Genesee County, NY Environment & Hazard Risk

• LightningRelatively High$985K/yr expected annual loss, about 29 events a year
• Ice stormRelatively Moderate$287K/yr expected annual loss, about 1.9 events a year
• DroughtRelatively Moderate$664K/yr expected annual loss, about 1.9 events a year
• Strong windRelatively Moderate$826K/yr expected annual loss, about 1.4 events a year
• HailRelatively Low$417K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1 year
• HurricaneRelatively Low$258K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 37 years
• EarthquakeVery Low$246K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1,206 years
• Cold waveRelatively Low$604K/yr expected annual loss, about 3.0 events a year
• Heat waveVery Low$173K/yr expected annual loss, about 2.8 events a year
• TornadoRelatively Low$507K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 20 years
• Winter weatherRelatively Low$27.47K/yr expected annual loss, about 22 events a year
• LandslideVery Low$153/yr expected annual loss, about once every 11 years
• WildfireVery Low$6,767/yr expected annual loss, about once every 83,110 years

Bars show the national percentile score (0 to 100) for each hazard. Dollar figures are expected annual losses to buildings, people and crops. Not rated here: avalanche, coastal flooding, riverine flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Check the flood zone for an address

Homes with flood insurance

208 of 21,168 (1.0%)

Homes in high-risk flood zones

0

Flood claims since 1978

137

Claims paid since 1978

$1.88M

• Thunderstorm Wind129
• High Wind72 · 1 death
• Winter Storm36
• Heavy Snow34
• Lake-Effect Snow27 · 1 death
• Frost/Freeze25
• Hail21
• Flood19
• Flash Flood19
• Tornado5

• Lightning08/10/2016

  Batavia, Genesee County

  2 deaths

  What happened

  Thunderstorms moved across western New York during the early morning hours of the 10th. During the afternoon of that day, two people were found dead in a Batavia cemetery. The medical examiner determined that the cause of death of the 34-year-old male and 32-year-old female was a lighting strike from the earlier overnight thunderstorms.

• Lake-Effect Snow11/18/2014

  Genesee

  1 death, 1 injured, $285K damage

  What happened

  The epic November 17-19th 2014 lake effect event will be remembered as one of the most significant winter events in Buffalo���s snowy history. Over 5 feet of snow fell over areas just east of Buffalo, with mere inches a few miles away to the north. There were 13 fatalities with this storm, hundreds of major roof collapses and structural failures, 1000s of stranded motorists, and scattered food and gas shortages due to impassable roads. Numerous trees also gave way due to the weight of the snow, causing isolated power outages. While this storm was impressive on its own, a second lake effect event on Nov-19-20 dropped another 1-4 feet of snow over nearly the same area and compounded rescue and recovery efforts. |The storm began Monday around 6 PM (Nov 17) as a band of snow developed over the Buffalo Southtowns and quickly moved into the Northtowns with thunder and lightning. The band settled south fairly quickly and by 9PM the band had moved mostly just south of the city and airport and locked in place as the 15 to 20 mile wide band centered on a line from Lackawanna and Hamburg across West Seneca, Lancaster, and Alden. The northern edge of the lake effect band was so...

• Blizzard12/23/2022

  Genesee

  1 death

  What happened

  A historic lake effect blizzard occurred northeast of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario during the Christmas holiday weekend. The combination of high winds in excess of 70 mph and heavy lake effect snow resulted in devastating impacts across western New York and also east of Lake Ontario from December 23 through December 27. ||Warmer air initially was in place over the majority of the region with widespread middle and upper 30s being common in the pre-dawn hours on December 23. Bombogenesis occurred with an incoming surface low pressure center that crossed the Great Lakes and brought abruptly colder and vastly windier conditions into the area behind its adjoining cold front. Rain quickly transitioned to snow immediately behind the front, while temperatures and wind chills went into a free fall. This dramatic drop in temperature led to a flash freeze behind the front Friday morning, and by noon, temperatures across western New York were in the teens with wind chills already well below zero. ||Temperatures off the surface took a tumble Friday and yielding strong lake-induced instability over the fully open waters of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. This produced ideal lapse rates needed for...

• High Wind51 kt wind03/06/2022

  Genesee

  1 death

  What happened

  A 61 year old man was killed when a tree fell on him in Bergen at approximately 2 PM.

• Hail1" hail06/17/2008

  Byron, Genesee County

  $3.46M damage

  What happened

  Western and central New Yorkers experienced a rare widespread large and damaging hail event on the 16th of June. A warm humid airmass at the surface combined with an increasingly cold airmass advecting in aloft. Thunderstorm activity initially focused on the main lake convergence boundary between the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario breezes. The first cells exploded over Niagara and Orleans counties shortly before 1 p.m. and reports of hail came in almost immediately. For the next two hours, cell after cell rolled along a similar path across southern Niagara, southern Orleans, Monroe, Wayne and northern Cayuga counties���many of which had hail of up to an inch-an-a-half diameter. The activity waned for next few hours but after some additional heating due to clearing skies, more hail-filled cells developed. These storms produced hail up to two inches in diameter���a rare event for western New York. One particular thunderstorm formed over Grand Island, Erie county, and intensified as it moved southeast across the densely-populated northern and eastern suburbs of Buffalo. The golf-ball sized hail damaged thousands of automobiles as well as windows, roofs and awnings on homes. At the...

• Hail0.88" hail06/16/2008

  Batavia, Genesee County

  $3.46M damage

  What happened

  Western and central New Yorkers experienced a rare widespread large and damaging hail event on the 16th of June. A warm humid airmass at the surface combined with an increasingly cold airmass advecting in aloft. Thunderstorm activity initially focused on the main lake convergence boundary between the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario breezes. The first cells exploded over Niagara and Orleans counties shortly before 1 p.m. and reports of hail came in almost immediately. For the next two hours, cell after cell rolled along a similar path across southern Niagara, southern Orleans, Monroe, Wayne and northern Cayuga counties���many of which had hail of up to an inch-an-a-half diameter. The activity waned for next few hours but after some additional heating due to clearing skies, more hail-filled cells developed. These storms produced hail up to two inches in diameter���a rare event for western New York. One particular thunderstorm formed over Grand Island, Erie county, and intensified as it moved southeast across the densely-populated northern and eastern suburbs of Buffalo. The golf-ball sized hail damaged thousands of automobiles as well as windows, roofs and awnings on homes. At the...

• Thunderstorm Wind50 kt wind07/22/2026

  West Bethany, Genesee County

• Thunderstorm Wind50 kt wind07/22/2026

  Batavia, Genesee County

• Thunderstorm Wind50 kt wind07/18/2026

  Berger, Genesee County

• Thunderstorm Wind50 kt wind07/09/2026

  Alabama, Genesee County

• Frost/Freeze05/12/2026

  Genesee

• Thunderstorm Wind50 kt wind05/10/2026

  Byron, Genesee County

• Thunderstorm Wind50 kt wind05/10/2026

  Batavia, Genesee County

• Thunderstorm Wind50 kt wind05/10/2026

  Oakfield, Genesee County

• Hurricane Hazel (1954)10/05/1954 · Landfall: SC · 938 mbCategory 181 mph nearby

• Mcwa GeneseeServes 16,541 · Purchased surface water · Public and privateNo health violations
• Batavia CityServes 15,475 · Surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• Batavia Consolidated W.d.Serves 5,445 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• Oakfield VillageServes 1,679 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• Elba Town Wd2Serves 1,129 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• Alabama Water District No.2Serves 1,119 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• Oakfield TownServes 864 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• Alexander VillageServes 785 · Purchased surface water · Local government4 health violations+1 monitoring or reporting