NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rensselaer, 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
20 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Rensselaer, New York since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isaias in 2020. Since 1950, 35 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 18
- Tornadoes
- 35
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Rensselaer
The strongest storm to pass near Rensselaer was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 1 hurricane with 85 mph winds when its centre passed 35 miles away. The record near Rensselaer begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Isaias in 2020, a tropical storm 12 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1970s, with 4 systems. Of the 20 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Rensselaer has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 51% of the 809 New York cities on this site. The highest rating among the 35 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on July 10, 1989, came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on August 28, 1973, killed 4 people. Of the 35, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 15 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2020. Rensselaer has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 70% of the 809 New York cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 194 times since 1965, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Rensselaer has more hail reports within 10 miles than 99% of the 809 New York cities.
Compare Rensselaer's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Rensselaer
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 27 | 66 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1976 | BelleAug 10 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 23 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 21 | 35 mi | Category 1 (85 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 72 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 Rensselaer: 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 Rensselaer
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s5(1 EF3+)
- 2000s8
- 1990s10(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3(1 EF3+)
- 1970s6(2 EF3+)
- 1960s1(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 1973 | F4 | 22 mi | 9.8 mi | 4 / 36 |
| Jul 10, 1989 | F4 | 23 mi | 42 mi | 0 / 20 |
| May 22, 2014 | EF3 | 22 mi | 6.79 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1998 | F3 | 20 mi | 30.5 mi | 0 / 68 |
| Jun 16, 1974 | F3 | 7 mi | 49.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1960 | F3 | 14 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 9 |
| May 29, 2013 | EF2 | 16 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 21, 2003 | F2 | 16 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 31, 1998 | F2 | 6 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1997 | F2 | 20 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 28, 1973 | F2 | 20 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 29, 2020 | EF1 | 20 mi | 2.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 35, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rensselaer
The Storm Prediction Center has 194 hail reports within 10 miles of Rensselaer since 1965, made on 87 separate days. Of these, 106 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on July 16, 2009. The most recent report is from July 20, 2025. July has the most reports, 67.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rensselaer
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Troy L&D, NY, 8 miles north of Rensselaer at 15 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 17°F. June and July are the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 42.0 inches over 83 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 57% of the year's precipitation (23.9 of 42.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 20 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal September there has highs of 77°F and 3.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 131 nights a year. That 42.0 inches is more than at 57 of the 137 New York stations used on this site (42%). Glenmont, 4 miles southwest, has its own station (Albany Airport, NY): 40.9 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 17 | 2.7 | 6 |
| Feb | 37 | 18 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Mar | 46 | 26 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Apr | 60 | 38 | 3.1 | 7 |
| May | 73 | 49 | 3.8 | 8 |
| Jun | 81 | 59 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Jul | 86 | 64 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Aug | 84 | 62 | 3.9 | 7 |
| Sep | 77 | 54 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Oct | 64 | 43 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Nov | 51 | 33 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Dec | 40 | 25 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Year | 61 | 41 | 42.0 | 83 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Troy L&D, NY (15 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 Rensselaer
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 671 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rensselaer: 481 thunderstorm wind reports, 99 flash floods, 72 floods, 11 lightning strikes and 8 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 19, and the NWS estimated $10.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on July 26, 2011. August has had the most flash floods, 55 of 99. Of the 798 New York cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 649 have had fewer than Rensselaer.
August 14, 2002: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Rensselaer — 9 injured, $10,000 damage.
April 22, 1996: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Rensselaer — 3 injured, $20,000 damage.
July 9, 2007: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Rensselaer — 2 injured, $200,000 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 Rensselaer's ZIP code 12144 have filed 81 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1989, and were paid $498,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2008, with 14. 27% 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, 357 have fewer than Rensselaer.
Rensselaer County, which includes Rensselaer, 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.