Chautauqua County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Chautauqua County: 2.
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.

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

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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

Mapped by 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 9, 2009Flash Flood$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A massive convective complex moved from lower Michigan across southern Ontario near Toronto then dove southeast across the Niagara Frontier and Western Southern Tier. This followed an earlier round of strong thunderstorms and heavy rains earlier in the day. Damage from the thunderstorm winds was widespread across the Niagara Frontier and Western Southern Tier. Trees as large as two to three feet in diameter were downed. Power outages were scattered throughout the region as the winds downed power lines.|The unprecedented heavy rains that fell���four to six inches in less than two hours���resulted in some of the worst flash flooding the area has seen. Parts of Erie,…

2. Nov 21, 2000Heavy Snow, Chautauqua$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Cold air crossing the warm waters of Lakes Erie and Ontario resulted in lake effect squalls that dropped over two feet downwind of the lakes.Off Lake Erie, the squall developed around midday on the 20th in a southwest flow ahead of a cold front. Snow fell at the rate of two to four inches per hour for several hours. The storm crippled much of the Buffalo metro area. Tens of thousands of people were stranded in autos as city and suburban streets became clogged with traffic and came to a standstill. Three thousand school children were stranded in buses which were unable to complete their routes. Snowfall in this early stage were as high as two feet in a narrow strip about three…

3. Jul 24, 2010Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An NWS ground and aerial survey confirmed an EF2 tornado.

4. Oct 27, 2019Lakeshore Flood, Chautauqua$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong cold frontal passage near midday flipped what was southeast flow around to the southwest abruptly and drove a lake seiche onto the eastern shores of Lake Erie. The combination of higher than normal water level on Lake Erie and the increase in water led to flooding along the New York shoreline of the lake for a short period. Lake Erie peaked at Buffalo Harbor at 9.64 feet above low water datum. Water from the lake inundated Canalside in Downtown Buffalo and Route 5 at Hoover Beach. It also damaged the new pier at Dunkirk.

5. Oct 31, 2019Lakeshore Flood, Chautauqua$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A deepening area of consolidated low pressure tracked from the north shoreline of Lake Erie to Toronto, and then along the northern shoreline of Lake Ontario Thursday evening, October 31st. This system brought recorded breaking Halloween rains to our region, damaging wind gusts, a large Lake Erie seiche, a smaller Lake Ontario seiche, and river flooding in the North Country (Cayuga, Black and Moose River). Southwest winds increased dramatically on Halloween evening following a cold frontal passage. Immediately behind the front, winds were southwest and channeled across the typical locations northeast of Lake Erie from Dunkirk to the Niagara Frontier and eastward to Rochester.…

6. Dec 29, 2001Heavy Snow, Chautauqua$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lake effect snowbands shifted into the western southern tier area late on the 28th and persisted through the 30th. Specific storm totals included: in Chautauqua county: Arkwright 56"; Sherman 48"; Sinclairville 30"; Fredonia 28"; Ellington 25"; Dunkirk 22" and Silver Creek 20". In Cattaraugus county: South Dayton 54"; Perrysburg 51"; Yorkshire 46" and New Albion 21". In Allegany county: Rushford 15" and Angelica 11".

7. Nov 1, 2019Lakeshore Flood, Chautauqua$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lake Erie crested at 12:18 AM at Buffalo Harbor at a height of 10.56 ft above low water datum. Additional damage subsequent to the damage from October 27 was done to the Dunkirk breakwater.

8. Nov 27, 2019Lakeshore Flood, Chautauqua$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong low pressure moved from the central Great Lakes to north of Lake Ontario. The trailing cold front entered western New York early in the afternoon of 11/27 and swept through later that evening. While the track of the surface low was very favorable, the event was atypical in that the surface low reached its maximum intensity across the western Great Lakes and filled quite rapidly by the time it passed to our north. Despite the weakening low, soundings were favorable for a warning criteria wind event across western New York, with 50-60 knots for a 3-5 hour period in the cold advection behind the cold front. Steepening lapse rates from cold advection allowed enough mixing to…

9. Jul 14, 2015Flash Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A warm front drifted northeast across Western New York during the wee hours of the morning and was the focus for a band of moderate showers and embedded thunderstorms. These storms were very slow moving and remain across northern Chautauqua for a few hours. Rainfall reports as high as 5.76 inches were recorded but much of the region received a good four to five inches. Roads quickly became impassable. Portions of main routes NY 5, NY 60 and the New York State Thruway were closed. Cars quickly became trapped in flood waters with several rescues completed. Hundreds of homes and businesses were flooded and damage was extensive. Damage in the county was estimated at more than $5…

10. Jul 14, 2015Flash Flood$750,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A persistent area of showers and thunderstorms associated with a nearly stationary warm front intensified during the afternoon hours. The storms brought flooding to areas already hit by heavy rains in the overnight and morning hours in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties as well as additional areas further east in Allegany County. Major damage occurred across the southern tier and the area received a State Disaster Declaration. There were numerous reports of road washouts and extensive property damage. Hundreds of residents were evacuated. Major roads were closed including Routes 5, 20, 219, 275 and 305. Culverts and roads were reported washed out near Fillmore and Swain. At Jones…

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°FJun 21, 1988

All-time low

−31°FFeb 17, 2015

Warmest night

76°FAug 8, 1996

Coldest day

−5°FJan 20, 1994

Wettest day

3.94 inJun 14, 1994

Snowiest day

17.6 inNov 28, 2018

Hottest year

2024mean 50.5°F

Coldest year

1980mean 42.1°F

Wettest year

201755.36 in

Driest year

200130.52 in

Snowiest season

149.3 in1976-77

Station Jamestown 4 Ene (USC00304207), 1,250 ft elevation, 12.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1960 to October 27, 2026; 95.5% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USC00304207.
• 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.