NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Brightwaters, NY
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
55 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Brightwaters, New York since 1851, 13 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 22 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 13
- Tropical storms
- 42
- Tornadoes
- 22
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Brightwaters
The strongest storm to pass near Brightwaters was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 3 hurricane with 121 mph winds when its centre passed 19 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Gloria in 1985, whose centre crossed the city. The record near Brightwaters begins with an unnamed storm in 1856; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 16 miles away. The 1860s and the 1900s were the busiest decades, with 5 systems each. Of the 55 systems, 7 have come since 2000. Brightwaters has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 94% of the 809 New York cities on this site. The highest rating among the 22 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 3 times; the most recent, on September 7, 1998, came within 22 miles. Of the 22, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 11 have come since 2000. June and August have had the most tornadoes, 5 each. The most recent tornado was on November 13, 2021. Of the 809 New York cities, 70% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Brightwaters. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 33 times since 1985, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 809 New York cities, 62% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Brightwaters.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Brightwaters
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 2 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2021 | ElsaJul 9 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | FayJul 11 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 8 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 7 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2007 | BarryJun 4 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1999 | FloydSep 17 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1991 | BobAug 19 | 65 mi | Category 2 (106 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 27 | overhead | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | HenriSep 24 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1976 | BelleAug 10 | overhead | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 22 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | overhead | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 15 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 12 | 18 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1959 | CindyJul 11 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 19 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1954 | CarolAug 31 | 49 mi | Category 3 (115 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 21 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormSep 15 | 37 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 3 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 21 | 19 mi | Category 3 (121 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormSep 9 | 14 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 17 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1908 | Unnamed 1908 stormMay 30 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormJun 30 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormSep 15 | 30 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormOct 14 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 24 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 10 | 17 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 31 mi | Category 1 (85 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormOct 12 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 12 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 24 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 19 | 56 mi | Category 1 (89 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 5 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 30 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormSep 8 | 65 mi | Category 3 (115 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormNov 3 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1858 | Unnamed 1858 stormSep 16 | 49 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 20 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Brightwaters: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Brightwaters
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s4
- 2000s3
- 1990s7
- 1970s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 7, 1998 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Sep 18, 1973 | F2 | 10 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 1970 | F2 | 12 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 13, 2021 | EF1 | 21 mi | 5.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 2007 | EF1 | 4 mi | 0.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 12, 2005 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1998 | F1 | 20 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1998 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 1995 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 12, 1978 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 13, 2021 | EF0 | 18 mi | 1.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 13, 2021 | EF0 | 4 mi | 0.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 22, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Brightwaters
The Storm Prediction Center has 33 hail reports within 10 miles of Brightwaters since 1985, made on 19 separate days. Of these, 15 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 24, 2004. The most recent report is from July 21, 2022. July has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Brightwaters
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Farmingdale Airport, NY, 8 miles west of Brightwaters at 81 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 25°F. September is the wettest at 3.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 38.5 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (19.9 of 38.5 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 55 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (22); a normal September there has highs of 75°F and 3.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 88 nights a year. That 38.5 inches is more than at 31 of the 137 New York stations used on this site (23%). Islip, 3 miles east, has its own station (Islip Li Macarthur Airport, NY): 46.1 inches a year, 7.6 more than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 25 | 2.7 | 5 |
| Feb | 41 | 26 | 2.0 | 5 |
| Mar | 48 | 33 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Apr | 58 | 42 | 3.6 | 6 |
| May | 68 | 51 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Jun | 77 | 61 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Jul | 83 | 68 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Aug | 82 | 67 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Sep | 75 | 60 | 3.7 | 5 |
| Oct | 64 | 48 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Nov | 53 | 38 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Dec | 44 | 31 | 3.6 | 7 |
| Year | 61 | 46 | 38.5 | 69 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Farmingdale Airport, NY (81 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Brightwaters
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 202 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Brightwaters: 128 thunderstorm wind reports, 70 flash floods, 3 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 10, and the NWS estimated $35.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on January 18, 1999. August has had the most flash floods, 33 of 70. Of the 798 New York cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 590 have had fewer than Brightwaters.
September 7, 1998: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Brightwaters — 1 killed, 2 injured.
July 18, 1997: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Brightwaters — 5 injured.
June 2, 2019: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Brightwaters — 1 injured, $6,000 damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Brightwaters's ZIP code 11718 have filed 142 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $4.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Sandy in 2012: 69 claims (49% of all) and $3.9 million. 75% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 549 New York cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 416 have fewer than Brightwaters.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Sandy2012 | 69 | $3.9 million |
Suffolk County, which includes Brightwaters, has been named in 36 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 25 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 hurricanes, 9 severe storms, 5 snowstorms, 3 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm and Flooding, on October 21, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Suffolk County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for coastal flooding and lightning; Relatively High for hurricanes, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $320.5 million a year, the 3rd highest of 62 New York counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $193.3 million (60%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Brightwaters
- Bay Shore, NYunder 1 mi
- West Islip, NY2 mi
- Islip, NY3 mi
- North Babylon, NY3 mi
- Babylon, NY4 mi
- Deer Park, NY4 mi
- East Islip, NY5 mi
- West Babylon, NY5 mi
- Islip Terrace, NY5 mi
- Central Islip, NY6 mi
- Lindenhurst, NY6 mi
- Oakdale, NY7 mi
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