Natural hazards · Hartford

Hartford, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hartford comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2010. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Hartford?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hartford to be higher than in 8% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves35%Inland flooding29%Tornadoes21%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Hartford faces

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

Cold waves

35% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 34% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 12% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

21% of expected damage

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

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Hartford flood?

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

2paid claims since 2010

$272Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20102026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Washington County.

Disasters that hit Hartford

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HartfordDeclared for Washington County only

2026

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

10 households applied for aid $29K aid approved

2025

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

15 households applied for aid $75K aid approved

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$26K to the City of Hartford for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

88 households applied for aid $247K aid approved $30K to the City of Hartford for repairs

2008

Record Snow and Near Record Snow

$30K to the City of Hartford for repairs

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

Washington County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Hartford

Hartford and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Rubiconmostly inland floodingVery low

Hartfordmostly cold wavesVery low

Slingermostly inland floodingVery low

Hartfordmostly 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. Hartford covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Hartford’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Hartford. 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 Hartford total about $1.1M 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.