Natural hazards · Grinnell

Grinnell, KS natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Grinnell comes from hail, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Grinnell?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Grinnell to be higher than in 46% of U.S. communities, mostly from hail and inland flooding.

Hail27%Inland flooding25%Drought21%Tornadoes11%Strong wind7%Cold waves5%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Grinnell faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Hail

27% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 45% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

21% of expected damage

Recorded about 70 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Grinnell flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Grinnell.

Disasters that hit Grinnell

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Grinnell itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Grinnell.

Brought FEMA money into GrinnellDeclared for Gove County only

2025

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$596K to the City of Grinnell for repairs

2017

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$9K to the City of Grinnell for repairs

2006

Severe Winter Storm

$12K to the City of Grinnell for repairs

Gove County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Grinnell is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Grinnell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Grinnell. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.