County Hazards

Storm events on record through

Jefferson County, Wisconsin Storm events, disaster declarations and flood insurance claims on record

This page is a county record of past events and claims. It does not show the flood zone or the risk of an address. For the flood map of an address, use FEMA's address search (opens in a new tab).

NCEI has 1,097 storm events on record for Jefferson County, Wisconsin, from 1950 through 30 Jun 2026.

The newest event on record is an excessive heat event on 30 Jun 2026.

FEMA has 14 disaster declarations on record for the county from 1964 through 1 Oct 2026. The newest is DR-4923 of 30 Jun 2026.

OpenFEMA has 503 NFIP claims on record for the county from 1978 through 8 Sep 2026. The NFIP paid $11 million on these claims.

The NWS collects event reports from a variety of sources, which include (but are not limited to): county, state, and federal emergency management officials, local law enforcement officials, SKYWARN spotters, NWS damage surveys, newspaper clipping services, the insurance industry, and the general public, among others.

The National Weather Service reports property and crop damage estimates using available data at the time of event reporting. These values should therefore be considered broad estimates. Damage amounts are not adjusted for inflation.

Zone (NWS Forecast Zone): A zone is a geographic area defined by the NWS for issuing forecasts, watches, and warnings. While zones often align with counties, they can also represent smaller or subdivided areas within a county to account for differences in weather conditions, such as elevation or proximity to water. Larger-scale events—such as heat, cold, drought, and winter storms—are typically recorded by zone.

The words of the agency. Source: NOAA NCEI, Storm Events Database, page "Frequently Asked Questions", copied on .

This is raw, unedited data from FEMA's National Emergency Management Information System (NEMIS) and as such is subject to a small percentage of human error.

The words of the agency. Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset "Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2", copied on . The page gives: last data refresh 2026-10-01.

It is derived from the National Flood Insurance Program system of record, staged in the program's reporting platform and redacted to protect policy holder personally identifiable information.

The words of the agency. Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset "NFIP Redacted Claims - v3", copied on . The page gives: last data refresh 2026-09-09.

Dates of the data: NCEI storm events through . OpenFEMA disaster declarations through . NFIP claims through .

Since the last update: no change is on record for Jefferson County. The site compares the agency data at each update. Updates of the data

The five hazards

Storm events on record for Jefferson County by hazard and period (NCEI, through 30 Jun 2026)
Hazard1950 to 20262000 to 20092010 to 20192020 to 2026Newest event
Hail176673941
Tornado5111716
Flood60132910
Wind359918839
Winter234619864
Other event types217Heat, cold, drought, wildfire, lightning, fog, tropical and other types
All storm events1,097363316186

A hazard name opens the page of that hazard for the county. A hazard has a page from 10 events. The year 2026 has the events through 30 Jun 2026 only.

Forecast zones with the name of the county give 463 of the 1,097 events. A county count has the events that NCEI gives to the county. It also has the events of a forecast zone that has the name of the county. A zone with another name counts for the state only.

Rates of Jefferson County beside the total of the counties of Wisconsin and of the United States
MeasureJeffersonAll counties of WisconsinAll counties of the United States
Storm events for each 100 square miles, 1950 to 2026197.184.649.3
Storm events for each 10,000 residents, 1950 to 2026129.177.752.5
NFIP claims for each 1,000 policies in force, 2016 to 202571.9220.2185.3

The columns for the state and the United States total the counties. They count the events of each county in the same way as the county column. The site gives a rate for each 10,000 residents only from 10,000 residents. Residents and area: Census Bureau, 2021.

Newest storm events on record

Excessive Heat

On record for the forecast zone

Excessive Heat

On record for the forecast zone

Thunderstorm Wind60 mph (52 knots, measured gust)

2 miles W of WATERTOWN AIRPORT

Thunderstorm Wind75 mph (65 knots, estimated gust)

2 miles ESE of FT ATKINSON

Thunderstorm Wind85 mph (74 knots, estimated gust)

At BUSSEYVILLE

Flood

3 miles NE of BUSSEYVILLE. Damage estimate: $1 thousand

Flood

2 miles NW of FT ATKINSON. Damage estimate: $1 thousand

Flood

3 miles NE of BUSSEYVILLE. Damage estimate: $1 thousand

Flood

2 miles NW of FT ATKINSON. Damage estimate: $1 thousand

Flash Flood

1 mile ESE of WATERTOWN. Damage estimate: $40 thousand

Lightning

At FT ATKINSON. Damage estimate: $50 thousand

Thunderstorm Wind70 mph (61 knots, estimated gust)

3 miles S of CAMBRIDGE ARPT

Hail1.00 in, quarter size

4 miles NW of LAKE MILLS

Hail2.75 in, baseball size

2 miles E of WATERTOWN AIRPORT

Hail1.00 in, quarter size

1 mile NW of WATERLOO

Hail1.75 in, golf ball size

1 mile S of WATERTOWN

Hail1.25 in, half dollar size

1 mile SW of WATERTOWN

Hail1.00 in, quarter size

1 mile NW of WATERLOO

Hail1.75 in, golf ball size

2 miles ENE of GRELLTON

Hail1.00 in, quarter size

1 mile SW of WATERTOWN

Thunderstorm Wind81 mph (70 knots, estimated gust)

1 mile NNW of CAMBRIDGE. Damage estimate: $80 thousand

Thunderstorm Wind81 mph (70 knots, estimated gust)

1 mile WSW of WATERLOO. Damage estimate: $80 thousand

TornadoEF0

3 miles NW of BUSSEYVILLE. Damage estimate: $1 thousand

Blizzard

On record for the forecast zone

Strong Wind49 mph (43 knots, measured gust)

On record for the forecast zone. Damage estimate: $10 thousand

The 25 events above are the newest in the NCEI record. A place is the text of the NCEI record: a distance and a direction from a reference place. Wind speed is in miles per hour, with the knots that NCEI gives. The site does not show a place text that names a private property or reads as a person. Download these events (CSV)

Storm events on record for Jefferson County by year, 1950 to 2026
DecadeYear that ends in 0Year that ends in 1Year that ends in 2Year that ends in 3Year that ends in 4Year that ends in 5Year that ends in 6Year that ends in 7Year that ends in 8Year that ends in 9All
1950s00000010001
1960s532033210019
1970s124052196434
1980s542842445644
1990s491071620321926134
2000s36372026364347435421363
2010s40344929241324333337316
2020s11223429253332 (part of the year)186

A darker cell has a larger count. The number is in each cell.

NCEI recorded tornado events from 1950, and hail and thunderstorm wind events from 1955. It recorded all event types from 1996. A count before 1996 has fewer event types.

FEMA disaster declarations

FEMA has 14 disaster declarations on record for Jefferson County from 1964 through 1 Oct 2026. The newest is DR-4923: SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING.

Disaster declarations that name Jefferson County (OpenFEMA, through 1 Oct 2026)
DeclaredNumberTypeIncident typeTitle in the FEMA recordAssistance
DR-4923Major disasterFloodSEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODINGIndividual, Public
DR-4520Major disasterBiologicalCOVID-19 PANDEMICIndividual, Public
EM-3454EmergencyBiologicalCOVID-19Public
DR-1768Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODINGIndividual, Public
EM-3285EmergencySnowstormRECORD SNOW AND NEAR RECORD SNOWPublic
DR-1719Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE STORMS AND FLOODINGIndividual
EM-3249EmergencyHurricaneHURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATIONPublic
DR-1526Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE STORMS AND FLOODINGIndividual, Public
DR-994Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES & FLOODINGIndividual, Public
DR-912Major disasterSevere StormSEVERE STORMS & HAILPublic
EM-3014EmergencyDroughtDROUGHTPublic
DR-496Major disasterFloodSEVERE STORMS, ICING, WIND & FLOODINGIndividual, Public
DR-376Major disasterFloodSEVERE STORMS & FLOODINGIndividual, Public
DR-192Major disasterTornadoTORNADOES, SEVERE STORMS & FLOODINGIndividual, Public

DR is a major disaster declaration. EM is an emergency declaration. FM is a fire management assistance declaration. A declaration for the whole state is on the Wisconsin page. What a disaster declaration is

The dataset includes declared recovery programs and geographic areas (county not available before 1964; Fire Management records are considered partial due to historical nature of the dataset).

The words of the agency. Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset "Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2", copied on . The page gives: last data refresh 2026-10-01.

Flood insurance claims (NFIP)

OpenFEMA has 503 NFIP claims on record for Jefferson County from 1978 through 8 Sep 2026.

The NFIP paid $11,031,858 on 417 claims.

The county has 71.9 NFIP claims for each 1,000 policies in force. The rate uses 11 claims with a year of loss from 2016 to 2025. FEMA counts 153 residential policies in force on 3 Aug 2026. The claims have every type of building. FEMA counts residential policies only.

NFIP claims in Jefferson County by year of loss, 1978 to 2026
DecadeYear that ends in 0Year that ends in 1Year that ends in 2Year that ends in 3Year that ends in 4Year that ends in 5Year that ends in 6Year that ends in 7Year that ends in 8Year that ends in 9All
1970s17071
1980s00150142900049
1990s00054001401170
2000s15000401052104275
2010s4001900203432
2020s0110004 (part of the year)6

A darker cell has a larger count. The number is in each cell.

NFIP claims by year of loss with the amount paid: 24 years
NFIP claims in Jefferson County by year of loss, with the amount paid (OpenFEMA, through 8 Sep 2026)
Year of lossClaimsClaims with a paymentAmount paid
20264not shownnot shown
20221not shownnot shown
20211not shownnot shown
20194not shownnot shown
20183not shownnot shown
20162not shownnot shown
20131916$220,393
20104not shownnot shown
20094not shownnot shown
2008210185$8,980,917
200755$29,786
20051not shownnot shown
20044031$206,316
2000157$43,188
19991not shownnot shown
19981not shownnot shown
1996149$30,850
19935451$549,488
19862920$39,476
19854not shownnot shown
19841not shownnot shown
19821511$28,679
19797061$302,414
19781not shownnot shown

A year with fewer than 5 claims shows the count of claims and no amount. A year with 1 to 4 claims with a payment shows no amount either. Such an amount could point to one property. The amount is the sum of the building, contents and increased cost of compliance payments. FEMA counts 28 multiple-loss properties in the county (2 Aug 2026). How FEMA redacts NFIP claims

This dataset is not intended to be an official federal report, and should not be considered an official federal report.

Note, the County Code field may not reflect the individual county the property is located as projects can be associated with more than one county

The words of the agency. Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset "NFIP Redacted Claims - v3", copied on . The page gives: last data refresh 2026-09-09.

FEMA cannot verify the quality and/or timeliness of any data or any analysis derived therefrom after the data has been retrieved from FEMA.gov.

The words of the agency. Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Terms and Conditions, copied on . The page gives: last updated 2025-01-22.

National Risk Index

Risk Index rating
Relatively Low
Risk Index score
75.8 of 100
Expected Annual Loss rating
Relatively Low
Expected Annual Loss
$42 million
Social Vulnerability rating
Very Low
Community Resilience rating
Very High
National Risk Index of Jefferson County by hazard type (FEMA, December 2025 release)
Hazard typeRisk Index ratingExpected Annual Loss
Cold waveRelatively Moderate$6,085,640
DroughtRelatively Low$64,349
EarthquakeVery Low$225,092
HailRelatively Moderate$2,775,625
Heat waveRelatively Low$1,152,549
HurricaneVery Low$4,158
Ice stormRelatively Low$75,968
Inland floodingRelatively Moderate$22,680,655
LandslideVery Low$2,828
LightningRelatively Moderate$895,951
Strong windRelatively Moderate$1,056,823
TornadoRelatively Moderate$6,670,969
WildfireVery Low$30,721
Winter weatherRelatively Low$103,784

The National Risk Index dataset leverages available source data for natural hazard and community risk factors to develop a baseline relative risk measurement for each United States county and Census tract.

The rating is a qualitative categorization that describes the community in comparison to all other communities at the same level, ranging from “Very Low” to “Very High.”

The National Risk Index data are meant for planning purposes only.

The words of the agency. Source: FEMA, National Risk Index Data: Frequently Asked Questions (December 2025, v1.20), copied on .

The labels and the ratings are those of FEMA. Expected Annual Loss is a figure for a whole county. It is not a figure for a property. How to read the National Risk Index

Tropical storm and hurricane tracks

The HURDAT2 record of the National Hurricane Center has 1 track within 100 miles of the centre point of the county, through the 2025 season. 0 of them were within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

Storm names, years and distances: 1 track
Tropical storm and hurricane tracks within 100 miles of the centre point of Jefferson County (NHC HURDAT2)
Storm nameYearNearest point of the trackHighest wind within 100 miles
Unnamed Atlantic storm190030 miles58 mph

A name is the storm name that the National Hurricane Center gave. The distance is from the centre line of the track. It does not show how far the wind, the rain or the surge of a storm went.

ZIP Codes, cities and towns of Jefferson County

Each ZIP Code below has a page with its NFIP claims by year. 6 more ZIP Codes have fewer than 5 claims and no page.

A city or town has no page of its own. This page is the record for the whole county, which has these places:

  • Cambridge
  • Fort Atkinson
  • Hebron
  • Helenville
  • Ixonia
  • Jefferson
  • Johnson Creek
  • Lac La Belle
  • Lake Koshkonong
  • Lake Mills
  • Lake Ripley
  • Palmyra
  • Rome
  • Sullivan
  • Waterloo
  • Watertown
  • Whitewater

Official channels

These links open the pages of the agencies. The site checked the links on .

Cite this page

County Hazards. "Jefferson County, Wisconsin: storm events, disaster declarations and flood insurance claims on record". https://countyhazards.com/county/wi/jefferson/. Data: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database through 30 Jun 2026; FEMA OpenFEMA disaster declarations through 1 Oct 2026; FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP claims through 8 Sep 2026. Page made on .

Where the data comes from

  • Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026.
  • Disaster declarations: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, read on 1 Oct 2026.
  • NFIP claims: OpenFEMA NFIP Claims, as of 8 Sep 2026. Multiple-loss properties: 2 Aug 2026. Policies in force: 3 Aug 2026.
  • National Risk Index: FEMA, December 2025 release. Storm tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through the 2025 season.
  • Residents, area, places and adjacent counties: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage.

How the counts are made · Corrections · Hazards in all states: hail, tornado, flood, wind, winter

Questions

How many tornado events are on record for Jefferson County?
NCEI has 51 tornado events on record for Jefferson County from 1950 through 30 Jun 2026. 7 events have a rating of EF2 or F2, or a higher rating.
How large is the hail on record for Jefferson County?
NCEI has 176 hail events on record from 1955 through 30 Jun 2026. 40 events have a hail size of 1.75 inches or more. NCEI names 1.75 inches a golf ball.
Which month has the most storm events on record for Jefferson County?
June has 175 of the 1,097 storm events on record from 1950 through 30 Jun 2026.
How many NFIP claims are there for each 1,000 policies in force in Jefferson County?
The county has 71.9 NFIP claims for each 1,000 policies in force. The rate uses 11 claims with a year of loss from 2016 to 2025. FEMA counts 153 residential policies in force on 3 Aug 2026. The claims have every type of building. FEMA counts residential policies only.