NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Saratoga Springs, 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
15 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Saratoga Springs, New York since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isaias in 2020. Since 1950, 38 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 14
- Tornadoes
- 38
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Saratoga Springs
The strongest storm to pass near Saratoga Springs was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds when its centre passed 35 miles away. The record near Saratoga Springs begins with an unnamed storm in 1866; the most recent system was Isaias in 2020, a tropical storm 4 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 3 systems. Of the 15 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 809 New York cities on this site, 49% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Saratoga Springs. The highest rating among the 38 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1998, came within 11 miles. Of the 38, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 17 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on July 24, 2024. Saratoga Springs has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 80% of the 809 New York cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 119 times since 1969, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Saratoga Springs has more hail reports within 10 miles than 95% of the 809 New York cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Saratoga Springs
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1952 | AbleSep 2 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 21 | 35 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormOct 1 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 24 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Saratoga Springs: 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 Saratoga Springs
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s7
- 2000s2
- 1990s7(1 EF3+)
- 1980s4
- 1970s8(1 EF3+)
- 1960s1(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1998 | F3 | 11 mi | 30.5 mi | 0 / 68 |
| Jun 16, 1974 | F3 | 12 mi | 49.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1960 | F3 | 11 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 9 |
| May 29, 2013 | EF2 | 22 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 11, 1976 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 28, 1973 | F2 | 17 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 16, 2024 | EF1 | 14 mi | 8.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 29, 2020 | EF1 | 14 mi | 2.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 29, 2020 | EF1 | 10 mi | 0.26 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 10, 2020 | EF1 | 21 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 29, 2020 | EF1 | 11 mi | 8.58 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 2020 | EF1 | 7 mi | 1.78 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 38, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Saratoga Springs
The Storm Prediction Center has 119 hail reports within 10 miles of Saratoga Springs since 1969, made on 68 separate days. Of these, 70 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 1, 2011. The most recent report is from July 10, 2025. June has the most reports, 30.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Saratoga Springs
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Saratoga Springs 4 SW, NY, 4 miles southwest of Saratoga Springs at 326 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 14°F. July is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 46.4 inches over 88 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 55% of the year's precipitation (25.3 of 46.4 inches); the other six months are drier. August has brought the most of the 15 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal August there has highs of 82°F and 4.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 145 nights a year. Snowfall averages 63.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 46.4 inches is more than at 93 of the 137 New York stations used on this site (68%). Gansevoort, 8 miles northeast, has its own station (Glens Falls Farm, NY): 46.6 inches a year, 0.2 more than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 14 | 3.4 | 7 | 16.5 |
| Feb | 35 | 16 | 2.7 | 6 | 15.7 |
| Mar | 45 | 25 | 3.4 | 7 | 11.4 |
| Apr | 60 | 36 | 3.8 | 8 | 1.8 |
| May | 73 | 47 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 56 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 61 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 59 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 52 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 41 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 49 | 31 | 3.5 | 7 | 2.9 |
| Dec | 37 | 22 | 3.9 | 8 | 15.1 |
| Year | 60 | 38 | 46.4 | 88 | 63.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Saratoga Springs 4 SW, NY (326 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 Saratoga Springs
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 332 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Saratoga Springs: 280 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 flash floods, 20 floods, 7 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $2.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 113 mph, on February 17, 2006. July has had the most flash floods, 18 of 24. Of the 798 New York cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 384 have had fewer than Saratoga Springs.
September 21, 2000: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Saratoga Springs — 2 injured, $250,000 damage.
July 18, 2008: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Saratoga Springs — 2 injured.
July 26, 2008: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Saratoga Springs — 2 injured.
NWS: “A 62 year old male, and a 59 year old woman were injured by lightning at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center near Saratoga Springs at approximately 1830 LST. Lightning struck a tent pole near the food concession area, as both individuals were touching a wall.”
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 Saratoga Springs's ZIP code 12866 have filed 55 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $306,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Irene in 2011: 13 claims (24% of all) and $70,000. 51% 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, 299 have fewer than Saratoga Springs.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Irene2011 | 13 | $70,000 |
Saratoga County, which includes Saratoga Springs, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1987, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 5 snowstorms, 4 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 20, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Saratoga County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $53.0 million a year, the 19th highest of 62 New York counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $38.3 million (72%), 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 Saratoga Springs
- Greenfield Center, NY5 mi
- Ballston Spa, NY7 mi
- Gansevoort, NY8 mi
- Schuylerville, NY9 mi
- Stillwater, NY9 mi
- Middle Grove, NY10 mi
- Mechanicville, NY12 mi
- Ballston Lake, NY12 mi
- Corinth, NY12 mi
- Burnt Hills, NY13 mi
- Schaghticoke, NY14 mi
- Greenwich, NY14 mi
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