Rochester

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 Monroe County, the county that contains Rochester.

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 Monroe County, the county that contains Rochester.

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 Monroe County, the county that contains Rochester.

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. Sep 6, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms moved onshore over northeast Niagara county shortly before midnight near Olcott and Golden Hill State Park in Barker. The line of storms quickly moved across Orleans, Monroe, Wayne, Ontario, and northern Cayuga counties. Across the area the damage path was nearly one hundred miles long and five to ten miles wide. Winds were estimated between 80 and 100 mph throughout the two hour event. Along the entire path, damage and debris all laid in an easterly direction consistent with the damage from straight-line winds. Most of the damage consisted of downed trees and limbs. The falling trees and limbs in turn downed power and telephone lines and resulted in damage to…

2. Apr 4, 2003Ice Storm, Monroe$12.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Low pressure over Illinois brought a mix of wintry weather to parts of the Genesee Valley, the Finger Lakes and the North Country. Across the North Country the precipitation mainly fell as snow mixed with sleet at times. Nine to twelve inches accumulated over the higher elevations. Across the Genesee Valley and the Finger Lakes, the precipitation fell mainly as freezing rain. Up to an inch of ice accumulation was measured. Hardest hit areas were eastern Monroe, Wayne and northern Cayuga counties. A Federal Disaster Declaration included Livingston, Monroe, northern Cayuga, Ontario, Orleans, Oswego, and Wayne counties. The heavy ice accumulation downed trees, limbs and power and…

3. May 20, 2019Lakeshore Flood, Monroe$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Excessive runoff into the Ottawa River Basin in Canada restricted the outlet of Lake Ontario. This combined with above normal precipitation into the Lake Ontario Basin, record levels on the Great Lakes above Lake Ontario, and higher than normal flows into the lake from the Niagara River pushed the lake to well above normal levels. Over the course of May, the levels quickly approached those reached in 2017.

4. May 17, 2019Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Excessive runoff into the Ottawa River Basin in Canada restricted the outlet of Lake Ontario. This combined with above normal precipitation into the Lake Ontario Basin, record levels on the Great Lakes above Lake Ontario, and higher than normal flows into the lake from the Niagara River pushed the lake to well above normal levels. Over the course of May, the levels quickly approached those reached in 2017, surpassing 5 feet above low water datum on May 17. The levels continued to increase through the end of the month, rising to near 5.5 feet above low water datum by May 31.

5. Mar 8, 2017High Wind, Monroe$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Unusually deep low pressure moved from northwest Ontario across Hudson Bay. The low brought strong winds to the entire region with sustained winds up to 49 mph and wind gusts as high as 81 mph. A significant amount of damage resulted with hundreds of thousands left without power���over 100,000 in Monroe County alone. Particularly hard hit was the northern Genesee Valley region including parts of Orleans, Monroe, and Genesee counties. Trees and power lines were downed. Power poles were snapped. The strong winds derailed a train in Batavia (Genesee County). Twelve out of thirty-one freight cars were blown off the tracks. In Chili, a large section of fence was impaled into the…

6. Mar 4, 1999Blizzard, Monroe$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Deep low pressure moved from West Virginia north across New York to Quebec, Canada. Heavy rain changed to heavy snow as cold air circulated into the region. Snow fell at the rate of two to three inches per hour. Across Monroe and Wayne counties snowfall amounts were greatest with over two feet falling. Snow fall amounts dropped off both east and west of that area. The strong winds off Lake Ontario resulted in blizzard conditions over Monroe and Wayne counties for nearly six hours. Drifts reached four to five feet in places. The New York State Thruway (I-90) was closed from Depew to Syracuse. Several hundred cars were stranded in the closed section. The Governor declared Monroe,…

7. Sep 9, 2004Flood, Monroe$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Western and central New York were inundated by drenching rains as the remnants of hurricane Frances drifted north across the region on Thursday September 9th. Areawide rainfall totaled 3 to 5 inches with the bulk of it falling in a 6 to 9 hour period from very late Wednesday to midday Thursday. Several creeks in the Buffalo and Rochester areas recorded their greatest flows and highest gage levels ever in a non-winter/spring season. Cazenovia Creek at Ebenezer was above the 10 foot flood stage from 6AM to 8PM Thursday the 9th, cresting at 14.85 feet. Buffalo Creek at Gardenville was above the 7 foot flood stage from 9AM to 8PM Thursday the 9th, cresting at 8.71 feet. Cayuga Creek…

8. Sep 6, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms moved onshore over northeast Niagara county shortly before midnight near Olcott and Golden Hill State Park in Barker. The line of storms quickly moved across Orleans, Monroe, Wayne, Ontario, and northern Cayuga counties. Across the area the damage path was nearly one hundred miles long and five to ten miles wide. Winds were estimated between 80 and 100 mph throughout the two hour event. Along the entire path, damage and debris all laid in an easterly direction consistent with the damage from straight-line winds. Most of the damage consisted of downed trees and limbs. The falling trees and limbs in turn downed power and telephone lines and resulted in damage to…

9. Jan 9, 2008High Wind, Monroe$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Low pressure over upper Michigan continued to deepen as it tracked across the northern Great Lakes to Quebec. Winds increased to 25 to 40 mph with gusts measured to 75 mph. Trees and power lines were downed by the strong winds. Utility companies reported tens of thousands of customers without power in locations scattered throughout region. Crews from Ohio, Connecticut and sections of eastern New York traveled to the area to help with power restoration which, in some cases, took several days. Several homes and automobiles were damaged by falling trees and limbs. The strong winds flipped five tractor trailers including ones on Route 12 in Denmark and on Route 81 between LaFargeville…

10. Jun 1, 2019Flood$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Excessive runoff into the Ottawa River Basin in Canada restricted the outlet of Lake Ontario. This combined with above normal precipitation into the Lake Ontario Basin, record levels on the Great Lakes above Lake Ontario, and higher than normal flows into the lake from the Niagara River pushed the lake to well above normal levels. Over the course of June, new records were broken as the lake pushed to nearly 6 feet above low water datum and eclipsed the levels set in 2017. The lake peaked on June 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

102°F2 times, most recently Jul 10, 1936

All-time low

−22°FFeb 9, 1934

Warmest night

81°F2 times, most recently Jul 26, 1940

Coldest day

−4°FJan 17, 1982

Wettest day

3.47 inSep 14, 1979

Snowiest day

23.0 inJan 3, 1996

Hottest year

2024mean 52.6°F

Coldest year

1926mean 45.9°F

Wettest year

201745.37 in

Driest year

196422.45 in

Snowiest season

161.7 in1959-60

Station Rochester Gtr International (USW00014768), 540 ft elevation, 4.7 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1926 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 Monroe 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 USW00014768.
• 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.