Yates County, New York severe weather history spans 216 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 59.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,343 nationally and #54 in New York.
216
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
9
Direct injuries
$28.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Yates County, New York severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Yates County, New York severe weather history averages 3.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 70 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 19 events fall before 1990 and 197 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 $22.5M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Yates County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 128 | 0 | $899K | 87 | 1973–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 43 | 0 | $22.5M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 37 | 0 | $0 | 1.75 | 1966–2025 |
| Tornado | 5 | 0 | $5.1M | F1 | 1954–2018 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $3K | 0 | 2017–2017 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2009 |
Decade by decade
Yates 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: 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-05-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-06-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1978-06-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-07-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-07-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Yates County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1992 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 5 | $0 | |
| May 26, 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | PENN YAN | 0 | 3 | $15K |
| Jun 13, 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | MIDDLESEX | 0 | 1 | $50K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Catastrophic flash flooding was occurring in the downtown area of the Village of Penn Yan. Jacobs Brook became a raging torrent of water as it traveled into, and under the center of the village. The hardest hit areas were in the vicinity of Elm Street and Champlin Avenue where roads buckled, parking lots caved in, and the Owl's Nest Community Center collapsed. Tractor-trailer container boxes were seen floating down the streets, where they collided into the Wagner restaurant causing significant structural damage. Foundations of several homes were washed away during the flood.
A total of seven towns and one village reported significant roadway damages. In most cases, the damages were related to either shoulder wash-outs or significant debris buildup on roadways. In one case, the road was fully washed out. several other roads had deep, newly formed pot holes/voids. In addition to roadway damage, there were several cases of mass wasting and sediment transport. In the Town of Middlesex, one home had soil and debris build-up as high as the door knob level. Another area along South Lake Road had the downward movement of an entire portion of a hillside with localized water damages to several homes. A voluntary evacuation was in place for the area along South Lake Road. Some of the harder hit areas included Barrington, Benton, Italy, Jerusalem, Middlesex, and Penn Yan.
Very heavy rainfall from slow-moving thunderstorms caused flash flooding of small streams leading to numerous road closures in southeast Yates County. Rainfall amounts were on the order of 3 to 4 inches in a 3 hour period. Several roads were undermined and damaged by the flood waters. At one point most roads in the village of Dundee, and the towns of Barrington and Starkey were either closed or impassable.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
24,526
Population (ACS)
$185K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 2024 | Tropical Storm | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | DR |
| Oct 8, 2021 | Hurricane | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM FRED | DR |
| Mar 20, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 8, 2014 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 28, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Yates County, New York?
216 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $28.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Yates County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 128 recorded events — 59.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Yates County?
5 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 Yates County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Yates County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Yates County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Yates County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 47 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Yates 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
- Wyoming County 263
- Westchester County 738
- Wayne County 354
- Washington County 773
- Warren County 462
- Ulster County 941
Cite this page
“Yates County, New York.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-york/yates-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.