NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Clay, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Clay, New York since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Agnes in 1972. Since 1950, 23 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 23
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Clay
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Clay; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1893, a tropical storm with 69 mph winds when its centre passed 59 miles away. The record near Clay begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Agnes in 1972, a tropical storm 38 miles away. None of the 5 systems has come since 2000. Of the 809 New York cities on this site, 94% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Clay. The highest rating among the 23 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 2, 1983, came within 1 mile. The deadliest, an EF1 on July 16, 2024, killed 1 person. Of the 23, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 6 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 6. The most recent tornado was on July 16, 2024. Of the 809 New York cities, 67% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Clay. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 104 times since 1960, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Clay has more hail reports within 10 miles than 93% of the 809 New York cities.
Compare Clay's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Clay
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | AgnesJun 23 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 17 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Clay: 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 Clay
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s2
- 2000s3
- 1990s9
- 1980s4(2 EF3+)
- 1970s1
- 1960s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 1983 | F3 | 1 mi | 20 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 2, 1983 | F3 | 6 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1969 | F3 | 15 mi | 17.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 21, 2011 | EF2 | 24 mi | 7.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 16, 2024 | EF1 | 22 mi | 1.42 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jul 28, 2002 | F1 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 1993 | F1 | 8 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1991 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1986 | F1 | 5 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Sep 8, 1981 | F1 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 9, 1960 | F1 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 2010 | EF0 | 11 mi | 1.78 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 23, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Clay
The Storm Prediction Center has 104 hail reports within 10 miles of Clay since 1960, made on 50 separate days. Of these, 53 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 23, 2004. The most recent report is from August 24, 2025. May and June have the most reports, 26 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Clay
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Syracuse Hancock International Airport, NY, 6 miles southeast of Clay at 413 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 17°F. July and October are the wettest at 3.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 40.0 inches over 90 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 132 nights a year. Snowfall averages 127.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 40.0 inches is more than at 43 of the 137 New York stations used on this site (31%). Pennellville, 6 miles northwest, has its own station (Fulton, NY): 46.8 inches a year, 6.8 more than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 17 | 2.6 | 7 | 34.0 |
| Feb | 34 | 18 | 2.5 | 7 | 30.3 |
| Mar | 42 | 25 | 3.0 | 8 | 19.8 |
| Apr | 56 | 36 | 3.5 | 8 | 3.0 |
| May | 69 | 47 | 3.4 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 77 | 57 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 60 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 53 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 42 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 48 | 33 | 3.2 | 8 | 9.8 |
| Dec | 37 | 24 | 3.3 | 8 | 30.6 |
| Year | 58 | 39 | 40.0 | 90 | 127.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Syracuse Hancock International Airport, NY (413 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 Clay
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 227 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Clay: 200 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 flash floods, 4 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 5 people and injured 21, and the NWS estimated $110.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on July 29, 2006. Of the 798 New York cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 352 have had fewer than Clay.
September 7, 1998: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Clay — 3 killed, 7 injured, $90.0 million damage.
May 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Clay — 1 killed, 1 injured, $40,000 damage.
June 30, 2015: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Clay — 1 killed, $500,000 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 Clay's ZIP code 13041 have filed 31 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $178,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1993, with 22. Of the 549 New York cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 200 have fewer than Clay.
Onondaga County, which includes Clay, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 4 severe storms, 3 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred, on October 8, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Onondaga County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $103.1 million a year, the 10th highest of 62 New York counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $77.5 million (75%), 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 Clay
- Brewerton, NY4 mi
- Liverpool, NY4 mi
- North Syracuse, NY4 mi
- Cicero, NY4 mi
- Pennellville, NY6 mi
- Phoenix, NY8 mi
- Baldwinsville, NY8 mi
- Central Square, NY8 mi
- Syracuse, NY10 mi
- Warners, NY10 mi
- East Syracuse, NY10 mi
- West Monroe, NY11 mi
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