Queens County, New York severe weather history spans 385 recorded events between 1958 and 2026. The dominant hazard is flash flood, accounting for 40.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,314 nationally and #38 in New York.
385
Recorded events
22
Direct deaths
76
Direct injuries
$81.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Queens County, New York severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Queens County, New York severe weather history averages 5.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 125 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 24 events fall before 1990 and 361 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Queens County, New York record is flash flood, responsible for 12 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $64.1M in reported property damage. In total, 11 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Queens County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | 155 | 12 | $64.1M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 142 | 2 | $516K | 109 | 1958–2026 |
| Hail | 28 | 0 | $6K | 2.75 | 1963–2021 |
| Heavy Rain | 22 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2015 |
| Flood | 18 | 2 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Lightning | 9 | 0 | $45K | 0 | 2004–2020 |
| Tornado | 5 | 1 | $17.2M | F1 | 1985–2018 |
| Rip Current | 3 | 5 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2002 |
| Coastal Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2009 |
| Winter Weather | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Queens 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
5 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-09-16 | EF1 | 1 | 1 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-09-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-10-05 | EF1 | 0 | 6 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-08-02 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-08-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Queens County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2, 2021 | Flash Flood | AUBURNDALE | 3 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Flash Flood | WOODSIDE | 3 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 23, 2001 | Rip Current | ROCKAWAY BEACH | 3 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 3, 1996 | Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 2 | 21 | $0 |
| Jul 19, 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | QUEENS VILLAGE | 2 | 16 | $0 |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Flash Flood | HOLLIS | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 11, 2004 | Flash Flood | COLLEGE PT | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 16, 2010 | Tornado | FLUSHING | 1 | 1 | $17.2M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A National Weather Service Storm Survey Team confirmed a tornado in Queens.||The tornado impacted Flushing and Bayside. In Flushing, on Browne Street between Roosevelt and 38th Avenues, the third floor of a residential brick building was severely damaged structurally. Large tree tops were lying on top of buildings and shot like projectiles between buildings. Sides of houses were peeled back. There was clear evidence of twisted metal along the side of the building. On Warren Street near the intersection of Roosevelt Avenue, a steel framed water tower was blown over on the roof. There was a partial roof collapse on another residential building.||A Pennsylvania woman was killed in her car by a falling tree on Grand Central Parkway. Her passenger was injured. A man trying to assist the woman suffered a brain aneurysm and died. ||The tornado touched down around 2.5 miles south of Flushing and lifted 1 mile northeast of Bayside over Little Neck Bay.
Numerous utility poles, street lamps, and trees were reported down in Northeastern Queens, with the worst damage in Little Neck and Douglaston. At least one chimney was collapsed, and trees fell on several vehicles, including a mini-van, totaling the vehicle, and destroying a double bass inside.
In Springfield Gardens, Springfield Blvd. became impassable due to flood waters. A bus became submerged in high water on Springfield Blvd. near 140th St. and its occupants were rescued by the local fire department. Water accumulated under the underpasses on the Belt Parkway, causing the road to be closed in both directions. Multiple people were trapped in vehicles, which local fire departments responded to in addition to flooding of many residential homes. A resident on Edgewood Ave. needed assistance escaping the deluge of water entering her basement apartment.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,323,052
Population (ACS)
$724K
Median home value
25
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Oct 2, 2020 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | DR |
| 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 Queens County, New York?
385 events are on record between 1958 and 2026, causing 22 direct deaths and $81.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Queens County?
Flash Flood, with 155 recorded events — 40.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Queens County?
5 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 5 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Queens County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Queens County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Queens County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Queens County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 99 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Queens 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
- Putnam County 239
- Rensselaer County 804
- Otsego County 664
- Richmond County 204
- Oswego County 571
- Rockland County 319
Cite this page
“Queens County, New York.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-york/queens-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.