Natural hazards · Bayfield

Bayfield, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bayfield comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1978. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bayfield?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bayfield to be higher than in 1% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves60%Inland flooding26%Strong wind5%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Bayfield faces

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

Cold waves

60% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

26% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 8% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

HurricanesEarthquakesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Bayfield flood?

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

1paid claims since 1978

$1Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bayfield County.

Disasters that hit Bayfield

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BayfieldDeclared for Bayfield County only

2026

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid

2013

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

$5K to the City of Bayfield for repairs

2001

Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes

$14K to the City of Bayfield for repairs

1999

Wi-Flood-07/20/99

$11K to the City of Bayfield for repairs

Bayfield County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe 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. Bayfield 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 Bayfield’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Bayfield. 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.