Clinton County, New York severe weather history spans 359 recorded events between 1960 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 55.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,436 nationally and #43 in New York.
359
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$51.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Clinton County, New York severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Clinton County, New York severe weather history averages 5.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 111 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 30 events fall before 1990 and 329 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Clinton County, New York record is flash flood, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $43.9M 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 Clinton County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 200 | 0 | $4.0M | 70 | 1960–2025 |
| Hail | 93 | 0 | $139K | 2.25 | 1973–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 37 | 2 | $43.9M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Flood | 13 | 0 | $3.7M | 0 | 2007–2017 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2002–2020 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $90K | 0 | 1996–2007 |
| Tornado | 2 | 0 | $80K | F0 | 2004–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2020–2020 |
| Strong Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2001 |
Decade by decade
Clinton 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
2 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 2 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-10 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-07-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Clinton County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 2011 | Flash Flood | FRONTIER | 2 | 0 | $8.5M |
| Jul 2, 2023 | Flash Flood | MERRILL | 0 | 2 | $100K |
| Jul 23, 1996 | Lightning | ALTONA | 0 | 1 | $15K |
| Aug 5, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tropical Storm Irene deposited 3 to 6 inches of rainfall to Clinton county during the late morning and afternoon hours. The greatest rainfall amounts and impact were across central Clinton county along the eastern slopes of the Adirondacks. Significant flash flooding occurred within the Saranac, AuSable and Great Chazy valleys with numerous roads (local and State including Route 3, 11, 190, 374), as well as a few bridges, homes and businesses washed out. Some of the greater impacted communites included AuSable Forks, Altona, Cadyville and Morrisonville. Lots of agriculture flooding at harvest time. Two fatalities in Altona along the Great Chazy river on Devil' Den road as a vehicle drove off a closed and washed out bridge.
Trees and wires down in Peru and along Lakeshore Drive in South Plattsburgh. In addition, several airport hangar roofs suffered wind damage and an old DC-3 aircraft was pushed through a chain link fence with damage to fence and aircraft.
Heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Irene caused flooding in Clinton County along the Great Chazy River. The Great Chazy at Perry Mills crested at 9.50 feet at 11:45 AM EDT on August 29. Flood stage is 9.0 feet. For the Ausable River at Ausable Forks, a new record crest was at at 18.43 feet at 22:30 EST August 29. Flood stage is 7.0 feet, and the previous record was 15.22 feet set on November 9 1996.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
78,493
Population (ACS)
$181K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 22, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
| Jul 12, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 28, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Clinton County, New York?
359 events are on record between 1960 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $51.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Clinton County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 200 recorded events — 55.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Clinton County?
2 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 2 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Clinton County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Clinton County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Clinton County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clinton County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 69 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Clinton 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
- Chenango County 603
- Columbia County 826
- Chemung County 324
- Cortland County 433
- Chautauqua County 785
- Delaware County 548
Cite this page
“Clinton County, New York.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-york/clinton-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.