TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
LancasterGood morning
Natural hazards · Lancaster

Lancaster, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lancaster comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1998. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Lancaster?

6
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lancaster to be higher than in 6% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding30%Cold waves23%Tornadoes23%Strong wind8%Hail7%Everything else9%
By hazard

What Lancaster faces

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

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 5% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Cold waves

23% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 31% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

23% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Strong wind

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Lancaster flood?

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

1paid claims since 1998
$5Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19982026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Lancaster isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Grant County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Lancaster

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LancasterDeclared for Grant County only
2017

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mud

$13K to the City of Lancaster for repairs
2013

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

$8K to the City of Lancaster for repairs
2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$7K to the City of Lancaster for repairs
2010

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

15 households applied for aid $15K aid approved
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

111 households applied for aid $192K aid approved $57K to the City of Lancaster for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $3K aid approved
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

26 households applied for aid $56K aid approved $4K to the City of Lancaster for repairs
2000

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$11K to the City of Lancaster for repairs
Grant County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Lancaster

Lancaster and the towns around it

North Lancaster: High, mostly inland floodingSouth Lancaster: Low, mostly inland floodingLittle Grant: High, mostly inland floodingMount Ida: Very low, mostly inland floodingLiberty: Low, mostly inland floodingEllenboro: Low, mostly inland floodingBeetown: High, mostly inland floodingPotosi: Low, mostly inland floodingLancaster: Very low, mostly inland flooding LancasterNorth LancasterSouth Lancaster
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
North Lancastermostly inland floodingHigh
South Lancastermostly inland floodingLow
Lancastermostly 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. Lancaster covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Lancaster’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Lancaster. 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 Lancaster total about $1.3M 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.

The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Lancaster, WIView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Lancaster is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map