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Natural hazards · Cottage Grove

Cottage Grove, WI natural hazards

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

15
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cottage Grove to be higher than in 15% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding47%Cold waves20%Tornadoes17%Hail8%Everything else8%
By hazard

What Cottage Grove faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 24% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Hail

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Cottage Grove flood?

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

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

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Cottage Grove itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Town of Cottage Grove.

Brought FEMA money into Cottage GroveDeclared for Dane County only
2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$10K to the Town of Cottage Grove for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$27K to the Town of Cottage Grove for repairs
2008

Record Snow and Near Record Snow

$8K to the Town of Cottage Grove for repairs
2000

Snow

$5K to the Town of Cottage Grove for repairs
2000

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$13K to the Town of Cottage Grove for repairs
Dane County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.
Around Cottage Grove

Cottage Grove and the towns around it

Cottage Grove: Very low, mostly inland floodingMadison: Very low, mostly inland floodingMcFarland: Low, mostly inland floodingSun Prairie: Very low, mostly inland floodingDeerfield: Very low, mostly inland floodingPleasant Springs: Low, mostly inland floodingMedina: Low, mostly inland floodingBurke: Very low, mostly inland floodingBlooming Grove: Very low, mostly cold wavesWestport: Low, mostly inland floodingMonona: Very low, mostly inland floodingFitchburg: Very low, mostly inland floodingMiddleton: Low, mostly inland floodingVerona: Very low, mostly inland floodingMiddleton: Very low, mostly inland floodingSun Prairie: Very low, mostly inland floodingVerona: Very low, mostly inland floodingDunn: Low, mostly inland floodingBristol: Low, mostly inland floodingLake Mills: Low, mostly inland floodingChristiana: Very low, mostly inland floodingStoughton: Low, mostly inland floodingDunkirk: Very low, mostly inland floodingYork: Low, mostly inland floodingWaterloo: Low, mostly inland floodingWaterloo: Low, mostly inland floodingCottage Grove: Very low, mostly inland flooding Cottage GroveCottage GroveMadisonMcFarlandSun PrairieDeerfieldPleasant SpringsMedina
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
McFarlandmostly inland floodingLow
Pleasant Springsmostly inland floodingLow
Medinamostly inland floodingLow
Cottage Grovemostly inland floodingVery low
Cottage Grovemostly inland floodingVery low
Madisonmostly inland floodingVery low
Deerfieldmostly inland floodingVery low
Sun Prairiemostly inland floodingVery 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. Cottage Grove covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Cottage Grove’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Cottage Grove. 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 Cottage Grove total about $1.0M 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.

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