Since the 17th century, 173 subtropical or tropical cyclones have affected the U.S. State of New York. The state of New York is located along the East Coast of the United States, in the Northeastern portion of the country. The strongest of these storms was the 1938 New England hurricane, which struck Long Island as a Category 3 storm on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. Killing more than 60 people, it was also the deadliest. Tropical cyclones have affected the state primarily in September but have also hit during every month of the hurricane season and on rare occasions in the off-season. Tropical cyclones rarely make landfall in the state, although it is common for Post-tropical cyclones to produce heavy rainfall and flash flooding either in the NYC metropolitan area, Long Island, or Upstate New York. Tropical cyclones that are offshore the East Coast of the United States or in the open Atlantic are known to also produce rip currents, gusty winds, beach erosion, and coastal flooding, along the New York coastline. The most recent storm to affect the state was Hurricane Melissa in 2025.
Before 1600
Between 1278 and 1438: A major hurricane is believed to have struck the modern-day New York/New Jersey area.
1600–1799 October 29, 1693: The Great Storm of 1693 causes severe damage on Long Island, and is reported to have created the Fire Island Cut as a result of the coast-changing storm surge and waves occurred. September 23, 1785: Several large ships crash into Governors Island as a result of powerful waves which are reported to have been generated by a tropical cyclone. August 19, 1788: A hurricane struck New York City, New Jersey or Long Island and is reported to have left the west side of the Battery "laid in ruins" after severe flooding occurs.
1800–1899 1804 October 9, 1804: Heavy snow falls in Eastern New York peaking at 30 inches (75 cm) as a hurricane tracks northward along the East Coast and becomes extratropical, as cold air fed into the system.
1815 September 5, 1815: A hurricane tracks over North Carolina and parallels the East Coast before producing a heavy rainstorm in New York. September 24, 1815: Several hundred trees fall and the majority of the fruit was stripped off apple trees just prior to harvesting time after a hurricane makes landfall on Long Island.
1816 September 16, 1816: A possible hurricane strikes New York City, but damage remains unknown.
1817 August 9, 1817: A tropical storm produces heavy rainfall in New York City and Long Island.
1821
September 3, 1821: The 1821 Norfolk and Long Island hurricane makes landfall in New York City, resulting in severe damage on Long Island. The hurricane produced an extraordinarily high storm surge of 13 feet (4 m) in just an hour in Battery Park. Along Long Island, high winds destroyed several buildings and left crops destroyed. The death toll in the state reached 17 when high winds caused a ship to crash off Long Island.
1825 June 4, 1825: A hurricane moves off the East Coast and tracks south of New York causing several ship wrecks, and killing seven people.
1827 August 27, 1827: High tides are reported in New York City which are caused by a hurricane offshore.
1830 August 1, 1830: A hurricane passes to the east of New York and produces gale-force winds to New York City and Long Island.
1841 October 4, 1841: Gale–force winds affect New York City as a hurricane tracks north along the East Coast of the United States. Damage is estimated at $2 million (1841 USD, $41 million 2007 USD).
1846 October 13, 1846: The Great Havana Hurricane of 1846 treks inland the state, leading to significant damage in NYC and more minor damage in Upstate New York. The waters of Upper New York Bay crashed over the Battery Park sea wall, washing away 300 ft (91 m) of its length. Gusts caved in chimneys, uprooted trees, and sank several canal boats at the city's wharves. At Buffalo, a rupture along the Erie Canal interrupted nearby traffic, and to the east in Dansville.
1849 October 6, 1849: Severe structural damage occurs in New York City and Long Island with the passage of a hurricane to the east.
1850 July 19, 1850: A hurricane destroys a Coney Island bath house and causes heavy rain, although damage is unknown. This storm destroyed the ship Elizabeth off Fire Island and drowned American transcendentalist Margaret Fuller. August 24, 1850: A storm that is reported to be a hurricane affects New York and New England although there is no known damage.
1854 September 9, 1854: A hurricane brushes the East Coast from Florida to New England causing rain on Long Island.
1858 September 16, 1858: Low barometric pressure of 28.87 inches mercury at Sag Harbor is reported, and is thought to be associated with a tropical cyclone which causes no known damage.
1869 September 6, 1869: A Category 3 hurricane makes landfall in Rhode Island and brushes Long Island, which is affected by rain, although minimal damage resulted from the storm.
1872 October 28, 1872: A tropical storm passes over New York City and Long Island.
1874 October 1, 1874: New York City and the Hudson Valley receives rainfall after a minimal tropical storm tracked over Eastern New York.
1876 September 19, 1876: The remnants of the San Felipe hurricane trek over western New York State, although damage is unknown.
1878 October 24, 1878: The state is affected by tropical storm-force winds and heavy rain with the passage of a hurricane, which made landfall in Virginia.
1888 August 22, 1888: A tropical storm moves into New York City before tracking north along the East Coast of the United States.
1893 August 24, 1893: Hog Island is washed away by strong storm surge associated with a tropical storm of unknown strength. According to HURDAT, this was a Category 1 hurricane that struck the western end of the Rockaway Peninsula, passing through Brooklyn as a weakening hurricane. Manhattan Island saw gale-force winds to 56 mph (90 km/h). In total, the hurricane itself capsized or beached numerous ships and vessels in the vicinity of New York City, leading to 34 reported fatalities. “Hundreds of thousands” of dollars in damage occurred in New York City. August 29, 1893: The Sea Islands hurricane moves through the Hudson Valley as a tropical storm. Lives were lost in the Rockaways and when tow boats were destroyed at various points along the Hudson River. Roofs, structures, boats and crops were destroyed or damaged from Brooklyn to as far west as Dunkirk. Wind gusts of 54 mph and 57 mph (87 km/h and 92 km/h) were recorded in New York and Albany respectively.
1894 October 10, 1894: A strong Category 1 hurricane makes landfall on Long Island with 1-minute sustained winds of 85 mph (140 km/h). 10 people were killed and 15 injured at 74 Monroe Street in Manhattan when winds blew a building under construction onto a tenement crushing it. Extensive damage in the NYC and Long Island to telegraph lines, trees and boats docked on shore. Storm formed over Gulf of Mexico as a Category 3 weakened over land in the Southeast and re strengthened to a Category 1 over the Chesapeake Bay before striking Long Island.Newsday Tropical Weather website
1900–1949 1900 September 12, 1900 – Remnants of the Galveston hurricane brought tropical storm conditions to New York City and Brooklyn killing one person and damaging property."CITY SWEPT BY HIGH WINDS; The Storm that Wrecked Galveston Reaches New York. A MAN KILLED IN BROADWAY Struck by a Broken Banner Pole—Navigation in the Bay and Rivers Difficult—A Ferryboat's Plight" . The New York Times, September 13, 1900.
1903 September 17, 1903: The 1903 Vagabond Hurricane produces wind gusts in excess of 65 mph (105 km/h) and 3 inches (75 mm) of rain in Central Park. One person died in New York City as a result from the storm.
1904 August 15, 1904: A Category 2 hurricane skirts the East Coast of the United States producing gale-force winds and heavy rain in Eastern New York and Long Island.
1908 May 30, 1908: A rare pre-season hurricane makes landfall on Long Island, New York as a minimal tropical storm, impacts are unknown.https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/hurdat/hurdat2-1851-2023-051124.txt (Database). United States National Hurricane Center. May 11, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. August 2, 1908: A hurricane develops near North Carolina and moves northward along the coast, brushing Long Island.
1916 July 21, 1916: Strong winds are reported on Long Island as a category 1 hurricane passes to the east.
1933 August 25, 1933: The 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane produces up to 6 inches (150 mm) of rain in Southeast New York State; other damage is unknown.
1934 September 8, 1934: A weakening minimal hurricane skirts up the US East Coast and makes landfall on Long Island.
1936 September 20, 1936: Strong waves and storm surge associated with a powerful hurricane floods much of Long Beach Island and causes severe beach erosion along the coast.
1938
September 21, 1938: The New England hurricane of 1938 (also called "The Long Island Express") makes landfall on Suffolk County, Long Island as a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. Wind gusts of and storm surge of 18 feet (5 m) washes across part of the island. In New York 60 deaths and hundreds of injuries were attributed to the storm. In addition, 2,600 boats and 8,900 houses are destroyed. Throughout New England the hurricane killed over 682 people, damaged or destroyed over 57,000 homes, and caused property losses estimated at $4.7 billion (2005 US dollars).
1944 September 14, 1944: The 1944 Great Atlantic hurricane makes landfall on Long Island as a category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale at a high forward speed of . Wind gusts of well over breaks previous wind records in New York City, while a minimum pressure reading of 28.47 inches is recorded on Long Island. 117 homes are completely destroyed, while 2,427 are severely damaged and almost 1000 businesses are destroyed or damaged. In all, six people are killed, and one person is injured.
1945 September 18, 1945: A weak tropical depression crosses into Southeastern New York.
1949 August 29, 1949: A tropical storm tracks into Central New York causing no known damage.
1950–1974 1950
August 21, 1950: Hurricane Able parallels the Eastern seaboard dropping 5 in (127 mm) of rainfall in Southern Tier. In NYC and portions of Long Island, rainfall peaked at 3 in (76.2 mm), flooding was reported in portions of New York City.Milt Sosin (1950-08-21). . Miami Daily News. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved 2025-02-05. September 10–11, 1950: Hurricane Dog produces nearly an inch (20 mm) of rainfall across portions of Long Island as it parallels the Eastern Seaboard.
1952
September 1, 1952: Hurricane Able generates nearly 6 inches (152 mm) of rainfall in the Southern Tier region of Upstate New York as it crosses the state inland as a tropical storm.
1953
September 6, 1953: Offshore Hurricane Carol prompted the United States Weather Bureau to issue tropical storm warnings from New Jersey to Maine. In Brooklyn, a fishing boat capsized due to rough waters, though all four men were rescued.
1954
August 31, 1954: Hurricane Carol makes landfall on Long Island and produces wind gusts of on Montauk Point. On eastern Long Island near where Carol made landfall, a pressure of 960 mbar is recorded. Winds on the island gust to . The hurricane's storm surge covers the Montauk Highway in Montauk, effectively isolating eastern Long Island for a period of time. Due to the compact nature of the storm, most of Long Island is largely unaffected by the hurricane. Specific damage totals for New York are unknown, although the storm in its entirety causes $460 million (1954 USD) in damage.