States › New York › Erie County

Erie County, New York

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 36029 · 950,683 residents (2021) · 1,043 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 131Tornado · 27Flood · 175Wind · 465Winter · 54

Erie County within New York. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Between 1950 and 2026, NCEI recorded 884 storm events in Erie County, New York, led by damaging wind.

That is 84.8 events per 100 square miles, below the New York figure of 120.3, and 9.3 per 10,000 residents against 28.6 statewide.

8 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 0 deaths and 30 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $71M and crop damage at $2.3M.

FEMA has designated the county in 27 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm (major disaster, 15 Mar 2023).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 2,483 claims since 1978, of which 1,755 were paid, totalling $13M (about $7K per paid claim). FEMA counts 1,364 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively High" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively High" ($286M a year across 18 hazards).

11 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

8events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

884events since 19500 deaths, 30 injuries recorded

27disaster declarationslast 15 Mar 2023

2,483NFIP flood claims$13M paid

Compared with New York and the United States

Measure	Erie County	New York	US
Recorded events since 1950	884	56,675	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	84.8	120.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	9.3	28.6	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	8	1,948	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	0	578	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$71M	$5.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	2.6	8.8	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$7K	$40K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	9.2	10.1	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Hail: 1Tornado: 1Wind: 6

Hail: 5Tornado: 2Wind: 11

Hail: 9Tornado: 4Wind: 17

Hail: 10Tornado: 1Wind: 53

Hail: 19Tornado: 8Flood: 48Wind: 62Winter: 27Lightning: 1

Hail: 43Tornado: 2Flood: 44Wind: 96Winter: 27Lightning: 9

Hail: 20Tornado: 4Flood: 59Wind: 103Lightning: 6Other: 4

Hail: 24Tornado: 5Flood: 24Wind: 117Other: 12

81950s181960s301970s641980s1651990s2212000s1962010s1822020s

Recorded events in Erie County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 484 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 297 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind465

Flood175

Hail131

Winter54

Tornado27

Lightning16

Other16

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	465	—	1.9%	detail
■ Flood	175	—	2.6%	detail
■ Hail	131	—	2.6%	detail
■ Winter	54	—	0.4%	detail
■ Tornado	27	—	4.8%	detail
■ Lightning	16	—	2.7%
■ Other	16	—	2.9%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
31 Jul 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	63 mph	$50K	—	—	12	County
19 Aug 1970	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	—	3	County
30 Jun 2006	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	2	County
25 Oct 2001	High Wind	Wind	71 mph	$25K	—	—	2	Forecast zone
27 May 2001	Lightning	Lightning	—	$15K	—	—	2	County
29 Jun 2000	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	2	County
20 Nov 2000	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	$20M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
9 Aug 2009	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$15M	—	—	—	County
30 Jul 1987	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	1	County
25 Jul 2011	Lightning	Lightning	—	$500K	—	—	1	County
17 Jan 1999	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	$35K	—	—	1	County
31 May 1998	Hail	Hail	1.50 in	$15K	—	—	1	County
6 May 1998	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
24 Dec 2001	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	$10M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
13 Aug 2001	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
13 Nov 2003	High Wind	Wind	63 mph	—	—	—	1	Forecast zone
18 Jan 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.0M	$500K	—	—	County
31 Jan 2002	Ice Storm	Winter	—	$1.5M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Feb 2002	High Wind	Wind	63 mph	$1.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
11 Jan 2014	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$700K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
15 Mar 2023	DR-4694	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	Individual assistance, Public assistance
26 Dec 2022	EM-3590	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
20 Nov 2022	EM-3589	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	Public assistance
20 Mar 2020	DR-4480	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3434	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
19 Dec 2019	DR-4472	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
22 Dec 2014	DR-4204	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding	Public assistance
28 Oct 2012	EM-3351	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	Public assistance
1 Sep 2009	DR-1857	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
24 Oct 2006	DR-1665	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
15 Oct 2006	EM-3268	Emergency	Snowstorm	Lake Effect Snowstorm	Public assistance
30 Sep 2005	EM-3262	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
3 Aug 2004	DR-1534	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
23 Aug 2003	EM-3186	Emergency	Other	Power Outage	Public assistance
1 Mar 2002	DR-1404	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
31 Dec 2001	EM-3170	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
11 Sep 2001	DR-1391	Major disaster	Fire	Fires And Explosions	Public assistance
4 Dec 2000	EM-3157	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
11 Oct 2000	EM-3155	Emergency	Other	West Nile Virus	Public assistance
21 Jul 2000	DR-1335	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
15 Jan 1999	EM-3136	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
7 Jul 1998	DR-1233	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
17 Mar 1993	EM-3107	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Blizzard	Public assistance
22 Mar 1985	DR-734	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Snow Melt & Ice Jams	Public assistance
5 Feb 1977	DR-527	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Snowstorms	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 Jan 1977	EM-3027	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snowstorms	Individual assistance, Public assistance
19 Mar 1976	DR-494	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Ice Storm,Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Erie County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19782,483

Paid claims1,755

Total paid$13M

Average paid claim$7K

Repetitive-loss properties14914 severe

Residential policies in force1,3640.4% of 316,416 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	6	5	$204,810	$40,962
2024	6	2	$5,853	$2,926
2023	2	0	$0	—
2022	22	18	$479,775	$26,654
2021	17	11	$485,103	$44,100
2020	20	17	$803,892	$47,288
2019	22	14	$398,084	$28,435
2018	9	6	$35,482	$5,914
2017	21	14	$275,190	$19,656
2016	2	1	$5,992	$5,992
2015	14	7	$144,956	$20,708
2014	38	26	$414,206	$15,931
2013	31	19	$233,381	$12,283
2012	2	1	$143	$143
2011	12	9	$120,690	$13,410
2010	8	4	$37,270	$9,318
2009	43	39	$407,297	$10,444
2008	28	21	$214,024	$10,192
2007	6	5	$69,489	$13,898
2006	66	31	$245,843	$7,930
2005	12	10	$100,183	$10,018
2004	30	18	$175,463	$9,748
2003	20	15	$170,419	$11,361
2002	23	17	$79,120	$4,654
2001	12	7	$86,454	$12,351

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Highscore 97.7 of 100

Expected annual loss$286MRelatively High

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Moderate

Community resilienceVery High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively High	$205,282,638
Cold wave	Very High	$52,705,779
Tornado	Relatively High	$12,132,916
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$6,216,155
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$2,895,218
Winter weather	Very High	$2,218,860
Ice storm	Relatively High	$1,337,447
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$1,273,809
Lightning	Relatively High	$942,445
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$649,310
Hail	Relatively Low	$180,842
Wildfire	Very Low	$96,748
Drought	Relatively Low	$42,489
Coastal flooding	Relatively Low	$42,445
Landslide	Very Low	$1,475
Avalanche	Very Low	$54

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles11

Tracks within 50 miles1

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Frances	2004	55 mi	40 mph
Opal	1995	42 mi	40 mph
Hugo	1989	82 mi	40 mph
Connie	1955	65 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	87 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1903	92 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	66 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1896	53 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	60 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	87 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1876	67 mi	46 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

14221 335
14219 187
14224 156
14210 132
14220 99
14225 97
14006 95
14051 94
14218 91
14075 84
14226 70
14027 62
14227 59
14043 48
14206 47
14150 44
14228 40
14086 37
14202 30
14072 29
14223 26
14004 25
14061 25
14127 25
14052 22
14216 21
14141 19
14026 18
14047 18
14032 16
14211 16
14215 13
14025 12
14059 12
14001 10
14085 9
14068 8
14212 8
14214 8
14031 6
14170 6
14207 6
14217 6
14010 5
14057 5

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Erie County, NY?

NCEI records 131 hail events in Erie County since 1950, in 43 different years; that is about 1.7 recorded events a year. 14 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Erie County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 27 tornadoes in Erie County since 1950, 7 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Erie County?

15 Mar 2023: Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm, a major disaster declaration for snowstorm. The county appears in 27 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Erie County, and how much was paid?

2,483 NFIP claims since 1978, 1,755 of them paid, for $13M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Erie County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively High" for overall risk, "Relatively High" for expected annual loss, "Relatively Moderate" for social vulnerability and "Very High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Erie County compare with the rest of New York?

84.8 recorded events per 100 square miles against 120.3 statewide, and 2.6 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.8. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 29 Sep 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 30 Sep 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.