TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
ThomsonGood night
Natural hazards · Thomson

Thomson, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Thomson comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1985. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Thomson?

70
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Thomson to be higher than in 70% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves50%Inland flooding44%Everything else7%
By hazard

What Thomson faces

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

Cold waves

50% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places
Recorded about 16 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

44% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Thomson flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Thomson, from FEMA’s records.

6paid claims since 1985
$227Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19852026
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Thomson isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Carlton County.
Disasters that hit Thomson

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ThomsonDeclared for Carlton County only
2023

Severe Storms and Flooding

$31K to the Township of Thomson for repairs
2012

Severe Storms and Flooding

$133K to the Township of Thomson for repairs
2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$10K to the Township of Thomson for repairs
Carlton County has had 7 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Thomson

Thomson and the towns around it

Twin Lakes: Low, mostly cold wavesCarlton: High, mostly cold wavesCloquet: High, mostly cold wavesScanlon: Very low, mostly cold wavesSolway: Low, mostly inland floodingMidway: Low, mostly inland floodingSilver Brook: Low, mostly cold wavesDuluth: Low, mostly inland floodingBlackhoof: Low, mostly cold wavesAtkinson: Moderate, mostly cold wavesWrenshall: Low, mostly cold wavesSuperior: Low, mostly cold wavesPerch Lake: Low, mostly cold wavesBrevator: High, mostly inland floodingGrand Lake: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHermantown: Low, mostly inland floodingProctor: Low, mostly inland floodingThomson: High, mostly cold waves ThomsonTwin LakesCarltonCloquetScanlonSolwayMidway
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Carltonmostly cold wavesHigh
Thomsonmostly cold wavesHigh
Cloquetmostly cold wavesHigh
Twin Lakesmostly cold wavesLow
Solwaymostly inland floodingLow
Midwaymostly inland floodingLow
Scanlonmostly cold wavesVery low
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. Thomson covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Thomson’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Thomson. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Thomson total about $5.5M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.

We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Thomson, MNCarlton CountyView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Thomson is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map