Albany County, New York severe weather history spans 928 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 55.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #185 nationally and #6 in New York.
928
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
34
Direct injuries
$41.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Albany County, New York severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Albany County, New York severe weather history averages 13.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 355 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 77 events fall before 1990 and 851 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Albany County, New York record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $25.3M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Albany County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 516 | 1 | $11.1M | 87 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 185 | 0 | $14K | 2.75 | 1958–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 118 | 1 | $3.6M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 71 | 1 | $533K | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Lightning | 21 | 0 | $391K | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Tornado | 7 | 0 | $25.3M | F4 | 1973–2014 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2014 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $500K | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Albany County, New York severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
7 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 4 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989-07-10 | EF4 | 0 | 20 | 42.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-05-22 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-06-16 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 49.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-05-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-06-30 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-05-12 | EF0 | 0 | 13 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-07-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Albany County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 2007 | Flood | COEYMANS | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 28, 2011 | Flash Flood | CLARKSVILLE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 15, 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Westerlo | 1 | 0 | $1K |
| May 12, 1984 | Tornado | 0 | 13 | $25K | |
| Aug 14, 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | ALBANY | 0 | 9 | $10K |
| Aug 2, 2000 | Lightning | ALBANY | 0 | 5 | $0 |
| May 10, 2000 | Lightning | COLONIE | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 30, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rain led to widespread flooding of small streams and creeks across the county, which began during the morning hours of Monday, April 16th, and persisted into late Monday evening on the 16th.|Widespread flooding led to numerous road closures, including Miller Road off Route 9W in Coeymans, Route 32 in New Scotland between Lagrange Lane and Winne Lane, and Creble Road between Elm Avenue and South Albany Road in Bethlehem Center. In addition, evacuations occurred along Coeymans Creek.|Furthermore, a fatality and injury occurred as a brother and sister, ages 14 and 15, respectively, canoed into the rain swollen Basic Creek in Westerlo when the canoe tipped over around 17:00 EST. The female drowned, being swept away by strong currents within the creek. She was pronounced dead at Albany Medical Center at 21:02 EST on the 16th. The male was able to reach the shore.
Excessive rains caused a rapid erosion of the Normanskill escarpment, next to county Highway Route 443 in Delmar, just south of the city of Albany. On May 16 a landslide developed, and spread over the next couple of days. Route 443, a busy artery connecting the city of Albany to neighboring Delmar, had to be closed indefinitely. A produce store was destroyed as it slid down the escarpment by 830 PM on Thursday, May 18. The road closure resulted in significant traffic delays. The erosion continued at a slower rate throughout the remainder of the month. The landslide resulted in significant monteary losses at the Delaware Plaza and other nearby businesses.
Heavy rainfall led to significant urban flooding in downtown Albany late Thursday afternoon. One to four inches of rainfall occurred within two hours across a small portion of downtown. This overwhelmed the storm drainage system within the city, flooding several streets. Hackett Boulevard and Northern Boulevard had water deep enough to submerge vehicles, with several cars swept away outside of the Hackett Dale apartments. In addition, water burst through a manhole on South Pearl Street near Arch Street, shooting water at least two stories high. Flooding also closed Holland Avenue, and water at least 8 inches deep was pouring over the curb on Broadway, near the State Department of Environmental Conservation building.||Numerous basements were also flooded within the city of Albany, as well as in portions of Guilderland, Delmar and Bethlehem.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
317,018
Population (ACS)
$295K
Median home value
23
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 2021 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HENRI | EM |
| Mar 20, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 12, 2017 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Oct 28, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | EM |
| Sep 8, 2011 | Severe Storm | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM LEE | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Albany 179
- North Bethlehem 102
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Albany County, New York?
928 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $41.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Albany County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 516 recorded events — 55.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Albany County?
7 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 4 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Albany County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Albany County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Albany County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Albany County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 86 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Albany County, New York severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Allegany County 451
- Bronx County 151
- Broome County 1,069
- Cattaraugus County 684
- Cayuga County 526
- Chautauqua County 785
Cite this page
“Albany County, New York.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-york/albany-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.