Rensselaer County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. May 31, 1998Tornado$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   During the morning hours of May 31, a strong low pressure system over the upper Great Lakes pushed a warm front across eastern New York and western New England. This set the stage for a major severe weather outbreak in eastern New York. In this highly sheared environment several lines of severe thunderstorms formed ahead of an approaching cold front. This resulted in three tornadoes and severe thunderstorm damage in every county. The most significant tornado occurred in Saratoga County and northern Rensselaer County. This tornado touched down at Ushers Road in the Town of Halfmoon and moved due east into the City of Mechanicville. Here, the tornado intensified to an F3 and…

2. Aug 11, 2008Flash Flood$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very heavy rainfall from training thunderstorms led to significant urban and small stream flash flooding in and near the City of Rensselaer. A State of Emergency was declared in the City of Rensselaer as numerous roads were closed, with 6 or more feet of standing water reported on city streets. Evacuations of 50 to 75 homes occurred due to the flooding. Flooding was mainly concentrated along and near the banks of Quackenberry Creek, as well as near Mill Creek.||The Amtrak Station in Rensselaer was also closed due to the flooding.||Flash flooding also closed Routes 9 and 20, a portion of Route 151, and Luther Road, in East Greenbush.

3. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Western Rensselaer$3.0 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 widespread flooding across Rensselaer County. Federal Disaster Assistance was made available by presidential declaration. Small streams flooded across the entire county which resulted in several road washouts. Extensive flooding also occurred along the Hudson and Hoosic Rivers. The hardest hit areas within the…

4. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Eastern Rensselaer$3.0 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 widespread flooding across Rensselaer County. Federal Disaster Assistance was made available by presidential declaration. Small streams flooded across the entire county which resulted in several road washouts. Extensive flooding also occurred along the Hudson and Hoosic Rivers. The hardest hit areas within the…

5. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$1.5 million
   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…

6. Jul 29, 2026Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   NY 9J was closed due to flash flooding between Knickerbocker Road and NY Route 150 in the Town of Schodack. Several side streets were also inundated with water including Brickyard Road. A boat and two cars were submerged in water off NY 9J near Brickyard Road.

7. Jul 29, 2026Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   NY 9J was closed due to flash flooding between Knickerbocker Road and NY Route 150 in the Town of Schodack. Several side streets were also inundated with water including Brickyard Road. A boat and two cars were submerged in water off NY 9J near Brickyard Road.

8. Jul 14, 2021Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several inches of moving water was reported flowing over Route 43 in several locations between West Sand Lake and Averill Park. Route 66 was washed out as well north of Averill Park. Several other roads were closed or washed out in the Town of Sand Lake, including Holcomb Road, Burden Lake Road, Old Best Road, and Taborton Road.

9. Jul 6, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A cold front moved from the Great Lakes eastward across New York State on July 6. With sultry air in place, and favourable strong winds aloft, this front triggered the largest outbreak of severe weather in eastern New York since May 31st, 1998. A squall line developed around midday ahead of the front and produced the most damage. However, more thunderstorm cells continued developing and some of these became severe into the evening hours. Nearly every county in eastern New York experienced some wind damage. Rensselaer, Warren, Washington,Herkimer, Saratoga and Schenectady Counties were especially hard -hit. Powerful thunderstorms brought down trees and power lines in many…

10. Jul 14, 2021Flash Flood$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    There were several reports of roads flooded and washed out in the Poestenkill area, including Plank Road, Snyders Corner Road, and Blue Factory Road.

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, 9.1 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.