Natural hazards · Kelly

Kelly, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kelly comes from cold waves, 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 Kelly?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

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

Cold waves51%Inland flooding32%Strong wind8%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Kelly faces

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

Cold waves

51% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

32% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 28% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year 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 Kelly flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Kelly 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 Kelly

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KellyDeclared for Bayfield County only

2018

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$48K to the Town of Kelly for repairs

2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

$57K to the Town of Kelly for repairs

2012

Severe Storms and Flooding

$8K to the Town of Kelly for repairs

2001

Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes

$4K to the Town of Kelly for repairs

1999

Wi-Flood-07/20/99

$11K to the Town of Kelly for repairs

Bayfield County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Kelly

Kelly and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Kellymostly cold wavesVery low

White Rivermostly cold wavesVery low

Lincolnmostly cold wavesVery low

Masonmostly cold wavesVery low

Eileenmostly cold wavesVery 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. Kelly 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 Kelly’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Kelly. 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.