Albany

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.

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 Albany County, the county that contains Albany.

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 Albany County, the county that contains Albany.

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 Albany County, the county that contains Albany.

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 Albany County.

Mapped by NASA (2), USGS Conterminous (1).

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 23, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$7.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A barn roof was torn off due to thunderstorm winds.

2. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$2.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Hurricane Floyd moved up the eastern seaboard on September 16 and during the early hours on September 17. The storm brought both high winds and exceptionally heavy rainfall to eastern New York, which included a large swath of 3 to 6 inch amounts. A frontal zone helped concentrate the heaviest rain just to the west of the Hudson Valley in the eastern Catskills and Helderbergs . Locally higher amounts of rainfall, exceeding a foot, fell in these areas. Specific rainfall amounts included 6.12 inches at Albany International Airport, the highest ever officially recorded from any given storm! Even higher amounts of rainfall included 8.15 inches in Delmar and 9 inches at…

3. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Western Albany$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense area of low pressure which was located over the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday morning January 19th produced unseasonably warm temperatures, high dewpoints and strong winds. This resulted in rapid melting of one to three feet of snow. In addition to the rapid snowmelt one to three inches of rain fell as the system moved northeast along the coast. This resulted in widespread flooding across Albany County including the flooding of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. Federal Disaster Assistance was made available by presidential declaration. Small streams flooded across the entire county which resulted in many roads being washed out. Most road washouts occurred in the rural areas…

4. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Eastern Albany$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense area of low pressure which was located over the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday morning January 19th produced unseasonably warm temperatures, high dewpoints and strong winds. This resulted in rapid melting of one to three feet of snow. In addition to the rapid snowmelt one to three inches of rain fell as the system moved northeast along the coast. This resulted in widespread flooding across Albany County including the flooding of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. Federal Disaster Assistance was made available by presidential declaration. Small streams flooded across the entire county which resulted in many roads being washed out. Most road washouts occurred in the rural areas…

5. Aug 14, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$975,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An upper level disturbance triggered scattered thunderstorms across eastern New York during the afternoon of August 14. The airmass was exceptionally hot and humid, allowing some of the storms to pulse to severe levels. Severe thunderstorms especially pounded Albany County, despositing quarter size hail in the city of Albany during the afternoon hours. Winds from the storm blew a 40 by 40 foot tent, used by city vendors, into one of the pools at the Empire State Plaza, resulting in nine injured people. Three of them had to be hospitalized. Winds from the storms brought down trees and powerlines in the town of Colonie. A microburst, with winds estimated as high as 80 mph, hit the…

6. May 16, 2000Debris Flow$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Excessive rains caused a rapid erosion of the Normanskill escarpment, next to county Highway Route 443 in Delmar, just south of the city of Albany. On May 16 a landslide developed, and spread over the next couple of days. Route 443, a busy artery connecting the city of Albany to neighboring Delmar, had to be closed indefinitely. A produce store was destroyed as it slid down the escarpment by 830 PM on Thursday, May 18. The road closure resulted in significant traffic delays. The erosion continued at a slower rate throughout the remainder of the month. The landslide resulted in significant monteary losses at the Delaware Plaza and other nearby businesses.

7. Jan 25, 2019Flood$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A surge of ice and water from the prior day's heavy rain and snowmelt moved down the Hudson River and tore a total of ten vessels lose from their moorings above the Federal Dam in Troy during the predawn hours of the 25th. The vessels included tugboats, barges, a cruise ship, and a floating restaurant. Some of the vessels struck bridges, some ran aground, and at least one sunk. The loose vessels prompted the closing of several bridges between Troy and Albany over the Hudson during the morning rush hour, including the Patroon Island Bridge that carries Interstate 90. Amtrak trains crossing the river were forced to reduce their speed as a precaution. The vessels were secured by 11…

8. Sep 16, 1999High Wind, Eastern Albany$275,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Hurricane Floyd moved up the eastern seaboard on September 16 and during the early hours on September 17. The storm brought both high winds and exceptionally heavy rainfall to eastern New York, which included a large swath of 3 to 6 inch amounts. A frontal zone helped concentrate the heaviest rain just to the west of the Hudson Valley in the eastern Catskills and Helderbergs . Locally higher amounts of rainfall, exceeding a foot, fell in these areas. Specific rainfall amounts included 6.12 inches at Albany International Airport, the highest ever officially recorded from any given storm! Even higher amounts of rainfall included 8.15 inches in Delmar and 9 inches at…

9. Aug 7, 2008Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall led to significant urban flooding in downtown Albany late Thursday afternoon. One to four inches of rainfall occurred within two hours across a small portion of downtown. This overwhelmed the storm drainage system within the city, flooding several streets. Hackett Boulevard and Northern Boulevard had water deep enough to submerge vehicles, with several cars swept away outside of the Hackett Dale apartments. In addition, water burst through a manhole on South Pearl Street near Arch Street, shooting water at least two stories high. Flooding also closed Holland Avenue, and water at least 8 inches deep was pouring over the curb on Broadway, near the State Department of…

10. Mar 31, 1997Winter Storm, Western Albany$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    On March 31 and April 1, a classic late season nor'easter tracked from the Chesapeake Bay area northeast to central coastal New Jersey then slowly out to sea. This system produced rain across much of eastern New York during the morning hours of March 31. The rain changed to heavy wet snow by early afternoon. Heavy snow fell over eastern New York from the Mohawk Valley southward. Snowfall amounts were highly elevation dependent. Snowfall exceeded 2 feet in many mountain locations. Some specific snowfall totals included: 15 inches at the Albany Airport, 26 inches at Berne in Albany County, 9 inches at Rotterdam in Schenectady County, 11 inches at Poestenkill in Rensselaer County, 10…

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

100°F3 times, most recently Sep 3, 1953

All-time low

−28°FJan 19, 1971

Warmest night

77°F2 times, most recently Jul 2, 2018

Coldest day

−8°F2 times, most recently Feb 15, 1943

Wettest day

5.60 inSep 16, 1999

Snowiest day

22.0 inMar 13, 1993

Hottest year

2024mean 52.7°F

Coldest year

1940mean 45.1°F

Wettest year

201153.68 in

Driest year

196421.55 in

Snowiest season

112.5 in1970-71

Station Albany International Airport (USW00014735), 280 ft elevation, 5.6 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1938 to October 27, 2026; 100.0% 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 Albany 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 USW00014735.
• 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.