Washington County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Washington 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 VT GS (8), 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. Aug 24, 2020Flash Flood$16.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Whitehall Central Schools' Superintendent reported that 100 percent of the Junior-Senior High School had flood waters inside, resulting in major damage.

2. Aug 24, 2020Flood$16.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A hot and humid airmass was in place, providing enough energy for scattered thunderstorms to develop across the region. The hardest hit area was in the town of Whitehall, New York which saw repeated rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms during the afternoon and early evening hours of August 24th. An impressive 4 to 6 inches of rain fell across the far northeast portions of Washington County, resulting in 8 flooded roadways, 21 flooded structures, 1 water rescue, several cars partially submerged and the Whitehall Junior-Senior High School being significantly damaged by the flood waters. The school superintendent estimated that it would cost 16 million dollars to repair the damages…

3. Jul 2, 2005Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Hadlock Pond was breached washing out roads and destroying homes below the dam. It has been estimated that there was $5,000,000 of damage. This flash flood occurred under a clear sky and was not related to the weather, but was due to insidious disintegration of the dam structure over an extended period of time.

4. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Northern Washington$1.5 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. Small streams flooded across the entire county which resulted in many roads being washed out. More than 30 roads were heavily damaged across Washington County. The damaged roads included routes 372, 74, 59, 29, 372 and county route 16 in Fort Ann. Fort Ann in the northern part of the county was one of the hardest hit areas. Many…

5. Dec 17, 2000Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A complex storm system began to evolve on Saturday December 16 across the Mississippi Valley. A surface low tracked north into the Eastern Great Lakes by December 17. At the same time, the associated upper level trough became negatively tilted as it moved toward the northeast on Sunday. This allowed for rapid cyclogenesis. Unseasonably warm and moist air was transported northward from the Gulf of Mexico. This scenario brought a record breaking rainstorm to eastern New York. On average, rainfall ranged between 2 and 4 inches with some locally higher amounts. At Albany International Airport, the 2.79 inch rainfall for December 17 easily shattered the previous daily precipitation…

6. May 24, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were blown down in many parts of these towns. A NWS Survey Team determined a microburst took place off Lee's Crossing Road in the Town of Cambridge where 75 to 100 pine trees were either snapped or uprooted in the same direction. In addition, hail at least one inch in diamter, and possibly as large as two inches in diameter, when combined with the wind, produced considerable damage to the siding of homes in Easton and south Cambridge. The hail also produce significant crop damage and defoliation of leaves on the trees. Hail covered the ground for at least one day in several places.

7. May 24, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were blown down in many parts of these towns. A NWS Survey Team determined a microburst took place off Lee's Crossing Road in the Town of Cambridge where 75 to 100 pine trees were either snapped or uprooted in the same direction. In addition, hail at least one inch in diamter, and possibly as large as two inches in diameter, when combined with the wind, produced considerable damage to the siding of homes in Easton and south Cambridge. The hail also produce significant crop damage and defoliation of leaves on the trees. Hail covered the ground for at least one day in several places.

8. Jan 8, 1998Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   From January 8 through January 10, mild weather along with significant rain and snowmelt resulted in small stream flooding across Washington County. The Mettawee River at Granville, had what is believed to be the worst flooding ever known there. During the afternoon of January 8, the river crested at 10.68 feet which was more than three feet over flood stage. There was considerable flooding of fields along the Mettawee River. Approximately twenty road closures occurred throughout the county due to flooding and washouts with the most numerous closures between Greenwich and Whitehall.

9. Sep 27, 2007Lightning$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a home on Fourth Street in Hudson Falls at approximately 1745 LST. The lightning is believed to have struck a cable antenna on the roof, which consequently started a fire and then spread.||The fire caused extensive damage to the house.

10. May 24, 2004Hail$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Trees were blown down in many parts of these towns. A NWS Survey Team determined a microburst took place off Lee's Crossing Road in the Town of Cambridge where 75 to 100 pine trees were either snapped or uprooted in the same direction. In addition, hail at least one inch in diamter, and possibly as large as two inches in diameter, when combined with the wind, produced considerable damage to the siding of homes in Easton and south Cambridge. The hail also produce significant crop damage and defoliation of leaves on the trees. Hail covered the ground for at least one day in several places.

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°FJul 10, 1988

All-time low

−35°FJan 27, 1994

Warmest night

76°FJul 5, 1999

Coldest day

−7°FJan 15, 1957

Wettest day

3.67 inAug 28, 2011

Snowiest day

28.0 inFeb 16, 1958

Hottest year

1998mean 48.9°F

Coldest year

1976mean 43.1°F

Wettest year

198354.40 in

Driest year

196421.76 in

Station Glens Falls Airport (USW00014750), 321 ft elevation, 8.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1944 to October 26, 2026; 99.8% 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 USW00014750.
• 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.