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Kings (Brooklyn); Southwest Suffolk; Southeast Suffolk; Southern Queens; Southern Nassau
Kings County, New York severe weather history spans 213 recorded events between 1961 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 40.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,366 nationally and #55 in New York.
213
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
29
Direct injuries
$70.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Kings County, New York severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Kings County, New York severe weather history averages 3.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 61 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 8 events fall before 1990 and 205 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Kings County, New York record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $61.5M 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 Kings County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 86 | 2 | $268K | 65 | 1961–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 71 | 2 | $61.5M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 17 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2006 |
| Lightning | 13 | 0 | $53K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2014 |
| Hail | 7 | 0 | $0 | 1.75 | 1985–2021 |
| Tornado | 3 | 0 | $8.8M | EF2 | 2007–2012 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2018 |
| Winter Weather | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–1996 |
| Rip Current | 1 | 2 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2005 |
Decade by decade
Kings 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
3 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-08-08 | EF2 | 0 | 9 | 3.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-09-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-09-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Kings County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 5, 2005 | Rip Current | BROOKLYN | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 30, 2025 | Flash Flood | BROOKLYN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Flash Flood | BROOKLYN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 22, 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | BROOKLYN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 19, 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | BROOKLYN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 8, 2007 | Tornado | CONEY IS | 0 | 9 | $0 |
| Dec 31, 1996 | Winter Weather | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 6 | $0 |
| Jun 3, 2000 | Lightning | BROOKLYN | 0 | 5 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Two swimmers, 16 and 40 years of age, drown as they were caught in a rip current at the beach off 93rd street in the Rockaways. Two others escaped without injury. Weather conditions included south winds at 10 to 15 MPH at the time, with no long period swells reported.
A National Weather Service Storm Survey Team confirmed a tornado near Park Slope in Brooklyn.||In the northern portion of Prospect Park, there were signs of tree damage that converged towards a well defined narrow path. Tree tops were twisted and sheared off. The location of the tornado was bounded by Prospect Park on the west, Flatbush Avenue on the east and Subway Grand Army Plaza to the north. The tornado formed just southwest of the Brooklyn Public Library and lifted around 2 miles northeast of Park Slope.
A four story brick residence was struck by lightning, causing damage to portions of the roof. A two by three foot section of the brick roof was dislodged and fell to the street and sidewalk below. No injuries were reported.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,631,580
Population (ACS)
$905K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 30, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORM 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Brooklyn 173
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Kings County, New York?
213 events are on record between 1961 and 2025, causing 6 direct deaths and $70.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Kings County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 86 recorded events — 40.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Kings County?
3 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 Kings County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Kings County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Kings County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kings County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 99 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Kings 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
- Jefferson County 343
- Lewis County 374
- Herkimer County 908
- Livingston County 350
- Hamilton County 189
- Madison County 405
Cite this page
“Kings County, New York.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-york/kings-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.