NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wellsville, 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
12 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Wellsville, New York since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Frances in 2004. Since 1950, 18 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 11
- Tornadoes
- 18
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Wellsville
The strongest storm to pass near Wellsville was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 77 mph winds when its centre passed 3 miles away. The record near Wellsville begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Frances in 2004, a tropical storm 19 miles away. Of the 12 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 809 New York cities on this site, 49% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Wellsville. The highest rating among the 18 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on July 21, 2003, came within 12 miles. Of the 18, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 12 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 7. The most recent tornado was on September 6, 2024. Of the 809 New York cities, 79% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Wellsville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 11 times since 1994, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 809 New York cities, 92% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Wellsville.
Compare Wellsville's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Wellsville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | FrancesSep 9 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 23 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 3 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 17 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 14 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Wellsville: 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 Wellsville
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s5
- 2000s6(1 EF3+)
- 1990s2
- 1970s2
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 2003 | F3 | 12 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1969 | F3 | 16 mi | 84.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F2 | 15 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 3, 1993 | F2 | 15 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1962 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 2024 | EF1 | 9 mi | 5.98 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 2017 | EF1 | 15 mi | 4.22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 2013 | EF1 | 21 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 2010 | EF1 | 8 mi | 7.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 2009 | EF1 | 17 mi | 7.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 12, 2005 | F1 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 22, 2002 | F1 | 6 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 18, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Wellsville
The Storm Prediction Center has 11 hail reports within 10 miles of Wellsville since 1994, made on 7 separate days. Of these, 7 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on July 7, 2012. The most recent report is from May 30, 2017. July has the most reports, 7.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Wellsville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Wellsville, NY, 2 miles north of Wellsville at 1,510 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 54°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 13°F. July is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 39.7 inches over 90 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 57% of the year's precipitation (22.7 of 39.7 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 12 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 71°F and 3.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 3 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 169 nights a year. Snowfall averages 54.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.7 inches is more than at 40 of the 137 New York stations used on this site (29%). Bolivar, 10 miles west, has its own station (Wellsville Municipal Airport, NY): 37.3 inches a year, 2.4 less than here, and a July average high of 78°F against 79°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 13 | 2.7 | 8 | 15.1 |
| Feb | 33 | 14 | 1.9 | 6 | 11.4 |
| Mar | 42 | 20 | 2.5 | 7 | 8.0 |
| Apr | 55 | 30 | 3.5 | 8 | 1.8 |
| May | 68 | 41 | 3.6 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 75 | 50 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 79 | 54 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 78 | 54 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 46 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 37 | 4.0 | 9 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 46 | 28 | 2.8 | 7 | 5.1 |
| Dec | 35 | 20 | 2.8 | 8 | 12.1 |
| Year | 56 | 34 | 39.7 | 90 | 54.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Wellsville, NY (1,510 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 Wellsville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 129 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wellsville: 95 thunderstorm wind reports, 21 flash floods, 8 floods, 4 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $2.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 26, 2012. September has had the most flash floods, 8 of 21. Of the 798 New York cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 333 have had fewer than Wellsville.
July 26, 2012: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Wellsville — 1 killed, 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “An official NWS storm survey found widespread straight-line wind damage near Genesee. The survey team identified two areas of more concentrated wind damage which were classified as embedded microbursts.”
July 4, 2018: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Wellsville — 1 injured.
April 26, 2011: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Wellsville — $1.2 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 Wellsville's ZIP code 14895 have filed 76 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $156,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 38 claims (50% of all) and $95,000. 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, 344 have fewer than Wellsville.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 38 | $95,000 |
Allegany County, which includes Wellsville, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 7 severe storms, 3 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Tropical Storm Debby, on September 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Allegany County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes and tornadoes; Very Low for hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $26.9 million a year, the 33rd highest of 62 New York counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $23.7 million (88%), 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 Wellsville
- Andover, NY9 mi
- Bolivar, NY10 mi
- Belmont, NY11 mi
- Friendship, NY12 mi
- Alfred, NY14 mi
- Shinglehouse, PA15 mi
- Portville, NY19 mi
- Cuba, NY19 mi
- Coudersport, PA20 mi
- Canisteo, NY21 mi
- Hornell, NY22 mi
- Olean, NY25 mi
All New York cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Wellsville with another place →