Plattsburgh

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 Clinton County, the county that contains Plattsburgh.

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 Clinton County, the county that contains Plattsburgh.

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 Clinton County, the county that contains Plattsburgh.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Nov 9, 1996Flash Flood$23.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong cold front moved slowly across New York State Friday and Friday night (11/8/96) and across Vermont Saturday (11/9/96). Periods of heavy rain resulted Friday afternoon into Saturday morning due to a series of weak low pressure systems moving north along the front combining with topographical effects.Many streams and rivers reached bankful late Friday night with extensive flooding developing in the predawn hours of Saturday. Several rivers exceeded record levels. Flood waters continued into Sunday although rivers began to recede late Saturday and Saturday night.Many roads and bridges were damaged or washed out across Clinton and Essex counties of New York. In Franklin…

2. Aug 28, 2011Flash Flood$8.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical Storm Irene deposited 3 to 6 inches of rainfall to Clinton county during the late morning and afternoon hours. The greatest rainfall amounts and impact were across central Clinton county along the eastern slopes of the Adirondacks. Significant flash flooding occurred within the Saranac, AuSable and Great Chazy valleys with numerous roads (local and State including Route 3, 11, 190, 374), as well as a few bridges, homes and businesses washed out. Some of the greater impacted communites included AuSable Forks, Altona, Cadyville and Morrisonville. Lots of agriculture flooding at harvest time. Two fatalities in Altona along the Great Chazy river on Devil' Den road as a…

3. Jun 27, 1998Flash Flood$7.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An area of low pressure tracked across New York and New England during the late night of Friday (June 26) and morning of Saturday (June 27). Extensive flooding occurred, especially in the eastern half of the county.Many rivers flooded, especially the Saranac, Ausable, Little Ausable, Great Chazy and Salmon Rivers. A State of Emergency was declared, as numerous roads and bridges were washed out in Peru, Harkness, Keeseville, Dannemora, Altona and Saranac areas. Portions of I-87 were closed due to flooding and a sinkhole. A dam burst in the Peru area around 3 AM June 27 adding to the extreme flood conditions. The Little Ausable River resulted in massive flooding of an apartment…

4. May 1, 2011Lakeshore Flood, Eastern Clinton$4.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Record lake flood levels as well as several high wind, damaging waves and seiche events caused considerable and major flooding of lake shore roads, residents and businesses. The flooding began April 13th and ended June 18th.

5. Jan 6, 1998Ice Storm, Northeast Clinton$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm system moved from the Tennessee Valley on Wednesday (January 7) and Thursday (January 8) into New England thereafter. A cold front across New England and New York associated with an Arctic High Pressure system across Canada resulted in a flow of low level cold air into northern New York. Warm moist air riding over this low level cold air resulted in a major ice storm across northern New York. During Friday afternoon (January 9), a few thunderstorms with gusty winds and small hail moved across the Champlain Valley of northern New York. Ice accumulations during this event were generally between 1 and 3 inches with the greatest amounts along the New York and Canadian border…

6. Jul 1, 1998Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm system tracked across New England with steady rainfall. The previous month was very wet so soil conditions remained saturated. Rivers and streams rose rapidly with many exceeding flood stage. By 6:50 AM EST roads were flooded in Plattsburgh, NY. The Salmon River was flooding by 8:28 AM EST with extensive flooding in Schuyler Falls, NY. Numerous roads were washed out by mid morning in Peru, NY with the Little AuSable River flooding. The Great Chazy River was flooding in places by late morning with many road washouts in Altona, NY. The Saranac River was bankful or out of its banks in places through the morning.

7. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Eastern Clinton$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong storm system moved into the Great Lakes Thursday (1/18/96) then into Canada Friday (1/19/96). The associated circulation pattern with this storm system resulted in above normal temperatures, strong winds and flooding due to snow melt, rainfall and icejams.A number of roads were washed out and closed. Essex and Clinton counties were the hardest hit. Numerous reports of power outages.Flooding was reported in Champlain (Clinton County) near Perry's Mills and all along the Great Chazy River. In Essex County flooding was widespread with roads washed out between Jay and Ausable. Flooding was also reported in St Lawrence County...especially in the town of Fine.Clinton and Essex…

8. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Western Clinton$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong storm system moved into the Great Lakes Thursday (1/18/96) then into Canada Friday (1/19/96). The associated circulation pattern with this storm system resulted in above normal temperatures, strong winds and flooding due to snow melt, rainfall and icejams.A number of roads were washed out and closed. Essex and Clinton counties were the hardest hit. Numerous reports of power outages.Flooding was reported in Champlain (Clinton County) near Perry's Mills and all along the Great Chazy River. In Essex County flooding was widespread with roads washed out between Jay and Ausable. Flooding was also reported in St Lawrence County...especially in the town of Fine.Clinton and Essex…

9. Jun 11, 2013Flood$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding of the Saranac River and its tributaries caused the closure of over a dozen roads in Saranac, Riverview, and Redford due to inundation and washouts.

10. Jul 12, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Trees and wires down in Peru and along Lakeshore Drive in South Plattsburgh. In addition, several airport hangar roofs suffered wind damage and an old DC-3 aircraft was pushed through a chain link fence with damage to fence and aircraft.

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

101°FAug 11, 1944

All-time low

−30°F2 times, most recently Feb 12, 1979

Warmest night

80°F2 times, most recently Jun 19, 2024

Coldest day

−13°FJan 4, 1981

Wettest day

3.99 inJun 14, 1942

Snowiest day

25.3 inFeb 14, 2007

Hottest year

2024mean 51.0°F

Coldest year

1968mean 41.8°F

Wettest year

201150.92 in

Driest year

200123.27 in

Snowiest season

145.4 in1970-71

Station Burlington International Airport (USW00014742), 332 ft elevation, 21.7 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1940 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 Clinton 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 USW00014742.
• 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.
• 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.