Schenectady County, New York severe weather history spans 423 recorded events between 1960 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 58.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,161 nationally and #33 in New York.
423
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
22
Direct injuries
$29.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Schenectady County, New York severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Schenectady County, New York severe weather history averages 6.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 181 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 27 events fall before 1990 and 396 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $25.0M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Schenectady County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 249 | 0 | $1.3M | 100 | 1981–2025 |
| Hail | 73 | 0 | $32K | 3 | 1973–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 41 | 0 | $3.0M | 0 | 1996–2020 |
| Flood | 33 | 0 | $42K | 0 | 2006–2026 |
| Lightning | 10 | 0 | $95K | 0 | 1998–2021 |
| Heavy Rain | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2018 |
| Tornado | 6 | 0 | $25.0M | F3 | 1960–2015 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2001–2001 |
Decade by decade
Schenectady 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
7 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 4 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-05-22 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-06-16 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 49.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1960-06-24 | EF3 | 0 | 9 | 16.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-05-29 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 12.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-09-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2015-06-09 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-08-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Schenectady County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 1960 | Tornado | 0 | 9 | $25.0M | |
| Jul 2, 2014 | Lightning | CARMAN | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jun 27, 1998 | Lightning | DUANESBURG | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jun 5, 2007 | Lightning | SCHENECTADY | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | SCHENECTADY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 28, 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | SCOTIA | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 29, 2013 | Tornado | MARIAVILLE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 21, 2011 | Lightning | MARIAVILLE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Flash flooding resulted in numerous road closures across Schenectady County during the late afternoon and evening hours.||Several roads were also washed out, including, but not limited to, State Route 160 and culverts near the New York State Thruway overpass in Pattersonville, Crawford Road, North Kelly Road, and the bridge at Kelly Station Road and Route 7.||Additional damage occurred to a section of Route 5S near Rotterdam Junction.||In addition, Interstate 90, the New York State Thruway, was closed between exits 26 and 27 due to flooding, with several vehicles disabled in the flood waters.||Other roads that were closed included, but were not limited to, Guilderland Road at Cleveland Road, Route 147 between Charlton Road and West Glenville Road, Junction Road, Creek Road and Shun Pike Road near Esperance.||High water also scoured out a railroad embankment and the tracks that a train was on, stranding the train until the track could be repaired.
A National Weather Service meteorologist surveyed thunderstorm wind damage in the Upper Union Street neighborhood of Schenectady and determined a microburst occurred during a thunderstorm. Numerous large silver maple trees and large tree limbs were downed along DeCamp Avenue, Wright Avenue, Hampton Avenue, Eastern Parkway and Union Street. These trees and tree limbs downed power lines and damaged some homes and cars as well. Trees were also downed near the Rose Garden in Central Park as well.
Heavy rain from repeated clusters of thunderstorms led to flash flooding in portions of Schenectady. This flooding led to several cars being stranded within rapid rises of water, along with ensuing water rescues. ||Weaver Street in Schenectady was particularly hard hit.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
160,369
Population (ACS)
$236K
Median home value
25
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 |
| Sep 13, 2011 | Severe Storm | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM LEE | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Schenectady 129
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Schenectady County, New York?
423 events are on record between 1960 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $29.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Schenectady County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 249 recorded events — 58.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Schenectady County?
7 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 4 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Schenectady County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Schenectady County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Schenectady County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Schenectady County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 71 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Schenectady 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
- Saratoga County 1,125
- Schoharie County 354
- St. Lawrence County 460
- Schuyler County 199
- Rockland County 319
- Seneca County 209
Cite this page
“Schenectady County, New York.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-york/schenectady-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.