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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sunnyside, 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

46 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Sunnyside, New York since 1851, 8 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 55 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
8

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
38

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
55

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
0

1 deaths in all

What the records show for Sunnyside

The strongest storm to pass near Sunnyside was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 3 hurricane with 121 mph winds when its centre passed 53 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1893, whose centre came within 2 miles. The record near Sunnyside begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 30 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 5 systems, 2 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 46 systems, 7 have come since 2000. Sunnyside has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 76% of the 809 New York cities on this site. The highest rating among the 55 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 8 times; the most recent, on August 8, 2007, came within 8 miles. The deadliest, an EF1 on September 16, 2010, killed 1 person. Of the 55, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 18 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 15. The most recent tornado was on November 13, 2021. Sunnyside is tied for the most tornadoes within 25 miles among the 809 New York cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 73 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Sunnyside has more hail reports within 10 miles than 83% of the 809 New York cities.

Compare Sunnyside's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sunnyside

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Sunnyside, New York, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 230 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 4
2021ElsaJul 952 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2020IsaiasAug 460 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 1
2020FayJul 1143 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2013AndreaJun 853 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2011IreneAug 28overheadTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 718 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1999FloydSep 1624 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 136 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 2734 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 4
1985HenriSep 2457 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1976BelleAug 1033 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 3
1972AgnesJun 2215 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 1
1971DoriaAug 283 miTropical storm (60 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 1134 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1533 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 1249 miCategory 2 (98 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 3015 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1911 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1952AbleSep 140 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 1565 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 5
1938Unnamed 1938 stormSep 2153 miCategory 3 (121 mph)Category 5
1934Unnamed 1934 stormSep 946 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1922 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 303 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1749 miTropical storm (55 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 421 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 1
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1552 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 1664 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 2
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1651 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1900Unnamed 1900 stormOct 1426 miTropical storm (39 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 156 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 2
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 2452 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1047 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2952 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 242 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1130 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2237 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2444 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 546 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 297 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2612 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 308 miTropical storm (60 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1916 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormNov 366 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2812 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Sunnyside: 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 Sunnyside

By decade

  • 2020s2
  • 2010s10
  • 2000s6
  • 1990s11
  • 1980s10
  • 1970s12
  • 1960s1
  • 1950s3
Strongest tornadoes near Sunnyside, New York
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Aug 8, 2007EF28 mi3.92 mi0 / 9
Jul 12, 2006F223 mi10.1 mi0 / 6
Sep 7, 1998F214 mi0.2 mi0 / 6
Sep 18, 1973F223 mi1.9 mi0 / 0
Sep 27, 1970F222 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Jul 15, 1970F212 mi2 mi0 / 0
Aug 7, 1962F215 mi2.5 mi0 / 0
Sep 6, 1956F223 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Sep 16, 2010EF14 mi4 mi1 / 1
Oct 31, 2019EF125 mi4.87 mi0 / 0
Oct 7, 2013EF116 mi1.25 mi0 / 0
Sep 8, 2012EF18 mi4.74 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 55, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Sunnyside

The Storm Prediction Center has 73 hail reports within 10 miles of Sunnyside since 1962, made on 41 separate days. Of these, 34 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on August 1, 2011. The most recent report is from July 21, 2022. August has the most reports, 23.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Sunnyside

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is New York Laguardia Airport, NY, 3 miles northeast of Sunnyside at 11 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 29°F. August is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 45.4 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (23.6 of 45.4 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 46 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (21); a normal September there has highs of 77°F and 3.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 22 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 62 nights a year. Snowfall averages 29.8 inches a year, most of it in February. That 45.4 inches is more than at 85 of the 137 New York stations used on this site (62%). Long Island City, 1 mile southwest, has its own station (New York Cntrl Pk Twr, NY): 49.6 inches a year, 4.2 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 86°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station The Battery, NY, 6 miles southwest, averaged 74°F in August and 39°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the The Battery tide gauge, 6 miles from Sunnyside, has risen 1.16 ± 0.02 inches per decade from 1856 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 11.6 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 66 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at New York Laguardia Airport, NY
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow inWater °F
Jan40293.368.641
Feb43302.969.839
Mar50364.075.442
Apr61463.960.449
May72563.670.058
Jun81664.070.066
Jul86724.360.073
Aug85714.460.074
Sep77643.960.072
Oct66533.850.165
Nov55433.260.356
Dec45354.175.246
Year635045.47529.857

Averages for 1991–2020 at New York Laguardia Airport, NY (11 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station The Battery, NY, from NOAA Tides & Currents. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.

New York weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Sunnyside

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 663 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sunnyside: 301 thunderstorm wind reports, 287 flash floods, 51 floods, 21 lightning strikes and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 21 people and injured 57, and the NWS estimated $304.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 125 mph, on September 16, 2010. July has had the most flash floods, 75 of 287. Of the 798 New York cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 794 have had fewer than Sunnyside.

  • September 1, 2021: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Sunnyside — 3 killed.

  • September 1, 2021: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Sunnyside — 3 killed.

  • July 18, 1997: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Sunnyside — 2 killed, 16 injured.

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

Queens County, which includes Sunnyside, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 hurricanes, 3 floods, 3 severe storms, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Hurricane Ida, on September 5, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Queens County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding, coastal flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively High for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $377.1 million a year, the highest of 62 New York counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $185.3 million (49%), 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 Sunnyside