Dutchess County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 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 16, 2007Flood$5.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain led to widespread flooding of small streams and creeks across the county, which began during the early morning hours of Monday, April 16th, and persisted into Wednesday morning on the 18th.|Record flooding occurred on the Wappingers Creek at Wappingers Falls, which crested at 15.06 feet at 19:45 EST on the 16th, which was 7.06 feet above the flood stage of 8.0 feet.|Moderate flooding also was recorded along the Tenmile River at Webatuck, which crested at 11.23 feet at 16:45 EST on the 16th. |Widespread flooding led to numerous road closures, which included large stretches of the Taconic State Parkway in both directions throughout the county.|In addition, numerous home…

2. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Western Dutchess$3.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense area of low pressure which was located over the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday morning January 19th produced unseasonably warm temperatures, high dewpoints and strong winds. This resulted in rapid melting of one to three feet of snow. In addition to the rapid snowmelt one to three inches of rain fell as the system moved northeast along the coast. This resulted in widespread flooding across Dutchess County. Federal Disaster Assistance was made available by presidential declaration. Small streams flooded across the entire county which resulted in many roads being washed out. Extensive flooding also occurred along the Hudson River and Wappingers Creek. In the higher terrain…

3. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Eastern Dutchess$3.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense area of low pressure which was located over the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday morning January 19th produced unseasonably warm temperatures, high dewpoints and strong winds. This resulted in rapid melting of one to three feet of snow. In addition to the rapid snowmelt one to three inches of rain fell as the system moved northeast along the coast. This resulted in widespread flooding across Dutchess County. Federal Disaster Assistance was made available by presidential declaration. Small streams flooded across the entire county which resulted in many roads being washed out. Extensive flooding also occurred along the Hudson River and Wappingers Creek. In the higher terrain…

4. Aug 9, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms developed along a stalled boundary across eastern New York late on August 9. Aided by a very humid, unstable airmass and a strong disturbance aloft, some of these became severe. A lone thunderstorm produced dime-sized hail at Summit, Schoharie county. Thunderstorms produced dime-size hail in Stephentown, Rensselaer county. Then about an hour later, the same spotter in Stephentown reported another thunderstorm with nickle-size hail, followed by quarter-size hail, as well as trees and powerlines blown down. Also in Rensselaer county, large limbs and wires were blown down at Schodack Center. Many trees were knocked down at Coeymans Hollow in Albany county. The wind…

5. Aug 9, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms developed along a stalled boundary across eastern New York late on August 9. Aided by a very humid, unstable airmass and a strong disturbance aloft, some of these became severe. A lone thunderstorm produced dime-sized hail at Summit, Schoharie county. Thunderstorms produced dime-size hail in Stephentown, Rensselaer county. Then about an hour later, the same spotter in Stephentown reported another thunderstorm with nickle-size hail, followed by quarter-size hail, as well as trees and powerlines blown down. Also in Rensselaer county, large limbs and wires were blown down at Schodack Center. Many trees were knocked down at Coeymans Hollow in Albany county. The wind…

6. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$900,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Hurricane Floyd moved up the eastern seaboard on September 16 and during the early hours on September 17. The storm brought both high winds and exceptionally heavy rainfall to eastern New York, which included a large swath of 3 to 6 inch amounts. A frontal zone helped concentrate the heaviest rain just to the west of the Hudson Valley in the eastern Catskills and Helderbergs . Locally higher amounts of rainfall, exceeding a foot, fell in these areas. Specific rainfall amounts included 6.12 inches at Albany International Airport, the highest ever officially recorded from any given storm! Even higher amounts of rainfall included 8.15 inches in Delmar and 9 inches at…

7. Mar 31, 1997Winter Storm, Eastern Dutchess$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On March 31 and April 1, a classic late season nor'easter tracked from the Chesapeake Bay area northeast to central coastal New Jersey then slowly out to sea. This system produced rain across much of eastern New York during the morning hours of March 31. The rain changed to heavy wet snow by early afternoon. Heavy snow fell over eastern New York from the Mohawk Valley southward. Snowfall amounts were highly elevation dependent. Snowfall exceeded 2 feet in many mountain locations. Some specific snowfall totals included: 15 inches at the Albany Airport, 26 inches at Berne in Albany County, 9 inches at Rotterdam in Schenectady County, 11 inches at Poestenkill in Rensselaer County, 10…

8. Mar 31, 1997Winter Storm, Western Dutchess$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On March 31 and April 1, a classic late season nor'easter tracked from the Chesapeake Bay area northeast to central coastal New Jersey then slowly out to sea. This system produced rain across much of eastern New York during the morning hours of March 31. The rain changed to heavy wet snow by early afternoon. Heavy snow fell over eastern New York from the Mohawk Valley southward. Snowfall amounts were highly elevation dependent. Snowfall exceeded 2 feet in many mountain locations. Some specific snowfall totals included: 15 inches at the Albany Airport, 26 inches at Berne in Albany County, 9 inches at Rotterdam in Schenectady County, 11 inches at Poestenkill in Rensselaer County, 10…

9. Sep 16, 1999High Wind, Western Dutchess$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Hurricane Floyd moved up the eastern seaboard on September 16 and during the early hours on September 17. The storm brought both high winds and exceptionally heavy rainfall to eastern New York, which included a large swath of 3 to 6 inch amounts. A frontal zone helped concentrate the heaviest rain just to the west of the Hudson Valley in the eastern Catskills and Helderbergs . Locally higher amounts of rainfall, exceeding a foot, fell in these areas. Specific rainfall amounts included 6.12 inches at Albany International Airport, the highest ever officially recorded from any given storm! Even higher amounts of rainfall included 8.15 inches in Delmar and 9 inches at…

10. Sep 1, 2021Flash Flood$300,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Several roads were closed in the town of East Fishkill due to flash flooding. The County Executive declared a state of emergency and restricted all non-essential travel due to the flooding.

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°F3 times, most recently Jul 2, 2026

All-time low

−30°FJan 21, 1961

Warmest night

80°FAug 2, 2006

Coldest day

1°FJan 15, 1957

Wettest day

7.57 inOct 8, 2005

Snowiest day

15.0 in2 times, most recently Feb 7, 1967

Hottest year

2012mean 53.5°F

Coldest year

1958mean 47.6°F

Wettest year

201162.01 in

Driest year

196424.52 in

Station Poughkeepsie Airport (USW00014757), 153 ft elevation, 4.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 86.9% 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 USW00014757.
• 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.