Natural hazards · Winthrop

Winthrop, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Winthrop comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low 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 Winthrop?

33
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Winthrop to be higher than in 33% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding42%Cold waves13%Strong wind13%Tornadoes13%Drought9%Hail6%Everything else4%
By hazard

What Winthrop faces

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

Inland flooding

42% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 17% of U.S. places
Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Strong wind

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Drought

9% of expected damage
Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 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 Winthrop flood?

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

of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Winthrop isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sibley County.
Disasters that hit Winthrop

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WinthropDeclared for Sibley County only
2019

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$44K to the City of Winthrop for repairs
2014

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$8K to the City of Winthrop for repairs
2010

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$13K to the City of Winthrop for repairs
Sibley County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Winthrop

Winthrop and the towns around it

Alfsborg: Low, mostly inland floodingCornish: Low, mostly inland floodingTransit: Low, mostly inland floodingSibley: Low, mostly inland floodingBernadotte: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSeverance: Low, mostly inland floodingLafayette: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBismarck: Low, mostly inland floodingDryden: Low, mostly inland floodingPenn: Low, mostly inland floodingWinthrop: Low, mostly inland flooding WinthropAlfsborgCornishTransit
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Winthropmostly inland floodingLow
Cornishmostly inland floodingLow
Alfsborgmostly inland floodingLow
Transitmostly 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. Winthrop 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 Winthrop’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Winthrop. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01