NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pearl River, 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
45 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Pearl River, New York since 1851, 7 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 37 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 7
- Tropical storms
- 38
- Tornadoes
- 37
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Pearl River
The strongest storm to pass near Pearl River was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 3 hurricane with 117 mph winds when its centre passed 58 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1893, whose centre came within 13 miles. The record near Pearl River begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 52 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 5 systems, 2 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 45 systems, 7 have come since 2000. Pearl River has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 70% of the 809 New York cities on this site. The highest rating among the 37 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 4 times; the most recent, on July 12, 2006, came within 8 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on November 16, 1989, killed 9 people. Of the 37, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 12 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on July 29, 2021. Pearl River has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 77% of the 809 New York cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 75 times since 1985, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Pearl River has more hail reports within 10 miles than 84% of the 809 New York cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Pearl River
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 2 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2021 | ElsaJul 9 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | FayJul 11 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 8 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 7 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1999 | FloydSep 17 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 27 | 45 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | HenriSep 24 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1976 | BelleAug 10 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 22 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 15 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 12 | 63 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1955 | DianeAug 19 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 21 | 58 mi | Category 3 (117 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormSep 9 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 17 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | overhead | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormSep 15 | 73 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 16 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormOct 14 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 24 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 10 | 63 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 13 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 24 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 70 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 5 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 29 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | overhead | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Pearl River: 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 Pearl River
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s8
- 2000s3
- 1990s6
- 1980s7
- 1970s10
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 12, 2006 | F2 | 8 mi | 10.1 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jul 15, 1970 | F2 | 11 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 1962 | F2 | 10 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 1956 | F2 | 4 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 16, 1989 | F1 | 20 mi | 9.1 mi | 9 / 18 |
| Sep 16, 2010 | EF1 | 23 mi | 4 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Oct 2, 2018 | EF1 | 14 mi | 4.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 2, 2018 | EF1 | 11 mi | 2.12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 7, 2013 | EF1 | 9 mi | 1.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 29, 2011 | EF1 | 24 mi | 4.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 25, 2010 | EF1 | 12 mi | 0.87 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Aug 12, 2005 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 37, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Pearl River
The Storm Prediction Center has 75 hail reports within 10 miles of Pearl River since 1985, made on 42 separate days. Of these, 44 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on July 8, 2021. The most recent report is from August 3, 2024. July has the most reports, 26.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Pearl River
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dobbs Ferry-Ardsley, NY, 10 miles east of Pearl River at 200 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 23°F. December is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 51.3 inches over 80 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (26.4 of 51.3 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 45 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (20); a normal September there has highs of 77°F and 4.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 19 days a year, almost all from May to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 109 nights a year. Snowfall averages 32.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 51.3 inches is more than at 127 of the 137 New York stations used on this site (93%). Upper Saddle River, NJ, 4 miles west, has its own station (Wanaque Raymond Dam, NJ): 48.5 inches a year, 2.8 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 86°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Kings Point, NY, 22 miles southeast, averaged 74°F in August and 38°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Kings Point tide gauge, 22 miles from Pearl River, has risen 1.08 ± 0.04 inches per decade from 1931 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 10.8 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 62 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 23 | 3.9 | 7 | 9.4 | 40 |
| Feb | 43 | 25 | 3.3 | 5 | 10.9 | 38 |
| Mar | 51 | 31 | 4.4 | 7 | 5.8 | 42 |
| Apr | 63 | 40 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.7 | 48 |
| May | 73 | 50 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 | 57 |
| Jun | 81 | 59 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 | 65 |
| Jul | 86 | 64 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 | 71 |
| Aug | 84 | 63 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 | 74 |
| Sep | 77 | 56 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 | 72 |
| Oct | 65 | 45 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 | 63 |
| Nov | 54 | 36 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.3 | 54 |
| Dec | 45 | 29 | 4.7 | 7 | 5.6 | 44 |
| Year | 63 | 43 | 51.3 | 80 | 32.7 | 56 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dobbs Ferry-Ardsley, NY (200 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Kings Point, 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 Pearl River
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 582 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pearl River: 292 thunderstorm wind reports, 172 flash floods, 85 floods and 33 lightning strikes. They killed 5 people and injured 20, and the NWS estimated $50.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 6, 2008. July has had the most flash floods, 48 of 172. Of the 798 New York cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 717 have had fewer than Pearl River.
June 10, 2008: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Pearl River — 1 killed, 1 injured, $500 damage.
May 15, 2018: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Pearl River — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
NWS: “Tree fell on car on Red Schoolhouse Road killing an 80 year old woman inside.”
July 18, 1997: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Pearl River — 1 killed.
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 Pearl River's ZIP code 10965 have filed 108 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Not a named storm in 1979: 21 claims (19% of all) and $21,000. 44% 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, 387 have fewer than Pearl River.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Not a named storm1979 | 21 | $21,000 |
Rockland County, which includes Pearl River, has been named in 30 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 hurricanes, 5 floods, 5 severe storms, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on July 22, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Rockland County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes, inland flooding, coastal flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $60.5 million a year, the 16th highest of 62 New York counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $38.0 million (63%), 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 Pearl River
- Montvale, NJ2 mi
- Park Ridge, NJ2 mi
- Nanuet, NY3 mi
- Blauvelt, NY3 mi
- Orangeburg, NY3 mi
- West Nyack, NY3 mi
- Woodcliff Lake, NJ3 mi
- Spring Valley, NY4 mi
- Hillsdale, NJ4 mi
- Upper Saddle River, NJ4 mi
- Tappan, NY4 mi
- Westwood, NJ5 mi
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