Delaware County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Delaware County: 0.
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 (3), 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. Jun 27, 2006Flash Flood$250 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical moisture continued to stream northward into upstate New York ahead of a frontal system which slowly moved westward into the eastern Great Lakes by Tuesday morning the 27th. This tropical moisture developed a batch of heavy showers and thunderstorms across much of upstate New York late Monday evening the 26th through Tuesday morning the 27th. From 3 to 5 inches of rain fell across Delaware County by Tuesday morning. The rain fell on saturated ground from previous rains that occurred Sunday and Monday leading to major flash flooding in Hancock, Colchester and surrounding areas by Tuesday morning. Hancock experienced the worst flooding this town had ever seen with most of…

2. Jun 19, 2007Flash Flood$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A catastrophic flash flood occurred the evening of June 19th. The area along the border of Delaware and Sullivan Counties received between 8 and 11 inches of rain in 2 to 3 hours. The water washed out one bridge, damaged several other bridges and roads, destroyed all land-line and cellular communications and ripped homes from their foundations.|4 people were killed by what was described as a 4 to 8 foot wall of water which torn down the hill close to route 206/county route 7. 3 of the people that were killed were in homes that were washed away. 1 person was in a car. The flooding abated late in the evening. ||A detailed assessment of the damages to the homes and businesses in…

3. Sep 18, 2004Flash Flood$12.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain with amounts of 4 to 6 inches caused flash flooding. The rain which fell from the 16th to the 18th was due to the remnants of hurricane Ivan. Most streams and creeks went out of their banks. In addition the east and west branches of the Delaware River and the Beaver Kill had major flooding. 7 people were rescued by a New York State Police helicopter that NWS Binghamton recommended to be put into use. 26 homes were destroyed with another 60 with major damage and 60 more with minor damage. 15 businesses were affected. 2 campgrounds were destroyed. This was the worst flooding since hurricane Diane in 1955.

4. Jun 27, 2006Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Susquehanna River at Unadilla rose to the 11 foot flood stage Tuesday June 27th at 09:30 pm EDT. The river continued to rise above the moderate inundation stage of 13 feet on Wednesday June 28th at 5:45 am EDT. The river rose above the major inundation stage of 14.5 feet on Wednesday June 28th at 10:00 am EDT. The river crested at a new record of 17.73 feet Thursday June 29th at 5:15 am EDT. The old record flood was March 18, 1936 at 16.60 feet. The gage was established 1938. The river at Unadilla remained above flood stage through the end of June.

5. Jun 27, 2006Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   At Walton, record flooding occurred on the West Branch of the Delaware River. The river level rose above the flood stage of 9.5 feet Tuesday June 27th at 8:45 AM EDT. The river rose above the moderate flood level of 14 feet June 27 at 2:30 PM EDT. The river rose above the major flood level of 16 feet June 28, 3:15 AM EDT. The crest was 16.85 feet June 28 4:30 AM EDT. The previous record was January 19, 1996 where the crest was 16.36 feet. The flooding near Walton was described in the Binghamton Press and Sun Bulletin as "Unlike the flood of 1996, caused by overflowing waters of the West Branch of the Delaware River, this season's flooding damage was inflicted by fast-moving,…

6. Jul 23, 2008Flash Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain from thunderstorms caused significant flash flooding. All roads in the towns of Andes, Stamford and Middletown were closed, and States of Emergency were declared. The flash flooding caused up to 10 million dollars worth of damage to roads and bridges.

7. Jan 19, 1996Flash Flood$9.3 million
8. Aug 28, 2011Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Approximately 100 homes and businesses were flooded by a wall of water flowing down the East Branch of the Delaware River. Numerous roads and bridges were severely flooded. Mass evacuations took place before the flood occurred. Some people did not evacuate and were rescued by helicopter.

9. Jun 27, 2006Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   At Delhi, New York, major flooding occurred on the West Branch of the Delaware River. The river rose above the flood stage of 8 feet June 27th at 9:20 PM EDT. The river rose above the moderate flood level of 9.5 feet June 28th at 2:30 AM EDT. The river rose above the major flood level of 10.5 feet June 28th at 3:30 AM EDT. The river crested at 11.75 feet June 28th at 6:45 AM EDT. The record is 12.24 feet November 9, 1996.

10. Aug 28, 2011Flash Flood$5.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Catastrophic flash flooding occurred through the town of Fleischmanns. Homes were washed off foundations, slamming into other homes. Over 200 people were evacuated before the flash flood hit. Some people who did not evacuate had to be rescued. One woman was killed when the building she was in collapsed due to the flood waters.

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

97°FAug 9, 2001

All-time low

−21°F3 times, most recently Feb 14, 2016

Warmest night

71°FJul 18, 2005

Coldest day

2°F2 times, most recently Jan 7, 2018

Wettest day

9.63 inJun 27, 2006

Snowiest day

33.2 inDec 25, 2002

Hottest year

1998mean 48.4°F

Coldest year

2014mean 43.5°F

Wettest year

201169.83 in

Driest year

200134.54 in

Station Walton 2 (USC00308932), 1,480 ft elevation, 8.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1997 to October 27, 2026; 94.9% 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.

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 USC00308932.
• 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.