States › New York › Genesee County

Genesee 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 36037 · 57,853 residents (2021) · 493 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 28Tornado · 6Flood · 38Wind · 231Winter · 108

Genesee 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 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Between 1950 and 2026, NCEI recorded 450 storm events in Genesee County, New York, led by damaging wind.

That is 91.3 events per 100 square miles, below the New York figure of 120.3, and 77.8 per 10,000 residents against 28.6 statewide.

15 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 7 deaths and 3 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $21M and crop damage at $10M.

FEMA has designated the county in 25 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 137 claims since 1978, of which 100 were paid, totalling $1.9M (about $19K per paid claim). FEMA counts 208 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Low" ($19M a year across 18 hazards).

10 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.

15events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

450events since 19507 deaths, 3 injuries recorded

25disaster declarationslast 15 Mar 2023

137NFIP flood claims$1.9M paid

Compared with New York and the United States

Measure	Genesee County	New York	US
Recorded events since 1950	450	56,675	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	91.3	120.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	77.8	28.6	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	15	1,948	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	7	578	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$21M	$5.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	2.4	8.8	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$19K	$40K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	13.0	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

Wind: 2

Hail: 2Wind: 2

Hail: 5Wind: 17

Hail: 7Tornado: 1Flood: 17Wind: 33Winter: 17

Hail: 8Tornado: 1Flood: 8Wind: 52Winter: 30Cold: 5

Hail: 5Flood: 10Wind: 73Winter: 38Cold: 16Drought: 5Lightning: 4

Hail: 1Tornado: 4Flood: 3Wind: 52Winter: 23Cold: 6Other: 3

01950s21960s41970s221980s751990s1042000s1512010s922020s

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

Trend: 282 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 135 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

Wind231

Winter108

Flood38

Hail28

Cold27

Tornado6

Drought5

Lightning4

Other3

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	231	1	0.9%	detail
■ Winter	108	2	0.8%	detail
■ Flood	38	—	0.6%	detail
■ Hail	28	—	0.6%	detail
■ Cold	27	—	1.0%
■ Tornado	6	2	1.1%
■ Drought	5	—	1.3%
■ Lightning	4	2	0.7%
■ Other	3	—	0.5%

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
3 Sep 1993	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$500K	—	2	—	County
10 Aug 2016	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	2	—	County
17 Nov 2014	Lake-Effect Snow	Winter	—	$285K	—	1	1	Forecast zone
6 Mar 2022	High Wind	Wind	59 mph	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
23 Dec 2022	Blizzard	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
8 Mar 2017	High Wind	Wind	49 mph	$500K	—	—	1	Forecast zone
27 Feb 1997	High Wind	Wind	58 mph	$100K	—	—	1	Forecast zone
16 Jun 2008	Hail	Hail	1.00 in	$60K	$3.4M	—	—	County
16 Jun 2008	Hail	Hail	0.88 in	$60K	$3.4M	—	—	County
16 Jun 2008	Hail	Hail	0.75 in	$60K	$3.4M	—	—	County
12 Oct 2006	Lake-Effect Snow	Winter	—	$3.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
25 Jul 2009	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$2.0M	—	—	—	County
25 Dec 2001	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	$1.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
31 Jan 2002	Ice Storm	Winter	—	$1.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
4 Apr 2003	Ice Storm	Winter	—	$750K	$50K	—	—	Forecast zone
26 Jun 1998	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
26 Jun 1998	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
20 Nov 2000	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	$500K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Feb 2002	High Wind	Wind	64 mph	$500K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
17 Nov 2005	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	$500K	—	—	—	Forecast zone

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	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
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
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	—
23 Aug 2003	EM-3186	Emergency	Other	Power Outage	Public assistance
12 May 2003	DR-1467	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Ice Storm	—
31 Dec 2001	EM-3170	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
11 Sep 2001	DR-1391	Major disaster	Fire	Fires And Explosions	Public assistance
11 Oct 2000	EM-3155	Emergency	Other	West Nile Virus	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
6 Jan 1998	DR-1196	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
17 Mar 1993	EM-3107	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Blizzard	Public assistance
21 Mar 1991	DR-898	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm	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
21 Mar 1973	DR-367	Major disaster	Flood	High Winds, Wave Action & 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 Genesee County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978137

Paid claims100

Total paid$1.9M

Average paid claim$19K

Repetitive-loss properties111 severe

Residential policies in force2081.0% of 21,168 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	7	6	$407,437	$67,906
2021	1	0	$0	—
2018	4	3	$2,160	$720
2017	15	13	$721,434	$55,495
2013	3	3	$18,279	$6,093
2012	6	3	$11,610	$3,870
2011	2	2	$23,030	$11,515
2010	1	0	$0	—
2009	8	6	$190,768	$31,795
2008	6	6	$35,901	$5,984
2007	8	6	$43,669	$7,278
1999	1	0	$0	—
1998	35	28	$286,037	$10,216
1996	7	7	$113,587	$16,227
1989	1	0	$0	—
1986	1	0	$0	—
1985	10	5	$13,784	$2,757
1984	2	0	$0	—
1982	2	2	$671	$335
1980	1	1	$1,038	$1,038
1979	11	6	$8,456	$1,409
1978	5	3	$1,683	$561

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 Lowscore 56.1 of 100

Expected annual loss$19MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceVery High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$14,080,526
Lightning	Relatively High	$984,763
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$826,375
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$664,289
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$604,456
Tornado	Relatively Low	$507,480
Hail	Relatively Low	$416,680
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$287,027
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$257,839
Earthquake	Very Low	$246,159
Heat wave	Very Low	$173,444
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$27,474
Wildfire	Very Low	$6,767
Landslide	Very Low	$153

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 miles10

Tracks within 50 miles4

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Frances	2004	29 mi	40 mph
Opal	1995	23 mi	40 mph
Connie	1955	95 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1903	60 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	86 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1896	80 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	37 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1885	92 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	71 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1876	49 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

14020 62
14005 27
14482 7

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 Genesee County, NY?

NCEI records 28 hail events in Genesee County since 1950, in 19 different years; that is about 0.4 recorded events a year. 3 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Genesee County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 6 tornadoes in Genesee County since 1950, 0 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 2.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Genesee County?

15 Mar 2023: Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm, a major disaster declaration for snowstorm. The county appears in 25 declarations since 1953.

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

137 NFIP claims since 1978, 100 of them paid, for $1.9M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

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

91.3 recorded events per 100 square miles against 120.3 statewide, and 2.4 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 1 Oct 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 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.