New York County

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.

High tide flooding

1. High tide flooding days are days on which a NOAA tide gauge recorded water at or above NOAA's minor flood threshold, set from the gauge's tide range, counted by meteorological year (May to April). These are the counts in NOAA's annual high tide flooding reports; they are not National Weather Service flood stages. Years with less than 80 percent of data are left out.

NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, through April 2026, 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.

Tsunamis

1. Places where NOAA's Global Historical Tsunami Database records a tsunami's water arriving, with the greatest height it reached above sea level at the time. Only tsunamis NOAA rates probable or definite are counted. Heights from eyewitness accounts and tide gauges are mixed, and older events are less completely recorded.

NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 1, 2021Flash Flood$60.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding resulted in an estimated $60 million in damages across Manhattan, and an estimated $300 million city-wide. This estimate only includes FEMA and SBA fund requests.

2. Sep 1, 2021Flash Flood$54.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The New York City Subway experienced flooding in many areas of the system and the MTA reported that service was extremely limited due to the flooding. This included reports of flooding at the Inwood-207th Street station (A line), excessive water on the tracks of the 2, 3, and 4 lines between Brooklyn and Manhattan, flooding of the N, R, and W lines in Manhattan and Queens, and major flooding at the 28th Street station on the 1, 2, and 3 lines in Chelsea. Service remained suspended on all but four lines at the start of the Thursday morning (September 2nd) rush. Overall the flooding resulted in an estimated $54 million in damage and repair costs to MTA infrastructure.

3. Feb 17, 2003Heavy Snow, New York (Manhattan)$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   With an exceptionally strong high pressure system over New England, a low pressure system developed off the Mid Atlantic Coast. Periods of light snow developed as northeast winds increased to around 15 mph across the NYC Metro area Sunday afternoon, February 16th. Snow became widespread and heavy, falling at rates up to 2 to 3 inches per hour Sunday night and Monday, February 17th. Heavy snow blown by northeast winds 20 to 30 mph caused near blizzard conditions throughout the area. Record heavy snowfalls crippled mass transit. These extremely hazardous weather conditions led to local emergency declarations throughout the region. In New York City, the cost estimate for total…

4. Aug 4, 2020Tropical Storm, New York (Manhattan)$4.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Nearby to Battery Park City, the Honorable William Wall Mesonet, reported a maximum sustained wind of 49 mph and peak gusts of 78 mph at 1218 pm LST. Central Park reported a peak gust of 48 mph at 1156 am LDT. ||NYC Office of Emergency Management reported over 800 service requests for downed trees. NYCEM has calculated property damages of $4,495,105 in the borough.||There were no reports of coastal flooding as the highest storm surge did not coincide with high tide and was during a period of low astronomical tides.

5. Oct 19, 1996Coastal Flood, New York (Manhattan)$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   On Friday October 18th, a strong low pressure system developed on a cold front over the DelMarVa Peninsula. With a high pressure system in place across Northern New England, the low intensified and moved slowly off the Southern New Jersey Coast on Saturday, the 19th.East winds developed across the region during the 18th. As the difference in pressure systems increased, east winds also increased. Over the sea, sustained wind speeds reached gale force (34 knots) Friday night and continued through Saturday. Strong east winds blowing over a long distance caused tides to average 3 to 6 feet above normal. Tide anomalies were 5.49 feet above normal at Willets Point at 5 pm and 3.62 feet…

6. Oct 29, 2012High Wind, New York (Manhattan)$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wind gust up to 62 mph was measured in Central Park at 313 pm. A 30 year old man was found dead apparently trapped underneat a tree inside his home at 166th street due to the winds. Another man of unknown age was trapped underneath a downed tree in his home in Upper Manhattan due to the high winds. A woman of unknown age died when power was cut to her home, cutting off her oxygen supply due to the winds.

7. Aug 18, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The New York City Office of Emergency Management reported a few hundred trees down in Central Park, with the most significant tree damage in Western Central park between 90th and 100th Street. Numerous other trees were also reported down in Manhattan, including several on automobiles.

8. Feb 24, 2016Strong Wind, New York (Manhattan)$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At 919 pm on the 24th, a tractor trailor was blown over on the upper level of the westbound George Washington Bridge due to strong winds. At 941 pm, a sidewalk shed collapsed on Lenox Avenue in Harlem. Emergency management reported these incidents.

9. Mar 2, 2018High Wind, New York (Manhattan)$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The local media reported a scaffolding collapse on Broome Street between Clinton and Ridge streets in the lower east side of Manhattan. This occurred around 245 pm.

10. Nov 19, 2017Strong Wind, New York (Manhattan)$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    At 1140 am, the broadcast media reported a collapsed scaffolding at the corner of Prince Street and Broadway. There were 5 injuries as a result.

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

106°FJul 9, 1936

All-time low

−15°FFeb 9, 1934

Warmest night

84°F4 times, most recently Jul 22, 2011

Coldest day

2°FDec 30, 1917

Wettest day

8.28 inSep 23, 1882

Snowiest day

27.3 inJan 23, 2016

Hottest year

2023mean 58.0°F

Coldest year

1888mean 49.5°F

Wettest year

198380.56 in

Driest year

196526.09 in

Snowiest season

75.6 in1995-96

Station Ny City Cntrl Park (USW00094728), 140 ft elevation, 0.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1869 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 USW00094728.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tide gauges NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, 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.
• Tsunamis NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database.
• 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.