Montgomery County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Montgomery 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 NASA (1), 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. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Montgomery$4.0 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 widespead flooding across Montgomery County including the flooding of the Mohawk River and Schoharie Creek. Federal Disaster Assistance was made available by presidential declaration. Flooding was widespread along the Schoharie Creek in the Towns of Florida and Glen. In the Town of Florida eight families were…

2. Nov 9, 1996Flood, Montgomery$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   From Friday morning November 8 to Saturday morning November 9, a slow moving low pressure system tracked from northern Pennsylvania to northern New York. This system produced 4 to 5 inches of rain across most of central New York and the northern Catskills. The resulting runoff caused flooding along the Mohawk River from southern Herkimer County to the Hudson River. Devastating flooding occurred in Montgomery County, especially in the Villages of Fultonville and Fonda. The Fonda Speedway/Fairgrounds were completely under water. Serious flooding occurred along Park Street in Fonda. This flooded the County Jail, Public Works Garage and the County Annex Building and also resulted in…

3. Apr 8, 2001Heavy Rain$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Excesssive rains and snowmelt led to massive erosion, resulting in a mudslide between Amsterdam and Rotterdam Junction in eastern Montgomery County. The mud slide took place, April 8, on an escarpment located on the north side of the Mohawk River. The mudslide encompassed a 35 to 40-yard stretch of Route 5, completely covering the westbound lane with mud, branches and large tree trunks. Traffic had to be re-routed for several days. A portion of Swart Hill Road was completely destroyed.

4. Aug 20, 2001Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A few thunderstorms fired up along an occluded front on the afternoon of August 20 in eastern New York. With a humid air mass in place, a couple of the storms reached severe limits and produced very heavy rainfall. A severe thunderstorm produced wind damage in the city of Amsterdam, Montgomery County. Numerous trees were blown down on houses. The storms trained over the same area and contained torrential rains. The WNYT-TV Local Network in Amsterdam, reported as much as 3.95 inches of rainfall in less than an hour. This heavy rain, over steep terrain, caused manhole covers to blow out on city streets as well as the formation of a large sinkhole on Meadow Street. The rain caused…

5. Nov 9, 1996Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   From Friday morning November 8 to Saturday morning November 9, a slow moving low pressure system tracked from northern Pennsylvania to northern New York. This system produced 5.5 inches of rain across much of Montgomery County between late Friday night and early Saturday morning. Flash flooding occurred in the Villages of Fonda and Fultonville. Many roads were flooded and closed. Widespread basement flooding also occurred.

6. Sep 7, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A derecho developed ahead of a strong cold front in Ontario Canada late on the evening of the 6th. The Derecho moved across northwestern New York State, down the Mohawk Valley then departed the state shortly before dawn. The line of storms produced widespread damage to a good portion of upstate New York. Fulton, Montgomery and Herkimer Counties were declared disaster areas. In Herkimer County the wind was clocked as high as 78 mph, and blew down scores of trees and powerlines. Many residences were left in the dark. Extensive damage was done in Gorge View Lanes and Veterans Memorial Park in Herkimer County. In Gloversville, Fulton County, winds clocked at 60 mph toppled a 300 foot…

7. Jul 23, 2008Flash Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding resulted in the closure of eastbound lanes of the New York State Thruway, Interstate 90, at mile marker 169, with at least 2 to 3 feet of water on the road. In addition, the westbound lanes were accumulating significant amounts of water as well.||Numerous roads were washed out across the county. In the town of Amsterdam, some of the flooded roads which sustained damage included Truax Road, Cranes Hollow Road, Chapman Drive, Widow Susan Road, and Swarts Hill Road. In addition, properties along the South Chuctanunda Creek near Amsterdam also experienced flooding.||In the town of Florida, Peck and Mckinney Roads were closed due to washed out culverts, with some bridges…

8. Jan 8, 1998Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On January 8 and 9, mild weather along with significant rain and snowmelt resulted in small stream flooding across Montgomery County. Severe flood damage was incurred especially due to the Chuctanunda and Cayadutta Creeks. At Amsterdam, the Chuctanunda Creek caused the bank to collapse at the Noteworthy Company which resulted in the evacuation of ninety people. After the bank collapsed the creek was pounding at the structure and this resulted in basement flooding and structural damage. There were many other road closures throughout the county due to ponding of water and small stream flooding including the creek at Rockton.

9. Sep 7, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A derecho developed ahead of a strong cold front in Ontario Canada late on the evening of the 6th. The Derecho moved across northwestern New York State, down the Mohawk Valley then departed the state shortly before dawn. The line of storms produced widespread damage to a good portion of upstate New York. Fulton, Montgomery and Herkimer Counties were declared disaster areas. In Herkimer County the wind was clocked as high as 78 mph, and blew down scores of trees and powerlines. Many residences were left in the dark. Extensive damage was done in Gorge View Lanes and Veterans Memorial Park in Herkimer County. In Gloversville, Fulton County, winds clocked at 60 mph toppled a 300 foot…

10. Aug 4, 2003Flash Flood$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Scattered,slow moving thunderstorms developed once again across eastern New York during the afternoon of August 4. Rains from these storms were torrential and produced flooding in the cities of Fonda and Canajoharie in Montgomery County. The rains in Cranesville completely washed out Switz Hill Road. Other roads were washed out in Canajoharie with minor mud slides. Flooding up to 4 feet deep caused significant damage to Boulevard Elementary School. The tracks along State Route 5 were flooded in Fonda. Another slow moving thunderstorm produced more than an inch of rainfall in Schenectady County in only a half hour interval. This rainfall flooded some streets in the cities of…

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

100°F3 times, most recently Sep 3, 1953

All-time low

−28°FJan 19, 1971

Warmest night

77°F2 times, most recently Jul 2, 2018

Coldest day

−8°F2 times, most recently Feb 15, 1943

Wettest day

5.60 inSep 16, 1999

Snowiest day

22.0 inMar 13, 1993

Hottest year

2024mean 52.7°F

Coldest year

1940mean 45.1°F

Wettest year

201153.68 in

Driest year

196421.55 in

Snowiest season

112.5 in1970-71

Station Albany International Airport (USW00014735), 280 ft elevation, 30.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1938 to October 26, 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.

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 USW00014735.
• 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.