A new report from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli found the frequency of severe weather in the state is growing, taking a toll on New York’s residents, property and economy.
“Extreme weather events are happening more and more often and inflicting financial and emotional stress on New Yorkers from loss of life to property destruction,” DiNapoli said.
Severe Weather Events
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Storm Events Database reports incidents of powerful weather in “episodes” and “events.”
Episodes are weather patterns that generally affect a region of the state, while events are recorded as the results of these weather patterns in a county or a portion of a county.
From 1996 through 2024, events have increased over time, with three out of the four years with the highest numbers of severe weather events occurring in 2019 (2,498), 2021 (2,395) and 2024 (2,268).
Among types of events, winds associated with thunderstorms were the most common type of severe weather, with 14,824 incidents recorded, followed by hail (4,315), flash floods (3,985), winter weather (3,817) and winter storms (3,714). These five types accounted for 63.1% of all events.
Since 1996, there have been more flash floods occurring in New York. The largest numbers occurred in recent years, with the first, second and sixth largest numbers of flash floods occurring in the last four years.
Thunderstorm wind events also increased significantly over the period, with the top seven years with the largest number of such events taking place in the last eight years.
Suffolk County experienced the highest number of severe weather events during the period reviewed, followed by Saratoga, Herkimer, Ulster, Albany, Dutchess, Columbia, Rensselaer, Oneida and Washington Counties.
Study Findings
DiNapoli’s report utilized data produced by NOAA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), as well as analysis in the New York State Hazard Mitigation Plan.
The study’s findings include:
- Weather-related disasters that cause $1 billion or more in damage have occurred at an increasing rate since 1980.
- Severe weather events are increasing in New York and certain types of events, including thunderstorm-related damaging wind and flash flooding, are also increasing.
- Since 1998 there have been an average of 2.5 weather events per year in New York that resulted in federal disaster or emergency declarations with authorized annual assistance averaging $958.6 million.
- There have been 594 deaths in the state due to severe weather between 1996 and 2024. Heat and extreme heat events caused the most deaths (122), followed by rip currents (62), and flash flooding (57).
Economic Impacts
Nationwide, NOAA has found that weather related disasters that cause $1 billion or more in damage increased since 1980.
In the 1980s there were 82 days between one of these highly damaging events on average, whereas between 2020 and 2024 there was only an average of 16 days.
Damage figures from NOAA show the most property damage is attributed in New York to flash flooding ($2.5 billion), flooding ($1.2 billion), thunderstorm wind ($294 million), and high wind ($228 million).
Controlled for inflation, data on claims paid by NFIP in New York shows an increasing trend in the amount of money paid to remediate flood damaged buildings.
The highest payments were related to Superstorm Sandy in 2012, which amounted to $5.8 billion, adjusted for inflation. In nominal terms, from 1978 to 2024, Nassau and Suffolk counties received the majority of the payments at 59.2%.
Bond Act Support for Flood Control
An interactive map by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows “worst case scenario” sea level rise of 6.6 feet by 2100 – which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says “cannot be rules out” – would impact New York State as far north as Albany County.
That’s a worst case scenario. State planners are making much more modest efforts to handle a growing problem of flooding from extreme weather.
In 2022, New Yorkers overwhelmingly approved a ballot proposition to make $4.2 billion available for environmental and community projects.
The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) can access funding to protect water quality, help communities adapt to climate change, improve resiliency, and create green jobs.
New York State has dedicated $1.1 billion of the $4.2 billion Bond Act to projects to move structures and infrastructure out of high flood risk zones, restore natural drainage features like flood plains and wetlands that can help control storm water and projects to protect infrastructure from floods.
Through August 2025, $129.7 million in restoration and flood risk reduction projects have been awarded. (The Report’s Appendix C includes bond act grant awards in specific communities).
Projects have included large investments in flood control in Westchester County, Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, Centennial Park Coastal Shoreline Project in Erie County and a variety of smaller local levy, wall and dam and large culvert projects around the state.
State Climate Resilience Programs
Other corporate and municipal entities are also undertaking such resiliency investments, which are considered essential for the protection of lives and infrastructure and the economy.
State programs such as Climate Smart Communities (CSC) or the Smart Growth Countywide Resiliency Program (SGCRP) assist municipalities in identifying the hazards they face from climate change and in developing climate adaptation plans to address these hazards.
Municipalities that participate in the CSC or SGCRP may be eligible for grants made available through the Environmental Protection Fund or the bond act.
The state is currently in the process of developing a comprehensive statewide adaptation and resilience plan.
The plan is intended to “establish a coordinated strategy to increase resilience, build adaptive capacity across New York communities, and develop tools and resources to help communities thrive in a changing climate.”
Resilient NY Program
DEC established the Resilient NY program in November 2018 “to make New York State communities more resilient to future flooding and better adapted to extreme weather events brought about by climate change.”
Communities which receive Resilient NY studies are eligible for implementation support including help locating funding opportunities, planning community outreach, and other support as needed.
Federal Assistance
Since 1998, federal assistance to New York provided for declared disasters and emergencies has averaged $958.6 million in aid annually.
While actual annual amounts are variable based on the severity of weather events, the aid provided captures only a portion of the full cost of the damages.
Earlier this month, in an unprecedented move, the Trump regime canceled $11 billion in disaster payments to states.
(Around the same time Trump froze $18 billion in infrastructure dollars budgeted by Congress. Also affected is the construction of a rail tunnel under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, which was slated for completion in the next decade.)
“Fortunately, New Yorkers approved the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act, which will help pay for resilience investments, but the state cannot shoulder the whole cost burden itself. The federal government cannot abandon the states in preparing for and responding to disasters,” DiNapoli said.
DiNapoli Report Recommendations
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, climate resilience expenditures reduce the cost of cleanup and rebuilding by as much as $6 for every dollar spent and lower economic damage by as much as $7 for every dollar spent.
DiNapoli’s report recommends the State Adaptation and Resilience Plan include a clear assessment of associated costs, revenue sources and a timeline for implementation.
“The state should also partner with local communities on projects and redouble its efforts to assist municipalities in planning and developing cost-effective initiatives to mitigate extreme weather and to facilitate communities’ ability to access resilience funding in the bond act.
“It should also provide oversight so projects are completed in a timely and affordable way.
“Given the increase in severe rain events, capacity for storm water management may need to be upgraded in New York’s urban areas.
“Serious consideration should be given to planning for protecting lives and property in areas at high risk for flooding and limit development in these areas.
“Attention should also be paid to disadvantaged communities located in areas that may be at greater risk, such as those in flood plains.”
Read More About Severe Weather in New York State
Illustrations, from the report, from above: Total Severe Weather Events Recorded by NOAA, 1996-2024; Long Island NFIP Payments by Zip Code, 1978-202; and Federal Disaster and Emergency Declarations, 1954-2024.
Recent Comments