Cortland

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 Cortland County, the county that contains Cortland.

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 Cortland County, the county that contains Cortland.

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 Cortland County, the county that contains Cortland.

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.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Cortland County.

Mapped by NASA (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. Apr 1, 2005Flood, Cortland$12.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Tioughnioga River at Cortland rose above flood stage of 8 feet late on March 31st. The rise was due to rain that fell on March 28th and increasing snowmelt leading up to the 31st. The water equivalent of the snow amounted to several inches. A slow moving storm from the Ohio Valley brought 2 to 3 inches of rain on April 2nd and 3rd. By the time the river fell below flood stage on the 6th, most of the snow had melted. This additional rain and snowmelt caused the river to rise to a crest of 14.07 feet at 2:00 PM EST on April 3th. This was a record flood crest at Cortland. The previous flood of record was 13.82 feet in 1950. Hundreds of buildings were flooded. Hardest hit were…

2. Jan 19, 1996Flash Flood$5.7 million
3. Apr 2, 2005Flood, Cortland$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A slow moving storm from the Ohio Valley brought 2 to 3 inches of rain on April 2nd and 3rd. Before this storm, river levels were elevated due to a previous storm March 28th and snowmelt. By the time the river fell below flood stage most of the snow had melted. The Otselic River at Cincinnatus rose to its 9 foot flood stage late on the 2nd, crested at 10.43 feet at 1:31 AM EST on April 3rd, then fell back below flood stage on the 3rd. This was the 5th highest flood crest at Cincinnatus. Most of Cincinnatus was flooded. The school received $1 million in damages when the basement had 6 to 7 feet of water.

4. Apr 3, 2005Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A slow moving storm from the Ohio Valley brought 1 to 4 inches of rain on April 2nd and 3rd. Before this storm, the rivers and streams had high flows due to a previous rainstorm March 28th and snowmelt. All towns were affected in the county by flash flooding. Otter Creek caused significant flooding. Numerous other streams and creeks also came out of their banks. Roads, bridges and buildings were damaged.

5. Jan 3, 2003Heavy Snow, Cortland$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A slow moving nor'easter moved from the southeast United States early on the 3rd to the Delmarva peninsula that evening. The storm then moved to the southeast New England coast the morning of the 4th. Snow spread well ahead of the storm into central New York the evening of the 2nd. The snow was heavy at times on the 3rd during the day into the evening. Snowfall amounts were 8 to 14 inches in the central southern tier, Finger Lakes region, and northern Oneida County and 10 to 20 inches elsewhere. The highest amounts of up to 25 inches were in Broome, Tioga, southern Cortland and southern Chenango Counties. Water equivalents were mostly half an inch in the western areas to an inch…

6. Jul 14, 2017Flash Flood$450,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe flash flooding led to multiple reports of road closures and swift water rescues in and near the Village of Virgil. Route 392 was impassable. Four people were trapped in a residence on County Road.

7. Sep 30, 2010Flash Flood$370,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Many roads in the county were closed due to flooding. A large section of Route 11 was closed between Polkville and Marathon. Trout Brook over-topped a bridge where it crossed Route 11, and many roads in the Village of McGraw, including Route 41, were closed.

8. Jan 1, 2003Ice Storm, Cortland$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A low pressure system in Mississippi, New Year's Eve, moved northeast to the Tennessee/North Carolina border the morning of the 1st. The storm then picked up speed to be in northeast Pennsylvania the evening of New Year's Day. The next morning it was off the coast of Maine. A cold front with rain passed southeast of the area New Year's Eve. This allowed a north to northeast wind to set up at the surface which brought in cold air during most of the 1st. Precipitation well ahead of the storm started around 10 AM on the 1st. Precipitation started as mostly rain but as colder air moved in the rain began to freeze. The freezing rain was heavy at times in the evening before ending in…

9. Jun 2, 1998Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm that had produced wind damage and hail just a short time prior in the town of Taylor became tornadic over Cincinnatus. Post-storm damage surveys indicate that the tornado touchdown was brief with snapped off trees and some house damage incurred. One home had its roof almost completely torn off with the front porch also heavily damaged from falling trees. The swath of damage was only just over 100 yards long with evidence of tornadic winds becoming discontinuous downstream.

10. Aug 8, 2013Flash Flood$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Severe flooding was reported in Cortlandville within the Walmart parking lot. People were trapped on top of their vehicles and rescued by emergency personnel.

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

103°FJul 9, 1936

All-time low

−25°F3 times, most recently Feb 2, 1961

Warmest night

79°FAug 7, 1918

Coldest day

−4°FFeb 18, 1979

Wettest day

5.08 inOct 28, 1981

Snowiest day

26.0 inFeb 14, 1914

Hottest year

1931mean 51.0°F

Coldest year

1904mean 43.9°F

Wettest year

201151.22 in

Driest year

196525.53 in

Snowiest season

116.6 in1993-94

Station Ithaca Cornell University (USC00304174), 960 ft elevation, 17.3 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 28, 2026; 98.9% 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 Cortland 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 USC00304174.
• 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.