NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Clayton, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Clayton, New York since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Hugo in 1989. Since 1950, 2 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 2
- 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 Clayton
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Clayton; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 72 mph winds when its centre passed 45 miles away. The record near Clayton begins with an unnamed storm in 1893; the most recent system was Hugo in 1989, a tropical storm 36 miles away. Of the 809 New York cities on this site, 99% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Clayton. The highest rating among the 2 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 9, 2004, came within 23 miles. Of the 809 New York cities, 100% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Clayton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 5 times since 2006, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 809 New York cities, 98% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Clayton.
Compare Clayton's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Clayton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | HugoSep 23 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 12 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Clayton: 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 Clayton
By decade
- 2000s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 2004 | F0 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 5, 2003 | F0 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 2 of 2, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Clayton
The Storm Prediction Center has 5 hail reports within 10 miles of Clayton since 2006, made on 3 separate days. Of these, 4 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently August 15, 2018. The most recent report is from August 15, 2018.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Clayton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Watertown International Airport, NY, 17 miles south of Clayton at 318 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 10°F. October is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 37.2 inches over 87 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 2 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 151 nights a year. That 37.2 inches is more than at 21 of the 137 New York stations used on this site (15%). Alexandria Bay, 11 miles northeast, has its own station (Gouverneur 3 NW, NY): 39.9 inches a year, 2.7 more than here, and the same July average high, 79°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Alexandria Bay, NY, 11 miles northeast, averaged 73°F in August and 34°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 10 | 2.9 | 8 | 37 |
| Feb | 31 | 11 | 2.2 | 6 | 34 |
| Mar | 40 | 21 | 2.4 | 6 | 35 |
| Apr | 54 | 33 | 3.1 | 8 | 40 |
| May | 66 | 44 | 3.0 | 8 | 50 |
| Jun | 75 | 53 | 3.1 | 7 | 61 |
| Jul | 79 | 59 | 3.0 | 6 | 71 |
| Aug | 78 | 57 | 3.2 | 6 | 73 |
| Sep | 71 | 49 | 3.6 | 7 | 70 |
| Oct | 58 | 39 | 4.2 | 9 | 62 |
| Nov | 47 | 30 | 3.4 | 9 | 52 |
| Dec | 36 | 19 | 3.1 | 8 | 42 |
| Year | 55 | 35 | 37.2 | 87 | 52 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Watertown International Airport, NY (318 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Alexandria Bay, NY, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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 Clayton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 23 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Clayton: 22 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $281,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on July 1, 2001.
August 31, 2016: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Clayton — 1 injured.
July 21, 2010: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Clayton — $100,000 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 Clayton's ZIP code 13624 have filed 42 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $884,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2019, with 15. Of the 549 New York cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 251 have fewer than Clayton.
Jefferson County, which includes Clayton, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 snowstorms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 hurricanes). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Tropical Storm Debby, on September 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jefferson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, hail, coastal flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $25.7 million a year, the 36th highest of 62 New York counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $19.4 million (76%), 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 Clayton
- La Fargeville, NY7 mi
- Chaumont, NY9 mi
- Alexandria Bay, NY11 mi
- Theresa, NY15 mi
- Dexter, NY15 mi
- Evans Mills, NY16 mi
- Fort Drum, NY20 mi
- Watertown, NY20 mi
- Sackets Harbor, NY20 mi
- Black River, NY22 mi
- Hammond, NY25 mi
- Adams Center, NY25 mi
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