States › New York › Montgomery County

Montgomery 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 36057 · 49,558 residents (2021) · 403 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 60Tornado · 10Flood · 148Wind · 432Winter · 199

Montgomery 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.

The NCEI record lists 968 events for Montgomery County, New York, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 240.1 events per 100 square miles, above the New York figure of 120.3, and 195.3 per 10,000 residents against 28.6 statewide.

46 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 4 deaths and 2 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $39M and crop damage at $25K.

FEMA has designated the county in 26 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Hurricane Henri (emergency, 22 Aug 2021).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 288 claims since 1978, of which 242 were paid, totalling $8.9M (about $37K per paid claim). FEMA counts 139 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" ($20M a year across 18 hazards).

13 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.

46events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

968events since 19504 deaths, 2 injuries recorded

26disaster declarationslast 22 Aug 2021

288NFIP flood claims$8.9M paid

Compared with New York and the United States

Measure	Montgomery County	New York	US
Recorded events since 1950	968	56,675	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	240.1	120.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	195.3	28.6	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	46	1,948	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	4	578	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$39M	$5.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	5.8	8.8	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$37K	$40K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	7.2	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

Wind: 3

Hail: 1Wind: 3

Hail: 6Tornado: 1Wind: 28

Hail: 7Tornado: 1Flood: 20Wind: 88Winter: 15Heat: 4Cold: 1Drought: 2Lightning: 1Other: 1

Hail: 21Tornado: 2Flood: 54Wind: 64Winter: 62Heat: 2Cold: 14Wildfire: 1Lightning: 4Other: 2

Hail: 19Tornado: 5Flood: 50Wind: 115Winter: 58Tropical: 1Heat: 11Cold: 33Lightning: 1Other: 1

Hail: 6Tornado: 1Flood: 24Wind: 131Winter: 64Heat: 21Cold: 18Lightning: 1

01950s31960s41970s351980s1401990s2262000s2942010s2662020s

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

Trend: 628 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 295 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

Wind432

Winter199

Flood148

Cold66

Hail60

Heat38

Tornado10

Lightning7

Other4

Drought2

Tropical1

Wildfire1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	432	—	1.7%	detail
■ Winter	199	2	1.5%	detail
■ Flood	148	2	2.2%	detail
■ Cold	66	—	2.3%
■ Hail	60	—	1.2%	detail
■ Heat	38	—	2.7%
■ Tornado	10	—	1.8%	detail
■ Lightning	7	—	1.2%
■ Other	4	—	0.7%
■ Drought	2	—	0.5%
■ Tropical	1	—	0.8%
■ Wildfire	1	—	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
5 Mar 2007	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	2	—	Forecast zone
28 Aug 2011	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
28 Jun 2013	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
10 Jul 1989	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$25M	—	—	—	County
29 May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$2K	—	—	1	County
1 Jul 2004	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
19 Jan 1996	Flood	Flood	—	$4.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
9 Nov 1996	Flood	Flood	—	$2.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
8 Apr 2001	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$1.0M	—	—	—	County
20 Aug 2001	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.0M	—	—	—	County
15 Jul 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	$500K	—	—	—	County
9 Nov 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
7 Sep 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$300K	—	—	—	County
23 Jul 2008	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$300K	—	—	—	County
24 Jun 1992	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County
8 Jan 1998	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$250K	—	—	—	County
9 Nov 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$200K	—	—	—	County
31 Mar 1997	Winter Storm	Winter	—	$200K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
7 Sep 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$200K	—	—	—	County
18 May 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$200K	—	—	—	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
22 Aug 2021	EM-3565	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Henri	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
12 Jul 2017	DR-4322	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	Public assistance
12 Jul 2013	DR-4129	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
28 Oct 2012	EM-3351	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	Public assistance
13 Sep 2011	DR-4031	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee	Public assistance
8 Sep 2011	EM-3341	Emergency	Severe Storm	Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee	Public assistance
31 Aug 2011	DR-4020	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Individual assistance, Public assistance
24 Apr 2007	DR-1692	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Inland And Coastal Flooding	Public assistance
12 Dec 2006	DR-1670	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
1 Jul 2006	DR-1650	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
30 Sep 2005	EM-3262	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
19 Apr 2005	DR-1589	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
3 Aug 2004	DR-1534	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	—
29 Aug 2003	DR-1486	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 Aug 2003	EM-3186	Emergency	Other	Power Outage	Public assistance
25 Feb 2003	EM-3173	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snowstorms	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
21 Jul 2000	DR-1335	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
9 Dec 1996	DR-1148	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms High Winds, Rain And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
24 Jan 1996	DR-1095	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
17 Mar 1993	EM-3107	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Blizzard	Public assistance
15 May 1987	DR-792	Major disaster	Flood	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 Montgomery County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978288

Paid claims242

Total paid$8.9M

Average paid claim$37K

Repetitive-loss properties370 severe

Residential policies in force1390.8% of 18,374 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2021	6	2	$98,960	$49,480
2019	3	2	$36,017	$18,008
2018	1	0	$0	—
2016	1	0	$0	—
2013	52	49	$1,615,174	$32,963
2011	69	54	$2,937,336	$54,395
2010	9	7	$62,149	$8,878
2008	1	1	$1,067	$1,067
2007	4	3	$211,698	$70,566
2006	66	63	$3,496,467	$55,499
2005	6	5	$69,341	$13,868
2003	2	1	$3,202	$3,202
2001	2	0	$0	—
1999	1	1	$13,400	$13,400
1996	14	14	$136,357	$9,740
1995	1	0	$0	—
1993	1	1	$110	$110
1992	1	0	$0	—
1990	1	0	$0	—
1987	6	2	$23,536	$11,768
1986	3	2	$842	$421
1985	1	0	$0	—
1983	1	0	$0	—
1982	2	2	$3,835	$1,917
1981	23	22	$125,478	$5,704

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 65.2 of 100

Expected annual loss$20MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively High

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$16,327,990
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$1,099,562
Tornado	Relatively Low	$743,460
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$396,988
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$269,185
Earthquake	Very Low	$244,228
Lightning	Relatively Low	$226,071
Hail	Relatively Low	$181,980
Heat wave	Very Low	$154,280
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$94,120
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$91,959
Landslide	Relatively Moderate	$64,660
Wildfire	Very Low	$10,022
Avalanche	Very Low	$83

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 miles13

Tracks within 50 miles3

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Irene	2011	73 mi	58 mph
David	1979	46 mi	46 mph
Agnes	1972	83 mi	52 mph
Able	1952	92 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1938	76 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	8 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1924	78 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1899	56 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	73 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	73 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	45 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1876	84 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1863	78 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

13339 111
12068 62
12010 33
13452 23
12072 20
12070 8
13317 8
12166 6

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 Montgomery County, NY?

NCEI records 60 hail events in Montgomery County since 1950, in 21 different years; that is about 0.8 recorded events a year. 10 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Montgomery County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 10 tornadoes in Montgomery County since 1950, 1 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Montgomery County?

22 Aug 2021: Hurricane Henri, a emergency declaration for hurricane. The county appears in 26 declarations since 1953.

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

288 NFIP claims since 1978, 242 of them paid, for $8.9M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Montgomery 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 High" for social vulnerability and "Relatively High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

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

240.1 recorded events per 100 square miles against 120.3 statewide, and 5.8 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.