NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Schenectady, 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
17 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Schenectady, New York since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isaias in 2020. Since 1950, 35 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 16
- Tornadoes
- 35
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Schenectady
The strongest storm to pass near Schenectady was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 1 hurricane with 82 mph winds when its centre passed 45 miles away. The record near Schenectady begins with an unnamed storm in 1863; the most recent system was Isaias in 2020, a tropical storm 2 miles away. The 1890s and the 1970s were the busiest decades, with 3 systems each. Of the 17 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 809 New York cities on this site, 49% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Schenectady. The strongest of the 35 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on July 10, 1989; its path came within 22 miles. Of the 35, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 16 have come since 2000. May and August have had the most tornadoes, 9 each. The most recent tornado was on July 24, 2024. Schenectady has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 70% of the 809 New York cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 170 times since 1958, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Schenectady has more hail reports within 10 miles than 98% of the 809 New York cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Schenectady
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 23 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 21 | 45 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormOct 1 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Schenectady: 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 Schenectady
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s10(1 EF3+)
- 2000s3
- 1990s7(1 EF3+)
- 1980s4(1 EF3+)
- 1970s6(1 EF3+)
- 1960s1(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 10, 1989 | F4 | 22 mi | 42 mi | 0 / 20 |
| May 22, 2014 | EF3 | 12 mi | 6.79 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1998 | F3 | 12 mi | 30.5 mi | 0 / 68 |
| Jun 16, 1974 | F3 | 3 mi | 49.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1960 | F3 | 3 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 9 |
| May 29, 2013 | EF2 | 2 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 31, 1998 | F2 | 20 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 28, 1973 | F2 | 21 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 29, 2020 | EF1 | 19 mi | 2.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 29, 2020 | EF1 | 15 mi | 0.26 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 21, 2019 | EF1 | 22 mi | 0.38 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 2017 | EF1 | 20 mi | 0.25 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 Schenectady
The Storm Prediction Center has 170 hail reports within 10 miles of Schenectady since 1958, made on 73 separate days. Of these, 101 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on July 16, 2009. The most recent report is from May 17, 2025. June has the most reports, 58.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Schenectady
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Albany Airport, NY, 7 miles southeast of Schenectady at 312 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 16°F. July is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 40.9 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (23.1 of 40.9 inches); the other six months are drier. August has brought the most of the 17 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal August there has highs of 82°F and 3.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 136 nights a year. Snowfall averages 59.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 40.9 inches is more than at 49 of the 137 New York stations used on this site (36%). Burnt Hills, 8 miles north, has its own station (Saratoga Springs 4 SW, NY): 46.4 inches a year, 5.5 more than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 16 | 2.6 | 6 | 15.6 |
| Feb | 36 | 18 | 2.3 | 5 | 13.7 |
| Mar | 45 | 26 | 3.1 | 7 | 12.0 |
| Apr | 59 | 37 | 3.1 | 7 | 1.6 |
| May | 71 | 48 | 3.4 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 79 | 57 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 61 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 53 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 41 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 49 | 32 | 3.0 | 6 | 2.6 |
| Dec | 38 | 23 | 3.3 | 7 | 13.3 |
| Year | 59 | 39 | 40.9 | 81 | 59.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Albany Airport, NY (312 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 Schenectady
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 562 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Schenectady: 406 thunderstorm wind reports, 77 flash floods, 54 floods, 13 lightning strikes and 12 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $5.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 115 mph, on June 2, 2000. August has had the most flash floods, 32 of 77. Of the 798 New York cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 606 have had fewer than Schenectady.
July 2, 2014: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Schenectady — 3 injured.
NWS: “Three Rotterdam Highway Department employees were struck by lightning on Curry Road in Rotterdam. The employees were outdoors loading empty boxes onto a truck during the thunderstorm when they were struck and knocked over.”
June 5, 2007: lightning strike in Schenectady — 2 injured.
NWS: “Two females, ages 18 and 16, were standing under a tree in Schenectady when lightning struck the tree, injuring both females.”
August 14, 2002: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Schenectady — 1 injured, $1.0 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Schenectady's 6 ZIP codes have filed 236 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $4.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Irene in 2011: 64 claims (27% of all) and $2.7 million, then Flooding in 1996 with 43. 53% 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, 449 have fewer than Schenectady.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Irene2011 | 64 | $2.7 million |
| Flooding1996 | 43 | $283,000 |
Schenectady County, which includes Schenectady, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1987, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 5 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 Schenectady 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 $32.4 million a year, the 28th highest of 62 New York counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $24.3 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 Schenectady
- Rexford, NY5 mi
- Scotia, NY5 mi
- Guilderland, NY7 mi
- Altamont, NY8 mi
- Burnt Hills, NY8 mi
- Clifton Park, NY8 mi
- Latham, NY9 mi
- Ballston Lake, NY9 mi
- Slingerlands, NY10 mi
- Albany, NY10 mi
- Voorheesville, NY11 mi
- Pattersonville, NY11 mi
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