Tompkins County, New York severe weather history spans 420 recorded events between 1960 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 61.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,178 nationally and #34 in New York.
420
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$27.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Tompkins County, New York severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Tompkins County, New York severe weather history averages 6.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 118 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 38 events fall before 1990 and 382 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $23.2M 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 Tompkins County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 260 | 0 | $2.0M | 87 | 1960–2025 |
| Hail | 102 | 0 | $1.1M | 2 | 1971–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 33 | 0 | $23.2M | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Tornado | 8 | 0 | $982K | F1 | 1961–2023 |
| Lightning | 7 | 0 | $119K | 0 | 2000–2020 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $24K | 0 | 2000–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2009 |
Decade by decade
Tompkins 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
10 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988-08-28 | EF1 | 1 | 1 | 13.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-08-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 9.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-06-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-06-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-06-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-06-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-08-07 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-08-21 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-08-25 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Tompkins County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 2003 | Lightning | DRYDEN | 0 | 1 | $2K |
| Sep 12, 2000 | Lightning | DRYDEN | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An isolated thunderstorm produced a weak tornado in the town of Dryden along State Routes 13 and 392. A barn collapsed. Several large trees were downed on homes. A large tree fell on a car and destroyed it. Power and telephone lines were taken down. Several buildings sustained light roof damage. Roof shingles were blown off. Eaves were peeled up. Chimneys were damaged. Windows were blown out. About a hundred trees sustained damage.
Trees and wires down in the towns of Groton and Dryden. Most of the damage was withing half a mile of the village of McLean in the town of Groton. At least 15 houses sustained significant roof and porch damage from very large hardwood trees that were uprooted or had large limbs snapped off. Many trees were also downed along Cemetery Road. Many pines were snapped behind the school. Near Hart Corners (2 miles west of McLean) half of a large sturdy three story barn collapsed. The metal half dome tops of two 60 foot silos collapsed and were partially shredded and torn off on one side. A small barn at the intersection of county roads 107 and 105 was destroyed throwing debris through a wooden picket fence and across a gas station parking lot. None of the plastic cladding or signs at the gas station appeared damaged. Also no damage was visible to roofs on houses other than that caused by falling trees. A large shed was demolished near Salt Road and county road 107. East of county roads 106 and 180 to the Tompkins and Cortland County line, the damage tapered off gradually.
Numerous trees and a few wires downed. The Groton Rural Cemetery had a large number of huge old trees fall down. The largest monument in the cemetery received damage when the obelisk topping it fell off. It broke into three pieces when it hit the ground. An estimate for the repair was more than $100,000. A tree fell onto a house. Another tree fell onto a gazebo.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
104,537
Population (ACS)
$291K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Jul 1, 2006 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Tompkins County, New York?
420 events are on record between 1960 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $27.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Tompkins County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 260 recorded events — 61.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Tompkins County?
10 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 8 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Tompkins County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Tompkins County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Tompkins County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Tompkins County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 74 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Tompkins 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
- Tioga County 418
- Ulster County 941
- Sullivan County 547
- Warren County 462
- Suffolk County 867
- Washington County 773
Cite this page
“Tompkins County, New York.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-york/tompkins-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.