New York Annual Rainfall and Climate Data, see below for individual cities 

 

New York city precipitation totals

City Avg Annual Precip Avg Annual Snow  Avg. # days of Precip

Avg # thunderstorm days

 Avg # hail days Avg # severe thunderstorm watches per year Avg # tornado watches per year # of tornadoes reported in county, 1960-2010
Albany 38.60 63.8 135 24 1 1 11 7
Binghamton 38.65 84.9 162 29 1 1 11 8
Buffalo 40.54 93.7 169 30 1 1 5 17
Islip 46.52 25.7 116 26 0 0 5 19
New York City (JFK) 42.46 23.9 118 23 0 0 7 1
Rochester 33.98 92.6 159 27 1 1 6 3
Syracuse 40.05 117.5 171 27 1 1 9 8
  • New York Annual Precipitation Average - 41.90", 25th wettest state in the U.S.
  • New York Tornado Average - 5.6 per year - 30th most in the U.S.
  • Largest reported Tornado in New York from 1950-2011, 5/31/1998 - 1,500 yards / .85 miles wide
  • Date with highest number of reported Tornadoes in New York from 1950-2011, May 31st - 22 tornadoes
  • Average time of occurrence of reported Tornadoes in New York from 1950-2011 - 3:18 pm
  • New York Annual Lightning Density - 6.1 flashes per square mile - 26th highest in U.S.
  • Record Driest year in New York from 1895-2012 - 1941, avg precipitation 30.75 inches 
  • Record Wettest year in New York from 1895-2012 - 2011, avg precipitation 54.16 inches

New York Precipitation Records

  • Driest location ranked by lowest annual average precipitation: Chazy, northeastern New York, 30.25"
  • Wettest location ranked by highest annual average precipitation: Slide Mountain, southern New York, 63.61"
  • Snowiest location ranked by highest annual average snowfall: Old Forge, central New York, 226.7"
  • State precipitation record for 24 hours - Brewster, southeastern New York, 9/16/1999, 13.70"
  • State precipitation record for 1 year - Slide Mountain, southern New York, 1996, 90.97"
  • State snowfall record for 24 hours - Adams, northern New York, 1/9/1976, 68.0"
  • State snow record for 1 season - Hooker, north-central New York, 1976-1977, 466.9"
  • On 1/26/1972, Oswego in north-central New York received the current U.S. record snowfall of 9.1" in just one hour and 27.0" in only 3.5 hours
  • The average for winter season snowfall in New York is over 40 inches
  • On January 21, 1985, three days of snow squalls at Buffalo, New York finally came to an end. The squalls, induced by relatively warm water in Lake Erie, produced 34 inches of snow at the International Airport, with up to 47 inches reported in the suburbs of Buffalo. The New York "Blizzard of 85" left many counties disaster areas
Data sources: National Climatic Data Center, Severe thunderstorm / tornado watch data period is 1999 - 2008, NOAA Storm Prediction Center, Tornado climate data - NOAA Storm Prediction Center, State lightning flash density average - 1997-2011, Vaisala