States › New York › Ulster County

Ulster 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 36111 · 182,951 residents (2021) · 1,124 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 123Tornado · 14Flood · 166Wind · 625Winter · 0

Ulster 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.

The NCEI record lists 958 events for Ulster County, New York, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 85.2 events per 100 square miles, below the New York figure of 120.3, and 52.4 per 10,000 residents against 28.6 statewide.

32 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 3 deaths and 12 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $18M and crop damage at $17M.

FEMA has designated the county in 37 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Remnants Of Hurricane Ida (major disaster, 5 Sep 2021).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 1,279 claims since 1978, of which 1,016 were paid, totalling $30M (about $30K per paid claim). FEMA counts 897 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" ($67M a year across 18 hazards).

25 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.

32events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

958events since 19503 deaths, 12 injuries recorded

37disaster declarationslast 5 Sep 2021

1,279NFIP flood claims$30M paid

Compared with New York and the United States

Measure	Ulster County	New York	US
Recorded events since 1950	958	56,675	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	85.2	120.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	52.4	28.6	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	32	1,948	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	3	578	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$18M	$5.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	7.0	8.8	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$30K	$40K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	4.3	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: 2Tornado: 4Wind: 5

Hail: 4Tornado: 4Wind: 42

Hail: 18Tornado: 2Flood: 11Wind: 111Lightning: 7

Hail: 49Tornado: 1Flood: 35Wind: 94Lightning: 12Other: 3

Hail: 33Tornado: 1Flood: 60Wind: 163Lightning: 3Other: 3

Hail: 17Tornado: 2Flood: 60Wind: 208Lightning: 2

01950s21960s111970s501980s1491990s1942000s2632010s2892020s

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

Trend: 607 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 299 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

Wind625

Flood166

Hail123

Lightning24

Tornado14

Other6

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	625	1	2.5%	detail
■ Flood	166	1	2.4%	detail
■ Hail	123	—	2.4%	detail
■ Lightning	24	1	4.1%
■ Tornado	14	—	2.5%	detail
■ Other	6	—	1.1%

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
29 May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$500	—	1	—	County
17 Dec 2000	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
3 Jul 2009	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
14 Jun 2008	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	4	County
26 Jul 1986	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	2	County
16 Jun 2008	Hail	Hail	1.75 in	—	$17M	—	—	County
13 Jul 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$30K	—	—	1	County
20 Sep 1975	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$25K	—	—	1	County
18 Oct 1990	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	1	County
6 May 1998	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
10 Aug 2003	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
28 Jun 2016	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
14 Jul 2000	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$6.0M	—	—	—	County
15 Apr 2007	Flood	Flood	—	$3.2M	—	—	—	County
16 Sep 1999	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$975K	—	—	—	County
18 May 2000	Hail	Hail	0.75 in	—	$500K	—	—	County
17 Dec 2000	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
13 May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	69 mph	$500K	—	—	—	County
2 Dec 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$300K	—	—	—	County
5 Oct 1985	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	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
5 Sep 2021	DR-4615	Major disaster	Hurricane	Remnants Of Hurricane Ida	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
12 Jul 2017	DR-4322	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	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
10 Jun 2011	DR-1993	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, And Straight-Line Winds	Public assistance
18 Dec 2008	EM-3299	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
2 Jul 2007	DR-1710	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	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, 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	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	Public assistance
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
21 Jul 2000	DR-1335	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
19 Sep 1999	DR-1296	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations	Individual assistance, 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
15 May 1987	DR-792	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
17 Apr 1984	DR-702	Major disaster	Flood	Coastal Storms & Flooding	Public assistance
20 Jul 1973	DR-401	Major disaster	Flood	Severe 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 Ulster County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19781,279

Paid claims1,016

Total paid$30M

Average paid claim$30K

Repetitive-loss properties18825 severe

Residential policies in force8971.3% of 71,024 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	4	3	$17,338	$5,779
2025	1	1	$28,679	$28,679
2024	6	4	$797,543	$199,386
2023	5	2	$12,413	$6,206
2022	6	5	$130,686	$26,137
2021	7	3	$18,027	$6,009
2020	2	2	$4,171	$2,086
2019	3	1	$12,418	$12,418
2018	4	3	$76,062	$25,354
2017	1	1	$2,093	$2,093
2016	2	0	$0	—
2015	5	1	$1,615	$1,615
2014	4	1	$1,090	$1,090
2013	7	4	$48,071	$12,018
2012	54	48	$2,302,715	$47,973
2011	483	412	$16,975,322	$41,202
2010	43	32	$426,205	$13,319
2009	7	6	$22,755	$3,792
2008	10	4	$117,153	$29,288
2007	93	79	$1,359,805	$17,213
2006	63	50	$879,750	$17,595
2005	185	169	$5,648,790	$33,425
2004	1	1	$13,790	$13,790
2003	7	4	$53,080	$13,270
2000	9	6	$34,495	$5,749

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 87.7 of 100

Expected annual loss$67MRelatively Moderate

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Moderate

Community resilienceVery High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$45,452,285
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$5,855,517
Hurricane	Relatively Moderate	$4,626,324
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$3,862,167
Strong wind	Relatively High	$2,181,722
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$1,676,982
Hail	Relatively Moderate	$994,144
Lightning	Relatively High	$887,197
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$750,345
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$245,731
Coastal flooding	Relatively Low	$221,372
Drought	Relatively Low	$136,703
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$119,336
Landslide	Relatively Moderate	$100,846
Wildfire	Very Low	$52,779
Avalanche	Relatively Low	$4,993

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 miles25

Tracks within 50 miles5

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Isaias	2020	84 mi	63 mph
Irene	2011	71 mi	63 mph
Gloria	1985	75 mi	86 mph
David	1979	98 mi	46 mph
Belle	1976	86 mi	69 mph
Agnes	1972	21 mi	52 mph
Doria	1971	59 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1968	72 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1961	92 mi	63 mph
Able	1952	72 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1938	84 mi	115 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	83 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	60 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1924	75 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	65 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1903	87 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1899	26 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	88 mi	86 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	29 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	62 mi	81 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1874	80 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1872	96 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1866	47 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1863	39 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1861	86 mi	58 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

12401 285
12477 114
12464 113
12561 88
12457 79
12446 67
12498 51
12528 48
12428 40
12443 35
12410 34
12404 28
12480 26
12449 23
12494 23
12525 18
12412 17
12472 16
12416 15
12465 12
12566 12
12440 11
12547 11
12458 10
12489 9
12589 9
12409 8
12426 8
12486 7
12484 6
12495 6
12542 6
12453 5
12487 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 Ulster County, NY?

NCEI records 123 hail events in Ulster County since 1950, in 34 different years; that is about 1.6 recorded events a year. 15 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Ulster County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 14 tornadoes in Ulster County since 1950, 3 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Ulster County?

5 Sep 2021: Remnants Of Hurricane Ida, a major disaster declaration for hurricane. The county appears in 37 declarations since 1953.

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

1,279 NFIP claims since 1978, 1,016 of them paid, for $30M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

85.2 recorded events per 100 square miles against 120.3 statewide, and 7.0 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 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.