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Madison County, New York severe weather history spans 405 recorded events between 1966 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 58.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,236 nationally and #36 in New York.
405
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$39.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Madison County, New York severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Madison County, New York severe weather history averages 6.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 127 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 31 events fall before 1990 and 374 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Madison County, New York record is tornado, responsible for 5 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $30.9M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Madison County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 235 | 0 | $6.6M | 78 | 1966–2025 |
| Hail | 102 | 0 | $27K | 2.5 | 1971–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 49 | 0 | $30.9M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 8 | 5 | $1.5M | F2 | 1977–2024 |
| Lightning | 4 | 1 | $20K | 0 | 2000–2023 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $815K | 0 | 2002–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2024–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2006 |
Decade by decade
Madison 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
9 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-07-08 | EF2 | 4 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-05-16 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 5.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-09-18 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-07-16 | EF1 | 1 | 0 | 1.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-08-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-08-07 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-08-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-11-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-07-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Madison County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 8, 2014 | Tornado | PETERBORO | 4 | 0 | $600K |
| Jul 24, 2023 | Lightning | CLOCKVILLE | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 16, 2024 | Tornado | CANASTOTA | 1 | 0 | $250K |
| Aug 13, 1990 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| May 16, 2009 | Tornado | QUAKER SETTLEMENT | 0 | 1 | $50K |
| Sep 18, 1977 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado touched down in Smithfield just 2 miles to the northeast of Peterboro. This EF2 tornado with a path length of 2.5 miles and a path width of 235 yard resulted in 4 fatalities in Smithfield. Three homes were destroyed and 5 additional homes sustained significant damage.
Three construction workers were struck by lightning in the town of Lincoln while sheltering under a tree and waiting for a storm to pass. Unfortunately, all sustained injuries with one of them later passing away due to their injuries.
Record flooding occurred along the Oneida Creek near Oneida, NY. The river crested at 15.55 feet according to a USGS high water mark survey. The previous record crest was 15.01 feet from an event back in October of 1976.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
67,328
Population (ACS)
$185K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Dec 19, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 Madison County, New York?
405 events are on record between 1966 and 2025, causing 6 direct deaths and $39.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Madison County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 235 recorded events — 58.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Madison County?
9 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 9 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Madison County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Madison County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Madison County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Madison County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 59 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Madison 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
- Livingston County 350
- Monroe County 532
- Lewis County 374
- Montgomery County 528
- Kings County 213
- Nassau County 582
Cite this page
“Madison County, New York.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-york/madison-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.