NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Petersburg, 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
22 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Petersburg, New York since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isaias in 2020. Since 1950, 32 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 20
- Tornadoes
- 32
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Petersburg
The strongest storm to pass near Petersburg was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 1 hurricane with 83 mph winds when its centre passed 17 miles away. The record near Petersburg begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Isaias in 2020, a tropical storm 24 miles away. Of the 22 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Petersburg has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 51% of the 809 New York cities on this site. The strongest of the 32 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on August 28, 1973; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 4 people. Of the 32, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 8 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 9. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2020. Petersburg has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 809 New York cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 22 times since 1959, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 809 New York cities, 80% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Petersburg.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Petersburg
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 27 | 54 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1976 | BelleAug 10 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1952 | AbleSep 2 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 21 | 17 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormSep 9 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormOct 1 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 24 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 30 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 65 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 Petersburg: 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 Petersburg
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s2
- 2000s4
- 1990s11(1 EF3+)
- 1980s2
- 1970s6(1 EF3+)
- 1960s4(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 1973 | F4 | 24 mi | 9.8 mi | 4 / 36 |
| May 31, 1998 | F3 | 12 mi | 30.5 mi | 0 / 68 |
| Jun 24, 1960 | F3 | 21 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 9 |
| May 31, 1998 | F2 | 14 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1997 | F2 | 25 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1975 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 28, 1973 | F2 | 12 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 1, 1966 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 22, 1955 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 29, 2020 | EF1 | 14 mi | 2.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 29, 2020 | EF1 | 21 mi | 0.26 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 27, 2014 | EF1 | 23 mi | 0.25 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 Petersburg
The Storm Prediction Center has 22 hail reports within 10 miles of Petersburg since 1959, made on 15 separate days. Of these, 13 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on July 25, 1972. The most recent report is from June 23, 2024. June has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Petersburg
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Grafton, NY, 5 miles west of Petersburg at 1,560 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 78°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 14°F. October is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 47.1 inches over 96 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (25.2 of 47.1 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 22 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal September there has highs of 69°F and 4.2 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 1 days a year. Lows fall below freezing on about 152 nights a year. That 47.1 inches is more than at 99 of the 137 New York stations used on this site (72%). Pownal, VT, 8 miles east, has its own station (North Adams Harriman Airport, MA): 42.3 inches a year, 4.8 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 78°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 14 | 3.0 | 8 |
| Feb | 32 | 16 | 2.6 | 6 |
| Mar | 41 | 23 | 3.7 | 9 |
| Apr | 55 | 35 | 4.4 | 8 |
| May | 67 | 46 | 4.4 | 9 |
| Jun | 74 | 54 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Jul | 78 | 59 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Aug | 77 | 58 | 4.0 | 8 |
| Sep | 69 | 51 | 4.2 | 8 |
| Oct | 58 | 41 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Nov | 45 | 30 | 3.5 | 8 |
| Dec | 34 | 21 | 3.8 | 9 |
| Year | 55 | 37 | 47.1 | 96 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Grafton, NY (1,560 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 Petersburg
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 130 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Petersburg: 106 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 7 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 115 mph, on July 6, 1999. July has had the most flash floods, 6 of 15. Of the 798 New York cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 228 have had fewer than Petersburg.
July 19, 2015: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Petersburg — 1 injured.
July 6, 1999: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Petersburg — $500,000 damage.
July 1, 2017: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Petersburg — $300,000 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
Rensselaer County, which includes Petersburg, has been named in 29 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 6 hurricanes, 5 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 20, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Rensselaer County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $49.0 million a year, the 21st highest of 62 New York counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $36.6 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 Petersburg
- Pownal, VT8 mi
- Williamstown, MA9 mi
- Hoosick Falls, NY9 mi
- Johnsonville, NY11 mi
- Averill Park, NY12 mi
- Bennington, VT13 mi
- North Bennington, VT14 mi
- Melrose, NY14 mi
- North Adams, MA14 mi
- Wynantskill, NY15 mi
- Troy, NY15 mi
- Lanesboro, MA15 mi
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