), NASA (1).

Deadly landslides

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 15, 2012Lightning$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A residential property in Bloomingdale, NJ was struck by lightning during a severe thunderstorm, resulting in a fire. The local police and fire department responded and were able to extinguish the fire by 5 pm LST. No injuries were reported for both the property owners and the response team. Damage was reported on the second floor and the attic, with the house being deemed uninhabitable until repairs were made.

2. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   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 Bergen County, a 53 year old man and a 27 year old man drowned in their cars. In Passaic County, an 82 year old man drowned in his house.Property Damage: State-wide, the initial cost estimates for damage to only the public sector was $67 million dollars. For Passaic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union Counties, the initial cost estimates were $35.5 million dollars. These…

3. Aug 11, 2018Flash Flood$3.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding from the Peckman River impacted the Party City and Best Buy shopping centers as well as the Planet Fitness gym in Woodland Park. Cars were underwater in the Best Buy parking lot. Overall, approximately 210 homes, 70 businesses, and 22 parked cars were impacted by flooding in Woodland Park.

4. Mar 14, 2010Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Major flooding on the Passaic River caused evacuations of hundreds of residents in the towns of Totowa and Little Falls. Dozens refused to leave and eventually needed to be rescued by boat. Severe flooding occurred in numerous homes and businesses close to the river which crested on March 16. Numerous roads and bridges were also closed for several days. More than 800 homes and businesses incurred damage in Totowa. The property damage amount listed is estimated.

5. Apr 15, 2007Flood$2.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A Nor���Easter occurred during Sunday and Monday, April 15th and 16th. It brought heavy rain that caused widespread and significant river, stream, and urban flooding of low lying and poor drainage areas. Significant river flooding lasted through April 23rd.|Flooding resulted in 2 deaths and in millions of dollars in property damage. Police found a 79 year old man next to his car on a flooded street in Belleville. A 43 year old woman was found in her flooded car when it was pulled from the Ramapo River in Mahwah. Cost estimates of property damage ranged up to $19 million dollars, as provided by the New Jersey State Office of Emergency Management.|Storm Total Rainfall amounts…

6. Apr 2, 2005Flood, Eastern Passaic$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A low pressure system developed in the Gulf Of Mexico and rapidly intensified as it moved north to northeast. The low passed over the Appalachian Mountains and moved slowly west of the local area during Saturday and Sunday, April 2nd and 3rd. Widespread heavy rain along with embedded heavy showers and thunderstorms occurred with this system. Storm Total Rainfall amounts ranged from 1.50 to 3.25 inches. During March 28th and 29th, only 3 to 5 days earlier, another low dumped 1.50 to 3.00 inches of rain across the region as it moved north to northeast along the eastern seaboard. These wet antecedent conditions primed the local area for additional widespread flooding with 3 to 6…

7. Apr 2, 2005Flood, Western Passaic$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A low pressure system developed in the Gulf Of Mexico and rapidly intensified as it moved north to northeast. The low passed over the Appalachian Mountains and moved slowly west of the local area during Saturday and Sunday, April 2nd and 3rd. Widespread heavy rain along with embedded heavy showers and thunderstorms occurred with this system. Storm Total Rainfall amounts ranged from 1.50 to 3.25 inches. During March 28th and 29th, only 3 to 5 days earlier, another low dumped 1.50 to 3.00 inches of rain across the region as it moved north to northeast along the eastern seaboard. These wet antecedent conditions primed the local area for additional widespread flooding with 3 to 6…

8. Oct 29, 2012High Wind, Eastern Passaic$900,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wind gust up to 80 mph was reported in Clifton at 930 pm. A 77 year old male was killed when a tree fell into his house. An 83 year old male fell down his stairs when the electricity was out. He died as a result of the fall.

9. Jan 31, 2013High Wind, Eastern Passaic$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tree was knocked down onto a home due to the high winds in Clifton. This occurred at 2:57 am. The home was located on Glen Oaks Road. Scattered power outages were reported throughout the area.

10. Sep 11, 1997Tornado$53,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lines of heavy showers and thunderstorms developed in a moist unstable airmass ahead of a slow moving cold front. As the lines moved slowly north, a thunderstorm produced a weak (F1) short-lived (about 30 seconds) tornado in West Milford township.The tornado formed in the Wonder Lake area just east of Germantown Road (off Route 23 North) and moved north. It was confirmed by National Weather Service Meteorologists.High winds downed about 150 trees, two of which fell through a house and the Wonder Lake Clubhouse. At least 4 trees fell on and damaged cars. High winds also downed numerous power lines.Heavy rain also caused flooding of streets and poor drainage areas. Here are selected…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

104°FJul 22, 2011

All-time low

−7°FJan 22, 1984

Warmest night

85°FJul 15, 1995

Coldest day

6°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

8.18 inSep 16, 1999

Snowiest day

16.0 in2 times, most recently Feb 12, 1983

Hottest year

2012mean 57.2°F

Coldest year

1992mean 51.9°F

Wettest year

201169.65 in

Driest year

200133.66 in

Station Teterboro Airport (USW00094741), 3 ft elevation, 6.8 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1969 to October 27, 2026; 99.3% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Passaic County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00094741.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.