Winifred is calmer than 71% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Winifred comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Winifred’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
What Winifred faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Cold waves
Inland flooding
How exposed is Winifred?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 29% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.
Calmer than 404 of the 496 Montana towns we cover.
Winifred is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Does Winifred flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Winifred. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Winifred isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Fergus County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Winifred
Disasters that paid out in Winifred itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Winifred) and its biggest flood years.
- 2011Severe Storms and Flooding2 households applied for aid$694 aid approved
Fergus County has had 8 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Old photos of Winifred after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Winifred archive →Get ready for what Winifred actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in April–June
The month each of Fergus County’s 8 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Winifred’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Winifred.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Winifred.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.