Orleans County, New York severe weather history spans 174 recorded events between 1961 and 2024. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 66.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,590 nationally and #60 in New York.
174
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$8.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Orleans County, New York severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Orleans County, New York severe weather history averages 2.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 50 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 30 events fall before 1990 and 144 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $6.1M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Orleans County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 115 | 0 | $6.1M | 78 | 1961–2024 |
| Hail | 30 | 0 | $430K | 1.75 | 1980–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 0 | $377K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2020–2020 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 2019–2019 |
| Heavy Snow | 2 | 0 | $110K | 0 | 1999–1999 |
| Tornado | 1 | 0 | $25K | F1 | 1986–1986 |
Decade by decade
Orleans 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
1 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986-09-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
39,608
Population (ACS)
$141K
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 |
| Nov 14, 2017 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 12, 2017 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Dec 22, 2014 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 28, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Orleans County, New York?
174 events are on record between 1961 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths and $8.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Orleans County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 115 recorded events — 66.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Orleans County?
1 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 1 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Orleans County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Orleans County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Orleans County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Orleans County as very low risk, placing it in the 18 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Orleans 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
- Orange County 746
- Oswego County 571
- Ontario County 499
- Otsego County 664
- Onondaga County 760
- Putnam County 239
Cite this page
“Orleans County, New York.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-york/orleans-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.