NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Seneca Falls, 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
8 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Seneca Falls, New York since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Frances in 2004. Since 1950, 16 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 16
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Seneca Falls
The strongest storm to pass near Seneca Falls was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 76 mph winds when its centre passed 69 miles away. The record near Seneca Falls begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Frances in 2004, a tropical storm 27 miles away. Of the 8 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 809 New York cities on this site, 49% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Seneca Falls. The highest rating among the 16 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 2, 1983, came within 19 miles. Of the 16, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 9 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on July 7, 2025. Of the 809 New York cities, 82% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Seneca Falls. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 36 times since 1978, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 809 New York cities, 58% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Seneca Falls.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Seneca Falls
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | FrancesSep 9 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 23 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 69 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 17 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 14 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Seneca Falls: 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 Seneca Falls
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s2
- 2000s5
- 1990s3
- 1980s2(1 EF3+)
- 1970s1
- 1960s1(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 1983 | F3 | 19 mi | 20 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1969 | F3 | 7 mi | 17.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 7, 2025 | EF2 | 13 mi | 1.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 21, 2011 | EF2 | 10 mi | 7.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 3, 2018 | EF1 | 23 mi | 1.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 2007 | EF1 | 18 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 28, 2002 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 20, 1994 | F1 | 11 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1991 | F1 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 1980 | F1 | 20 mi | 9.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 1978 | F1 | 18 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.75 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 16, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Seneca Falls
The Storm Prediction Center has 36 hail reports within 10 miles of Seneca Falls since 1978, made on 18 separate days. Of these, 22 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently May 21, 2013. The most recent report is from July 31, 2014. July has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Seneca Falls
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Auburn, NY, 12 miles east of Seneca Falls at 770 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 15°F. October is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 44.4 inches over 103 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 143 nights a year. Snowfall averages 109.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 44.4 inches is more than at 77 of the 137 New York stations used on this site (56%). Waterloo, 4 miles west, has its own station (Geneva Rsch Farm, NY): 34.7 inches a year, 9.7 less than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 15 | 2.9 | 9 | 29.1 |
| Feb | 33 | 16 | 2.5 | 7 | 25.9 |
| Mar | 42 | 23 | 3.2 | 7 | 17.2 |
| Apr | 55 | 34 | 3.7 | 10 | 3.1 |
| May | 69 | 45 | 3.8 | 9 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 77 | 55 | 4.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 60 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 52 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 41 | 4.5 | 11 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 48 | 32 | 3.6 | 9 | 8.8 |
| Dec | 37 | 23 | 3.6 | 10 | 24.7 |
| Year | 57 | 38 | 44.4 | 103 | 109.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Auburn, NY (770 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 Seneca Falls
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 111 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Seneca Falls: 97 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 flash floods, 6 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $21.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 29, 2012. Of the 798 New York cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 95 have had fewer than Seneca Falls.
September 7, 1998: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Seneca Falls — 3 injured, $20.0 million damage.
January 23, 2018: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Seneca Falls — 2 injured, $40,000 damage.
May 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Seneca Falls — 1 injured, $30,000 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 Seneca Falls's ZIP code 13148 have filed 45 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $258,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1993, with 23. 2% 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, 264 have fewer than Seneca Falls.
Seneca County, which includes Seneca Falls, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 hurricanes, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 20, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Seneca County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.8 million a year, the 58th highest of 62 New York counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.6 million (78%), 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 Seneca Falls
- Cayuga, NY4 mi
- Waterloo, NY4 mi
- Union Springs, NY9 mi
- Port Byron, NY11 mi
- Clyde, NY11 mi
- Auburn, NY11 mi
- Geneva, NY12 mi
- Savannah, NY12 mi
- Romulus, NY12 mi
- Phelps, NY13 mi
- Weedsport, NY15 mi
- Lyons, NY15 mi
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