States › Vermont › Orange County

Orange County, Vermont

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

FIPS 50017 · 29,541 residents (2021) · 687 sq mi · dominant hazard Winter

Hail · 37Tornado · 4Flood · 33Wind · 169Winter · 281

Orange County within Vermont. 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.

Orange County, Vermont, has 573 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them winter storms and snow.

That is 83.4 events per 100 square miles, below the Vermont figure of 119.4, and 194.0 per 10,000 residents against 170.5 statewide.

19 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 2 deaths and 1 injury to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $52M and crop damage at $4.2M.

FEMA has designated the county in 34 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides (major disaster, 20 Aug 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 84 claims since 1978, of which 60 were paid, totalling $1.9M (about $31K per paid claim). FEMA counts 120 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Very Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($11M a year across 18 hazards).

20 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

573events since 19502 deaths, 1 injury recorded

34disaster declarationslast 20 Aug 2024

84NFIP flood claims$1.9M paid

Compared with Vermont and the United States

Measure	Orange County	Vermont	US
Recorded events since 1950	573	11,007	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	83.4	119.4	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	194.0	170.5	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	19	353	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	2	62	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$52M	$1.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	2.8	5.8	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$31K	$40K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	20.8	37.4	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: 1

Tornado: 1Wind: 3

Hail: 9Wind: 9

Hail: 3Flood: 8Wind: 23Winter: 43Cold: 3Lightning: 1Fog: 1

Hail: 11Tornado: 2Flood: 9Wind: 45Winter: 130Heat: 2Cold: 13Lightning: 5Other: 6

Hail: 11Flood: 13Wind: 59Winter: 57Heat: 3Cold: 3Lightning: 1

Hail: 3Tornado: 1Flood: 3Wind: 29Winter: 51Heat: 2Cold: 9

01950s11960s41970s181980s821990s2232000s1472010s982020s

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

Trend: 338 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 214 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

Winter281

Wind169

Hail37

Flood33

Cold28

Heat7

Lightning7

Other6

Tornado4

Fog1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Winter	281	—	5.9%	detail
■ Wind	169	1	4.9%	detail
■ Hail	37	—	4.4%	detail
■ Flood	33	—	3.6%	detail
■ Cold	28	—	4.3%
■ Heat	7	—	4.2%
■ Lightning	7	1	7.4%
■ Other	6	—	8.0%
■ Tornado	4	—	7.5%
■ Fog	1	—	9.1%

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
16 Sep 1999	High Wind	Wind	59 mph	$100K	—	1	—	Forecast zone
23 Jun 2012	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
28 Aug 2011	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$33M	$1.5M	—	—	County
22 Jun 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	64 mph	$15K	—	—	1	County
28 Aug 2011	Flood	Flood	—	$5.0M	$1.0M	—	—	County
27 Jun 1998	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$2.0M	—	—	—	County
1 Jul 2017	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.9M	—	—	—	County
17 Mar 2012	Heat	Heat	—	—	$1.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
11 Jul 2007	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$750K	—	—	—	County
15 Jul 1997	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
23 Dec 2022	High Wind	Wind	58 mph	$500K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
21 Jul 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	86 mph	$350K	$100K	—	—	County
21 Aug 2009	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$350K	—	—	—	County
15 Apr 2014	Flood	Flood	—	$300K	—	—	—	County
19 Jan 1996	Flood	Flood	—	$250K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
14 Jul 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$250K	—	—	—	County
23 Feb 2010	Winter Storm	Winter	—	$250K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
18 May 2023	Frost/Freeze	Cold	—	—	$250K	—	—	Forecast zone
10 Jul 2024	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$250K	—	—	—	County
14 Feb 2007	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	$200K	—	—	—	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
20 Aug 2024	DR-4810	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
8 Aug 2024	EM-3609	Emergency	Tropical Storm	Tropical Depression Debby	Public assistance
2 Mar 2024	DR-4762	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm And Flooding	Public assistance
14 Jul 2023	DR-4720	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
10 Jul 2023	EM-3595	Emergency	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
20 Mar 2023	DR-4695	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm And Flooding	Public assistance
22 Aug 2021	EM-3567	Emergency	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Henri	Public assistance
8 Apr 2020	DR-4532	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3437	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
17 Jan 2020	DR-4474	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm And Flooding	Public assistance
14 Jun 2019	DR-4445	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
30 Jul 2018	DR-4380	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm And Flooding	Public assistance
2 Jan 2018	DR-4356	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm And Flooding	Public assistance
16 Aug 2017	DR-4330	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
3 Feb 2015	DR-4207	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
11 Jun 2014	DR-4178	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
2 Aug 2013	DR-4140	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
1 Sep 2011	DR-4022	Major disaster	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Irene	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 Aug 2011	EM-3338	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Public assistance
8 Jul 2011	DR-4001	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
12 Sep 2008	DR-1790	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
3 Aug 2007	DR-1715	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
4 May 2007	DR-1698	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
12 Sep 2003	DR-1488	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
27 Jul 2000	DR-1336	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
10 Nov 1999	DR-1307	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Tropical Storm Floyd	Public assistance
30 Jun 1998	DR-1228	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
15 Jan 1998	DR-1201	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Ice Storms, Rain, High Winds And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Feb 1996	DR-1101	Major disaster	Flood	Ice Jams And Flooding	Public assistance
18 Mar 1992	DR-938	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains, Ice Jams & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
11 Sep 1989	DR-840	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Public assistance
18 Jun 1984	DR-712	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
5 Aug 1976	DR-518	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, High Winds & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
6 Jul 1973	DR-397	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, & Landslides	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 197884

Paid claims60

Total paid$1.9M

Average paid claim$31K

Repetitive-loss properties51 severe

Residential policies in force1200.9% of 13,688 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	1	0	$0	—
2023	18	14	$775,781	$55,413
2019	2	2	$22,265	$11,133
2017	4	3	$65,189	$21,730
2015	1	0	$0	—
2013	3	2	$41,041	$20,521
2011	25	19	$811,738	$42,723
2009	4	4	$45,155	$11,289
2008	2	2	$38,969	$19,485
2007	3	2	$34,463	$17,232
2003	1	0	$0	—
2001	1	0	$0	—
1999	1	0	$0	—
1998	1	1	$23,000	$23,000
1996	3	1	$663	$663
1992	2	1	$7,217	$7,217
1990	1	1	$993	$993
1989	1	1	$813	$813
1986	1	1	$2,919	$2,919
1984	4	3	$1,487	$496
1983	1	1	$1,149	$1,149
1981	1	1	$460	$460
1980	1	0	$0	—
1979	1	0	$0	—
1978	1	1	$540	$540

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 riskVery Lowscore 26.4 of 100

Expected annual loss$11MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery Low

Community resilienceRelatively Moderate

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$8,552,793
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$555,294
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$505,761
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$471,673
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$301,425
Heat wave	Very Low	$250,202
Earthquake	Very Low	$169,260
Tornado	Very Low	$143,227
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$93,248
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$66,881
Hail	Very Low	$36,895
Landslide	Relatively Low	$30,298
Wildfire	Very Low	$7,743
Avalanche	Very Low	$225

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 miles20

Tracks within 50 miles8

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Isaias	2020	36 mi	52 mph
Irene	2011	19 mi	52 mph
David	1979	82 mi	46 mph
Belle	1976	97 mi	40 mph
Doria	1971	32 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1968	3 mi	52 mph
Brenda	1960	82 mi	46 mph
Carol	1954	79 mi	92 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	15 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1938	55 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	77 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	52 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	44 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	98 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1899	36 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	76 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	85 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	90 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1874	98 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1866	46 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

05038 14
05033 12
05081 11
05679 10
05060 8
05072 8

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, VT?

NCEI records 37 hail events in Orange County since 1950, in 20 different years; that is about 0.5 recorded events a year. 5 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Orange County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 4 tornadoes in Orange County since 1950, 0 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Orange County?

20 Aug 2024: Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides, a major disaster declaration for severe storm. The county appears in 34 declarations since 1953.

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

84 NFIP claims since 1978, 60 of them paid, for $1.9M 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 "Very Low" for overall risk, "Very Low" for expected annual loss, "Very Low" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Moderate" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Orange County compare with the rest of Vermont?

83.4 recorded events per 100 square miles against 119.4 statewide, and 2.8 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 5.8. 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.