Natural hazards · Winchester

Winchester, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Winchester comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Winchester?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Winchester to be higher than in 31% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding49%Cold waves18%Drought9%Tornadoes7%Hail7%Strong wind6%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Winchester faces

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

Inland flooding

49% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 41% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Drought

9% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 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 Winchester flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Winchester isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Norman County.

Disasters that hit Winchester

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WinchesterDeclared for Norman County only

2023

Severe Storms and Flooding

$16K to the Township of Winchester for repairs

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$19K to the Township of Winchester for repairs

2006

Flooding

$5K to the Township of Winchester for repairs

2002

Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes

$24K to the Township of Winchester for repairs

2000

Severe Storms and Flooding

$6K to the Township of Winchester for repairs

Norman County has had 28 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Winchester

Winchester and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Feltonmostly inland floodingHigh

Rockwellmostly cold wavesModerate

Winchestermostly inland floodingLow

McDonaldsvillemostly inland floodingLow

Marymostly inland floodingLow

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. Winchester 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 Winchester’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Winchester. 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.