Dutchess County, New York severe weather history spans 955 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 70.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #166 nationally and #4 in New York.
955
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
15
Direct injuries
$21.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Dutchess County, New York severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Dutchess County, New York severe weather history averages 13.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 286 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 80 events fall before 1990 and 875 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Dutchess County, New York record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $8.5M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Dutchess County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 669 | 3 | $8.5M | 126 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 159 | 0 | $48K | 2.75 | 1957–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 63 | 1 | $3.9M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 21 | 0 | $5.9M | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Tornado | 16 | 0 | $3.3M | F1 | 1978–2022 |
| Lightning | 15 | 2 | $302K | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 7 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 1998–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2021 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2009 |
| Strong Wind | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Dutchess 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
17 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 15 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-04-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-11-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-05-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-05-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-06-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-09-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-05-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-06-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-07-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 22.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-07-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Dutchess County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 2016 | Lightning | SPACKENKILL | 2 | 3 | $0 |
| Jun 27, 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | MANCHESTER BRIDGE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 27, 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | ARTHURSBURG | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 17, 1999 | Flash Flood | WINGDALE | 1 | 0 | $100K |
| Jul 1, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Oct 11, 1998 | Heavy Rain | NORTHEAST CENTER | 0 | 3 | $5K |
| Apr 18, 2009 | Dust Devil | ARTHURSBURG | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 19, 1990 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Five people (four men and one woman) were struck by lightning in Mansion Square Park in Poughkeepsie during a thunderstorm. The five people were seated in park benches under a tree on the northern side of the park, when lightning struck the tree and traveled through the ground and into the benches. Three of the people were unresponsive immediately after the lightning strike and two would eventually die due to their injuries. Witnesses saw items burning near the people after the strike.
Heavy rain led to widespread flooding of small streams and creeks across the county, which began during the early morning hours of Monday, April 16th, and persisted into Wednesday morning on the 18th.|Record flooding occurred on the Wappingers Creek at Wappingers Falls, which crested at 15.06 feet at 19:45 EST on the 16th, which was 7.06 feet above the flood stage of 8.0 feet.|Moderate flooding also was recorded along the Tenmile River at Webatuck, which crested at 11.23 feet at 16:45 EST on the 16th. |Widespread flooding led to numerous road closures, which included large stretches of the Taconic State Parkway in both directions throughout the county.|In addition, numerous home foundation collapses were reported near Stormville during Monday morning on the 16th.
Severe thunderstorms resulted in damage across parts of eastern New York as they moved across the area during the afternoon of August 1st. In Binghamton numerous trees and a shed were knocked down by thunderstorm winds while lightning caused transformer fires knocking out power. In Corbett lightning struck a metal plant injuring two workers and damaging electrical equipment. In Poughkeepsie and Hopewell Junction thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees and powerlines and caused extensive damage at a local golf course.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
298,220
Population (ACS)
$401K
Median home value
27
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 22, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 5, 2021 | Hurricane | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | DR |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Hurricane | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | EM |
| Aug 22, 2021 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HENRI | EM |
| Mar 20, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Dutchess County, New York?
955 events are on record between 1957 and 2026, causing 6 direct deaths and $21.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Dutchess County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 669 recorded events — 70.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Dutchess County?
17 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 15 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Dutchess County?
27 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Dutchess County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Dutchess County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Dutchess County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 88 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Dutchess 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
- Delaware County 548
- Erie County 790
- Cortland County 433
- Essex County 395
- Columbia County 826
- Franklin County 322
Cite this page
“Dutchess County, New York.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-york/dutchess-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.