Natural hazards · Melrose

Melrose, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Melrose comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Melrose?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Melrose to be higher than in 64% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding54%Cold waves22%Tornadoes7%Strong wind6%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Melrose faces

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

Inland flooding

54% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

22% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Melrose flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jackson County.

Disasters that hit Melrose

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MelroseDeclared for Jackson County only

2010

Severe Storms and Flooding

$11K to the Town of Melrose for repairs

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $2K aid approved $2K to the Town of Melrose for repairs

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

Around Melrose

Melrose and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Melrosemostly inland floodingHigh

Irvingmostly inland floodingHigh

North Bendmostly inland floodingHigh

Franklinmostly inland floodingHigh

Little Fallsmostly inland floodingModerate

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. Melrose 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 Melrose’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Melrose. 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.