While flash floods and blizzards may be more associated with New York State when it comes to natural disasters, tornadoes can happen too. In fact, there were a reported 13 tornadoes in New York state in one day on May 31, 1998, according to The Post Standard. To this day, that holds the record for most tornado activity in recorded state history.
Last year saw the region break the all-time yearly record, with 32 reported tornadoes touching down in New York state in 2024. But how likely are you getting struck by a tornado while living in New York? Where in New York are tornadoes most prevalent?
What Parts of New York State Gets the Most Tornadoes?
The website Stacker used data from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information to find the counties in New York that have experienced the most tornadoes since 2000. While tornadoes have been recorded for years before tha by meteorologists, forecast accuracy has greatly increased since the 1990s, according to WETM.
There have been three recorded F4s that have touched down in New York state, according to the Democrat and Chronicle. The first happened on August 28, 1973 in Columbia County over mostly open land, before moving into Massachusetts…