Tornado Risk in New York

All New York counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index tornado score

Tornado risk — violently rotating columns of air capable of catastrophic local damage — is rated for 62 of 62 New York counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Erie County carries the state's highest tornado score at 95.4, with $12M in expected annual tornado losses.

3 New York counties are rated High or Very High for tornado, and expected annual losses from tornado total roughly $134M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Tornado

#CountyTornado ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Erie County
95.4
High 0.15 / yr $12M
2 Kings County
94.2
High 0.03 / yr $6M
3 Queens County
90.6
High 0.06 / yr $5M
4 New York County
89.4
Medium 0.01 / yr $4M
5 Albany County
88.0
Medium 0.12 / yr $7M
6 Ulster County
87.6
Medium 0.34 / yr $6M
7 Onondaga County
87.3
Medium 0.15 / yr $6M
8 Monroe County
87.2
Medium 0.11 / yr $6M
9 Bronx County
85.2
Medium 0.02 / yr $3M
10 Broome County
83.6
Medium 0.20 / yr $4M
11 Richmond County
83.4
Medium 0.03 / yr $4M
12 Orange County
81.9
Medium 0.26 / yr $5M
13 Rockland County
77.5
Medium 0.06 / yr $3M
14 Rensselaer County
76.6
Medium 0.15 / yr $3M
15 Nassau County
76.2
Medium 0.13 / yr $4M
16 Chautauqua County
76.1
Medium 0.28 / yr $3M
17 Suffolk County
74.7
Medium 0.47 / yr $4M
18 Westchester County
72.7
Medium 0.16 / yr $3M
19 Oneida County
71.9
Medium 0.23 / yr $2M
20 Sullivan County
71.3
Medium 0.29 / yr $2M
21 Schenectady County
70.7
Medium 0.04 / yr $3M
22 Saratoga County
69.9
Medium 0.14 / yr $4M
23 Columbia County
68.7
Medium 0.19 / yr $2M
24 Cattaraugus County
68.4
Medium 0.25 / yr $2M
25 Dutchess County
63.3
Low 0.25 / yr $2M
26 Tompkins County
59.0
Low 0.12 / yr $2M
27 Steuben County
58.1
Low 0.25 / yr $1M
28 Delaware County
55.6
Low 0.39 / yr $1M
29 Greene County
54.5
Low 0.18 / yr $1M
30 Chemung County
52.8
Low 0.10 / yr $1M
31 Niagara County
52.4
Low 0.07 / yr $1M
32 Chenango County
46.4
Low 0.23 / yr $955K
33 Otsego County
46.3
Low 0.24 / yr $979K
34 Ontario County
44.0
Low 0.09 / yr $1M
35 Tioga County
43.8
Low 0.14 / yr $948K
36 Washington County
43.7
Low 0.12 / yr $1M
37 Oswego County
43.1
Low 0.16 / yr $973K
38 Madison County
41.9
Low 0.14 / yr $1M
39 Montgomery County
41.7
Low 0.09 / yr $743K
40 Allegany County
41.5
Low 0.18 / yr $864K
41 Fulton County
40.0
Low 0.11 / yr $918K
42 Livingston County
39.8
Low 0.08 / yr $833K
43 Cayuga County
39.2
Low 0.14 / yr $876K
44 Warren County
39.0
Low 0.11 / yr $911K
45 Herkimer County
38.6
Low 0.23 / yr $808K
46 Wayne County
38.3
Low 0.14 / yr $802K
47 Cortland County
37.4
Low 0.12 / yr $781K
48 Schoharie County
33.0
Low 0.15 / yr $616K
49 Seneca County
30.8
Low 0.06 / yr $401K
50 Putnam County
29.8
Low 0.08 / yr $825K
51 Yates County
29.7
Low 0.06 / yr $340K
52 Genesee County
29.5
Low 0.05 / yr $507K
53 Wyoming County
29.2
Low 0.08 / yr $569K
54 Jefferson County
27.9
Low 0.13 / yr $485K
55 Clinton County
26.3
Low 0.04 / yr $400K
56 St. Lawrence County
24.2
Very Low 0.10 / yr $285K
57 Essex County
23.8
Very Low 0.11 / yr $298K
58 Orleans County
22.4
Very Low 0.05 / yr $302K
59 Schuyler County
22.1
Very Low 0.06 / yr $275K
60 Franklin County
18.9
Very Low 0.05 / yr $198K
61 Lewis County
17.2
Very Low 0.13 / yr $201K
62 Hamilton County
11.2
Very Low 0.21 / yr $73K

62 New York counties with measurable tornado risk. See the national tornado ranking or all New York counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which New York county has the highest tornado risk?

Erie County has the highest FEMA tornado risk score in New York at 95.4 (High), with $12M in expected annual losses and about 0.15 events per year.

How many New York counties face significant tornado risk?

62 New York counties record measurable tornado risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 3 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in New York

Avalanche Coastal Flood Cold Wave Drought Earthquake Hail Heat Wave Hurricane Ice Storm Riverine Flood Landslide Lightning Strong Wind Wildfire Winter Weather