Columbia County, New York severe weather history spans 826 recorded events between 1959 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 71.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #268 nationally and #9 in New York.
826
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
14
Direct injuries
$22.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Columbia County, New York severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Columbia County, New York severe weather history averages 12.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 298 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 38 events fall before 1990 and 788 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Columbia County, New York record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $11.2M 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 Columbia County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 587 | 0 | $1.7M | 90 | 1959–2025 |
| Hail | 102 | 0 | $90K | 2.75 | 1959–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 64 | 0 | $7.4M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Flood | 29 | 0 | $2.0M | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Lightning | 23 | 1 | $116K | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Tornado | 14 | 0 | $11.2M | F4 | 1973–2010 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2015 |
| Strong Wind | 1 | 0 | $15K | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Columbia 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
14 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 13 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-08-28 | EF4 | 4 | 36 | 9.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-07-21 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-07-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-29 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 15.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-11-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-07-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-07-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-07-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-07-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-09-20 | EF1 | 0 | 3 | 14.2 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Columbia County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 7, 2013 | Lightning | WEST TAGHKANIC | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 29, 1995 | Tornado | Hudson to | 0 | 5 | $10.0M |
| Oct 19, 1990 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Sep 20, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Jul 13, 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | CLAVERACK | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 6, 2004 | Lightning | ANCRAMDALE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 22, 2003 | Tornado | KINDERHOOK | 0 | 1 | $200K |
| Oct 19, 1990 | 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
A 26 year old man was struck by lightning on a beach at Lake Taghkanic State Park in Gallatin. The man was standing under a tree that was struck by lightning and the lightning traveled through this body. He went into cardiac arrest, but was resuscitated at the park by emergency personnel. He was then brought to a hospital in Hudson and transferred to Albany Medical Center where he later died.
Heavy rain led to widespread flooding of small streams and creeks across the county, including Kinderhook Creek, and Claverack Creek, beginning Sunday evening on the 15th, and persisted through Tuesday evening on the 17th. This led to numerous road closures throughout the county, including New York State Route 66 between Bridge Street in Greenport, and the Fish and Game Road in Claverack. The most widespread flooding occurred mainly south of Route 23. In addition, numerous basements were reported retaining water near Stockport along Sotckport Creek.|Furthermore, a bridge at the intersection of County Road 16 and 23 collapsed in Hollowville due to high water along Claverack Creek around 2015 EST on the 15th.|The Town of Greenport wastewater treatment plant also sustained severe damage from the flooding of Claverack Creek.
Severe thunderstorms moved across central and eastern New York during the late morning and early afternoon of the 4th ahead of a powerful cold front. At Norrie State Park in Staatsburg 75 to 100 trees were blown down. Central Hudson Electric and Gas Company reported over 16,000 customers without power during the height of the storms. Other areas hit hard by the storms were Livingston and Germantown in Columbia County where numerous trees were toppled some of which fell on homes.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
61,100
Population (ACS)
$347K
Median home value
27
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 |
| Aug 31, 2011 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IRENE | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Columbia County, New York?
826 events are on record between 1959 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $22.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Columbia County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 587 recorded events — 71.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Columbia County?
14 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 13 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Columbia County?
27 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Columbia County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Columbia County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Columbia County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 69 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Columbia 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
- Clinton County 359
- Cortland County 433
- Chenango County 603
- Delaware County 548
- Chemung County 324
- Dutchess County 955
Cite this page
“Columbia County, New York.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-york/columbia-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.