Storm Records: Lake Ontario
Every storm the National Weather Service has filed in Lake Ontario: its floods, heat, cold, winter storms, hail, wind, lightning and tornadoes, year by year and county by county, each episode with its narrative.
The worst in Lake Ontario on the map
The deadliest and costliest episodes on record here, colored by kind of event.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 289
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Damage
- $105,000
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
Every year
Tap a year for every episode in it.
Deaths each year
By kind of event
| Kind of event | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marine Thunderstorm Wind | 240 | 0 | 0 | $105,000 |
| Waterspout | 39 | 0 | 0 | |
| Marine Hail | 10 | 0 | 0 |
The deadliest
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Lake Ontario, June 27, 2002
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Ontario, October 23, 2020A strong cold front approached the area subsequent to record heat across western New York. A pre-frontal trough ignited thunderstorms upstream from lower Michigan through northern Ohio. Thunderstorms overall diminished as they moved toward the area late in the evening.
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Lake Ontario, July 6, 2007Thunderstorms accompanying a cold front produced damaging wind gusts estimated at 45 knots. The winds capsized a sailboat near Henderson Harbor. Rescuers were called to assist the boaters.
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Ontario, May 31, 2002
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Lake Ontario, July 22, 2002
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Lake Ontario, June 5, 2002
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Ontario, June 10, 2015A warm front lifted north across Lake Ontario. The thunderstorms that accompanied the front produced wind gusts measured to 35 knots at Irondequoit and 38 knots at Olcott. Near the entrance to Irondequoit Bay, a sixteen-foot sailboat was capsized by the thunderstorm winds.
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Ontario, July 16, 2024For the second day in a row, a mesoscale convective vortex (MCV) crossed western and central New York during the afternoon on July 16, 2024.
The costliest
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Lake Ontario, June 27, 2002
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Ontario, October 23, 2020
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Lake Ontario, July 6, 2007
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Ontario, May 31, 2002
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Lake Ontario, July 22, 2002
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Lake Ontario, June 5, 2002
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Ontario, June 10, 2015
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Ontario, July 16, 2024
Marine zones
The places filed most often, as the offices named them.
| Marine zone | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sodus Bay to Mexico Bay Ny zone | 77 | 0 | 0 | |
| Niagara River to Hamlin Beach Ny zone | 77 | 0 | 0 | $30,000 |
| Hamlin Beach to Sodus Bay Ny zone | 53 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 |
| Mexico Bay Ny to the St Lawrence River zone | 24 | 0 | 0 | $20,000 |
| Lower Niagara River zone | 12 | 0 | 0 | |
| Niagara R to Thirty Mile Pt Ny marine | 10 | 0 | 0 | $30,000 |
| Hamlin Beach to Sodus Bay Ny Beyond 5nm Offshore to Us/Canadian Border zone | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Sodus Bay to Mexico Bay Ny marine | 8 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mexico Bay Ny to the St Lawrence River marine | 3 | 0 | 0 | $20,000 |
| Sodus Bay to Mexico Bay Ny Beyond 5nm Offshore to Us/Canadian Border zone | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Niagara River to Thirty Mile Point Ny zone | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lo Thirty Mile Pt to Sodus Bay Ny Byd 5nm Offshore to Intl Border marine | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Thirty Mile Pt to Sodus Bay Ny zone | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Niagara R to Thirty Mile Pt Ny zone | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Niagara River to Hamlin Beach Ny Beyond 5nm Offshore to Us/Canadian Border zone | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Thirty Mile Pt to Sodus Bay Ny marine | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mexico Bay Ny to St Lawrence River Beyond 5nm Offshore to Us/Canadian Border zone | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Every year
More
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24.