Franklin County

Every recorded tornado

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

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 27, 2011Flood$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Runoff from heavy rain and snowmelt caused flooding in Saranac Lake Village. Flooding was compounded by upstream releases from locks on Oseetah Lake, which flooded downstream Lake Flower at Saranac Lake Village. Businesses and homes were evacuated, and bridges and the village wastewater treatment plant were damaged.

2. Jun 11, 2013Flood$4.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding from heavy rainfall forced the closure of several roads throughout Franklin County NY in Duane Center, Bangor, Malone, Dickinson, Burke, Hogansburg, and Bombay. Flooding began late evening on June 11 with small streams and overflowing ditches washing out roads and culverts. On June 12 flooding transitioned into the larger rivers such as the Salmon, Little Salmon, and the Trout Rivers. There were evacuations of homes in Fort Covington on the Salmon River, and numerous state, county, and town highways were flooded.

3. Apr 28, 2011Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Runoff from heavy rain and snowmelt caused flooding on the Raquette River. In Tupper Lake Village, homes were surrounded by water, forcing evacuations. Route 3 was flooded in the Village and between Tupper Lake Village and Wawbeek. Flooding continued into May.

4. Jan 6, 1998Ice Storm, Northern Franklin$2.0 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…

5. Apr 15, 2014Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall and snowmelt combined to produce flooding in northern Franklin County. The Salmon River and its tributaries caused the most flood trouble, with numerous road closures, washouts, and evacuations around Malone and Fort Covington. In Malone, College Avenue and Willow, Lafayette, and Patnode Streets were flooded and some residences were evacuated. At least 4 culverts were washed out. Downstream in Fort Covington, Drum Street was closed due to flooding, and additional roads were flooded by the Little Salmon River in Bombay. In Hogansburg, the St. Regis River flooded village roads including Church, McNeil, St. Regis, River, Gray, Mill, and Pearl Streets.

6. Dec 20, 2013Ice Storm, Northern Franklin$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain accumulated over an inch, along with more than an inch of sleet across northern Franklin county causing numerous vehicle accidents, tree and utility line damage.

7. Jul 1, 1998Flash Flood$500,000
   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 at or exceeding flood stage. By 9:00 AM EST roads were flooded in and around the Malone, NY area with road erosion and washouts reported.

8. Nov 9, 1996Flash Flood$500,000
9. Aug 9, 2024Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous flooding across western-northwest Franklin county as the results of heavy tropical rains (3-5+ inches) from Post Tropical Debby. In addition to flash flooding reports, there were numerous inundation, basement and other flooding.

10. Jun 27, 1998Flash Flood$500,000
    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 northern half of the county.A State of Emergency was declared, as numerous roads and bridges were washed out especially in Malone, Westville, Whippleville and Fort Covington with bridges washed out in Fort Covington and Bangor.

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

95°FJul 10, 2020

All-time low

−31°FFeb 7, 1993

Warmest night

75°FJun 20, 2024

Coldest day

−16°FJan 16, 1994

Wettest day

4.17 inNov 9, 1996

Snowiest day

26.0 inMar 14, 1993

Hottest year

2024mean 47.3°F

Coldest year

1992mean 40.3°F

Wettest year

202353.71 in

Driest year

198430.38 in

Snowiest season

150.5 in1992-93

Station Malone (USC00304996), 878 ft elevation, 8.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1983 to October 27, 2026; 99.6% 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 USC00304996.
• 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.