Orange County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Orange County: 10.
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.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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 (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 2, 2005Flood, Orange$17.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A low pressure system developed in the Gulf Of Mexico and rapidly intensified as it moved north to northeast. The low passed over the Appalachian Mountains and moved slowly west of the local area during Saturday and Sunday, April 2nd and 3rd. Widespread heavy rain along with embedded heavy showers and thunderstorms occurred with this system. Storm Total Rainfall amounts ranged from around 1.00 inch on parts of Long Island to nearly 4.00 inches across parts of the Lower Hudson Valley. During March 28th and 29th, only 3 to 5 days earlier, another low dumped 2.00 to 3.00 inches of rain across the region as it moved north to northeast along the eastern seaboard. These wet antecedent…

2. Sep 1, 2021Flash Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding resulted in an estimated $10 million in damages across Orange County, which includes $1 million in individual damages and $9 million in public assistance.

3. Sep 8, 2011Flood$6.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Cardinal Dr. was closed at Peacock Circle in Washingtonville due to flooding. In Mt. Hope, Seybolt Ave. was washed out and two ft. of water infiltrated numerous homes in the Hidden Valley development off of Guymard Turnpike. Property damage amount is estimated. Total reported rainfall amounts in Orange County ranged from 4.56 inches in Port Jervis to 8.30 inches in Warwick.

4. Aug 30, 2004Flash Flood$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of a tropical system combined with a stalled frontal boundary acted to ignite slow moving thunderstorms on the evening of August 30th. These thunderstorms moved over Western Orange County NY for several hours. Hourly radar rainfall estimates in the 3-5" range were observed at times. The hardest hit areas were Port Jervis and Deer Park, where flooding was severe enough to initiate states of emergencies. Houses were damaged, roads were destroyed, and buildings collapsed throughout Western Orange County. Damage estimates were 2.2 million in public and 1.8 million in private property.

5. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$1.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Torrential record rainfall, which caused serious widespread urban, small stream, and river flooding, preceded the remnants of Hurricane Floyd, which passed over Western Suffolk County of Long Island from 7 pm to 9 pm on September 16th.Death: In Rockland County, a 53-year old man died around midnight on the 17th when he was swept into the Pearl River while walking in Orangetown.Property Damage: Orange, Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester Counties were declared disaster areas. For these 4 counties, the initial cost estimates were $14.6 million dollars. These figures represents "eligible" costs for disaster payments, and were provided by the New York State Emergency Management Office.…

6. Apr 19, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large tree limb was blocking Canal Street at Hamilton Street.

7. Apr 19, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of strong to isolated severe thunderstorms formed ahead of a cold front that moved across Orange County during the evening.

8. Jun 9, 2011Hail$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Quarter to golf ball size hail was reported throughout the town of Newburgh. Numerous car dealerships reported damage to vehicles and one dealership reported the hail damaged the roof over its service facility.

9. Sep 2, 2000Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Slow moving thunderstorms produced torrential rain that caused serious widespread flash flooding of low-lying and poor drainage areas across a narrow band of west central Suffolk County. NWS radar estimated rainfall rates from around 2 to 2.5 inches per hour that lasted at least 2 consecutive hours. Rainfall amounts estimated up to 5 inches caused water to rapidly accumulate to more than 3 feet on many streets and submerged several cars from South Huntington east to Dix Hills.Bands of heavy showers and thunderstorms moved very slowly southeast ahead of an approaching cold front. NWS radar estimated up to 6 inches of rain fell in the vicinity of Highland Falls, where numerous…

10. May 31, 1998Flash Flood$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Severe thunderstorms (in lines and clusters) formed and moved over the Lower Hudson Valley of New York. They formed in a moist and unstable airmass ahead of an approaching trough of low pressure.Severe thunderstorms produced high winds, large hail, torrential rain, and frequent lightning. High winds downed many trees onto power lines, into houses, and onto cars. Spotters reported funnel clouds 5 miles south of the Harriman Tolls on Interstate-87 and near Stewart AFB in Newburgh. Up to 6 inches of rain caused flash flooding of roads and basements across Orange County. Frequent lightning strikes caused numerous brush and structure fires and downed trees onto power lines and houses.…

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, 23.4 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.