States › New York › Orange County

Orange 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 36071 · 404,525 residents (2021) · 812 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 87Tornado · 13Flood · 153Wind · 478Winter · 146

Orange 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 972 storm events in Orange County, New York, led by damaging wind.

That is 119.7 events per 100 square miles, in line with the New York figure of 120.3, and 24.0 per 10,000 residents against 28.6 statewide.

19 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 23 deaths and 69 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $73M and crop damage at $3K.

FEMA has designated the county in 36 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Jennings Creek Fire (fire management assistance, 15 Nov 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 2,032 claims since 1978, of which 1,554 were paid, totalling $27M (about $17K per paid claim). FEMA counts 1,082 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Moderate" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Moderate" ($99M a year across 18 hazards).

39 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.

19events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

972events since 195023 deaths, 69 injuries recorded

36disaster declarationslast 15 Nov 2024

2,032NFIP flood claims$27M paid

Compared with New York and the United States

Measure	Orange County	New York	US
Recorded events since 1950	972	56,675	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	119.7	120.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	24.0	28.6	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	19	1,948	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	23	578	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$73M	$5.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	5.0	8.8	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$17K	$40K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	15.2	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: 2

Tornado: 1Wind: 6

Hail: 1Tornado: 2Wind: 13

Hail: 3Tornado: 2Wind: 25

Hail: 21Tornado: 3Flood: 16Wind: 110Winter: 16Heat: 1Lightning: 2Other: 15

Hail: 29Tornado: 2Flood: 42Wind: 83Winter: 46Tropical: 1Heat: 4Cold: 4Drought: 10Lightning: 11Other: 12

Hail: 26Tornado: 2Flood: 41Wind: 133Winter: 47Heat: 12Cold: 1Lightning: 12Other: 2

Hail: 7Tornado: 1Flood: 54Wind: 106Winter: 37Tropical: 1Lightning: 7

21950s71960s161970s301980s1841990s2442000s2762010s2132020s

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

Trend: 587 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 343 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

Wind478

Flood153

Winter146

Hail87

Lightning32

Other29

Heat17

Tornado13

Drought10

Cold5

Tropical2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	478	7	1.9%	detail
■ Flood	153	2	2.2%	detail
■ Winter	146	1	1.1%	detail
■ Hail	87	—	1.7%	detail
■ Lightning	32	1	5.5%
■ Other	29	1	5.3%
■ Heat	17	1	1.2%
■ Tornado	13	10	2.3%	detail
■ Drought	10	—	2.7%
■ Cold	5	—	0.2%
■ Tropical	2	—	1.6%

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
16 Nov 1989	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$25M	—	9	18	County
29 Jun 1990	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	115 mph	—	—	3	8	County
22 Aug 2010	Heavy Rain	Other	—	—	—	1	2	County
15 May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	70 mph	$5K	—	1	1	County
24 May 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	1	1	County
28 Jul 2006	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	1	County
7 Dec 2012	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	1	1	Forecast zone
15 May 2018	Tornado	Tornado	EF0	$50K	—	1	—	County
1 Oct 1998	Strong Wind	Wind	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
13 Nov 2003	High Wind	Wind	58 mph	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
28 Aug 2011	Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
22 Jul 2011	Excessive Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
9 Jul 2023	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
11 Dec 2008	Ice Storm	Winter	—	—	—	—	8	Forecast zone
26 Jun 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	—	—	—	7	County
30 Jun 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	69 mph	—	—	—	4	County
16 Jun 2007	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	4	County
11 Nov 1983	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	3	County
19 Jul 1987	Hail	Hail	2.00 in	—	—	—	2	County
7 Oct 2009	Strong Wind	Wind	44 mph	—	—	—	2	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 Nov 2024	FM-5547	Fire management assistance	Fire	Jennings Creek Fire	Public assistance
22 Jul 2023	DR-4723	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
5 Sep 2021	DR-4615	Major disaster	Hurricane	Remnants Of Hurricane Ida	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 Sep 2021	EM-3572	Emergency	Hurricane	Remnants Of Hurricane Ida	Public assistance
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
30 Oct 2012	DR-4085	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	Individual assistance, 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	Individual assistance, Public assistance
31 Aug 2011	DR-4020	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Individual assistance, Public assistance
26 Aug 2011	EM-3328	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Public assistance
16 Apr 2010	DR-1899	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
18 Dec 2008	EM-3299	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
24 Apr 2007	DR-1692	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Inland And Coastal Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
1 Jul 2006	DR-1650	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual 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	Individual assistance, Public assistance
1 Oct 2004	DR-1565	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Tropical Depression Ivan	Individual assistance, Public assistance
1 Oct 2004	DR-1564	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, 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
27 Mar 2003	EM-3184	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
25 Feb 2003	EM-3173	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snowstorms	Public assistance
11 Sep 2001	DR-1391	Major disaster	Fire	Fires And Explosions	Individual assistance, Public assistance
11 Oct 2000	EM-3155	Emergency	Other	West Nile Virus	Public assistance
19 Sep 1999	DR-1296	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations	Individual assistance, Public assistance
18 Sep 1999	EM-3149	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Floyd Emergency Declarations	Public assistance
9 Aug 1999	FM-2269	Fire management assistance	Fire	West Point Fire Complex	Public assistance
24 Jan 1996	DR-1095	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
12 Jan 1996	DR-1083	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Blizzard Of 96 (Severe Snow Storm)	Public assistance
17 Mar 1993	EM-3107	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Blizzard	Public assistance
17 Apr 1984	DR-702	Major disaster	Flood	Coastal Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 Jun 1972	DR-338	Major disaster	Flood	Tropical Storm Agnes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Sep 1971	DR-311	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Public assistance
18 Aug 1965	DR-204	Major disaster	Drought	Water Shortage	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 Orange County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19782,032

Paid claims1,554

Total paid$27M

Average paid claim$17K

Repetitive-loss properties18636 severe

Residential policies in force1,0820.9% of 115,788 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	4	3	$25,173	$8,391
2025	7	5	$102,055	$20,411
2024	3	0	$0	—
2023	53	42	$1,156,308	$27,531
2022	4	3	$84,931	$28,310
2021	62	54	$1,227,162	$22,725
2020	13	5	$102,575	$20,515
2019	2	1	$3,540	$3,540
2018	13	11	$257,417	$23,402
2017	3	2	$27,310	$13,655
2016	11	9	$108,219	$12,024
2015	6	3	$8,036	$2,679
2014	3	1	$8,395	$8,395
2013	17	10	$65,713	$6,571
2012	17	10	$362,435	$36,243
2011	589	480	$13,451,602	$28,024
2010	53	39	$552,932	$14,178
2009	8	6	$29,282	$4,880
2008	18	14	$117,699	$8,407
2007	116	99	$1,450,724	$14,654
2006	37	36	$432,679	$12,019
2005	154	141	$3,491,209	$24,760
2004	23	17	$428,719	$25,219
2003	9	5	$55,869	$11,174
2002	3	3	$16,638	$5,546

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 Moderatescore 90.6 of 100

Expected annual loss$99MRelatively Moderate

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively High	$63,237,028
Hurricane	Relatively Moderate	$9,755,491
Cold wave	Relatively High	$7,493,330
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$4,805,680
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$3,881,366
Strong wind	Relatively High	$3,572,561
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$2,729,747
Lightning	Relatively High	$1,172,446
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$709,966
Winter weather	Relatively High	$638,861
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$356,202
Hail	Relatively Low	$168,311
Landslide	Relatively Moderate	$89,032
Coastal flooding	Relatively Low	$72,678
Wildfire	Very Low	$56,265
Avalanche	Very Low	$618

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 miles39

Tracks within 50 miles4

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Elsa	2021	99 mi	58 mph
Ida	2021	96 mi	46 mph
Fay	2020	83 mi	40 mph
Isaias	2020	54 mi	63 mph
Irene	2011	58 mi	63 mph
Hanna	2008	97 mi	52 mph
Floyd	1999	70 mi	58 mph
Bertha	1996	84 mi	69 mph
Gloria	1985	76 mi	86 mph
Belle	1976	64 mi	69 mph
Agnes	1972	23 mi	63 mph
Doria	1971	34 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1968	68 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1961	75 mi	63 mph
Brenda	1960	68 mi	58 mph
Donna	1960	88 mi	98 mph
Diane	1955	63 mi	46 mph
Able	1952	55 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1938	73 mi	121 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	72 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	69 mi	75 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	62 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	98 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	35 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1903	65 mi	63 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

10992 356
10950 289
12771 222
10940 128
10925 108
12550 107
10918 96
10924 90
10990 80
12553 57
12729 53
10930 50
10941 45
10987 36
12518 27
10958 24
12520 24
10914 23
12577 22
10917 21
12549 18
10921 14
10916 12
12575 11
12586 11
12746 11
12780 7
10973 6
10998 6
10919 5
10953 5
12739 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 Orange County, NY?

NCEI records 87 hail events in Orange County since 1950, in 28 different years; that is about 1.1 recorded events a year. 8 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Orange County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 13 tornadoes in Orange County since 1950, 3 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 10.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Orange County?

15 Nov 2024: Jennings Creek Fire, a fire management assistance declaration for fire. The county appears in 36 declarations since 1953.

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

2,032 NFIP claims since 1978, 1,554 of them paid, for $27M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

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

119.7 recorded events per 100 square miles against 120.3 statewide, and 5.0 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.