NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ghent, 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
27 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Ghent, New York since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isaias in 2020. Since 1950, 32 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 24
- Tornadoes
- 32
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Ghent
The strongest storm to pass near Ghent was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds when its centre passed 33 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1893, whose centre came within 19 miles. The record near Ghent begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Isaias in 2020, a tropical storm 25 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1970s, with 4 systems. Of the 27 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Ghent has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 57% of the 809 New York cities on this site. The highest rating among the 32 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 29, 1995, came within 14 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on August 28, 1973, killed 4 people. Of the 32, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 15 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2018. Ghent has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 809 New York cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 69 times since 1959, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Ghent has more hail reports within 10 miles than 79% of the 809 New York cities.
Compare Ghent's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Ghent
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1999 | FloydSep 17 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 27 | 52 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1976 | BelleAug 10 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 23 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 21 | 33 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormSep 9 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 5 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 19 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 30 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Ghent: 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 Ghent
By decade
- 2010s2
- 2000s13
- 1990s9(1 EF3+)
- 1980s2(1 EF3+)
- 1970s4(2 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 1973 | F4 | 13 mi | 9.8 mi | 4 / 36 |
| May 29, 1995 | F4 | 14 mi | 11.5 mi | 3 / 24 |
| Jul 10, 1989 | F4 | 20 mi | 42 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jun 16, 1974 | F3 | 9 mi | 49.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 2003 | F2 | 7 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 21, 2003 | F2 | 13 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 31, 1998 | F2 | 19 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1997 | F2 | 7 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1997 | F2 | 24 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 29, 1995 | F2 | 7 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 12, 1959 | F2 | 25 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1955 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 32, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ghent
The Storm Prediction Center has 69 hail reports within 10 miles of Ghent since 1959, made on 41 separate days. Of these, 43 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 8, 2011. The most recent report is from July 3, 2025. June has the most reports, 33.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ghent
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hudson Correctional Facility, NY, 8 miles southwest of Ghent at 30 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 35°F and 18°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 44.2 inches over 78 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (24.9 of 44.2 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 27 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (11); a normal September there has highs of 75°F and 4.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 127 nights a year. Snowfall averages 31.0 inches a year, most of it in December. That 44.2 inches is more than at 72 of the 137 New York stations used on this site (53%). Chatham, 5 miles northeast, has its own station (Valatie 1 N, NY): 42.1 inches a year, 2.1 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 85°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Turkey Point Hudson River NERRS, NY, 25 miles southwest, averaged 79°F in July and 35°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35 | 18 | 2.7 | 6 | 8.2 | 35 |
| Feb | 38 | 19 | 2.6 | 5 | 8.5 | 35 |
| Mar | 48 | 28 | 3.3 | 6 | 4.4 | 40 |
| Apr | 63 | 38 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.3 | 49 |
| May | 74 | 49 | 3.5 | 8 | 0.0 | 62 |
| Jun | 81 | 58 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 | 73 |
| Jul | 85 | 63 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 | 79 |
| Aug | 83 | 61 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 | 77 |
| Sep | 75 | 55 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 | 73 |
| Oct | 64 | 43 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 | 62 |
| Nov | 51 | 33 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.5 | 49 |
| Dec | 40 | 25 | 3.6 | 7 | 9.1 | 38 |
| Year | 62 | 41 | 44.2 | 78 | 31.0 | 56 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hudson Correctional Facility, NY (30 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Turkey Point Hudson River NERRS, 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 Ghent
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 386 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ghent: 304 thunderstorm wind reports, 45 flash floods, 26 floods, 6 heavy rain events and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $7.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on June 9, 2004. July has had the most flash floods, 13 of 45. Of the 798 New York cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 528 have had fewer than Ghent.
July 13, 2023: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Ghent — 1 injured.
July 29, 2009: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Ghent — $4.5 million damage.
April 15, 2007: flood 7 miles from the centre of Ghent — $2.0 million 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
Columbia County, which includes Ghent, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 6 snowstorms, 5 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 20, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Columbia County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $24.6 million a year, the 39th highest of 62 New York counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $17.3 million (70%), 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.