Natural hazards · Middleton

Middleton, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Middleton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2010. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Middleton?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Middleton to be higher than in 18% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding47%Cold waves26%Tornadoes12%Hail6%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Middleton 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

Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

26% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Hail

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% 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 Middleton flood?

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

1paid claims since 2010

$1Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20102026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Middleton 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 Middleton

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MiddletonDeclared for Dane County only

2018

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

$152K to the Town of Middleton for repairs

2008

Record Snow and Near Record Snow

$7K to the Town of Middleton for repairs

2000

Snow

$4K to the Town of Middleton for repairs

2000

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$13K to the Town of Middleton for repairs

Dane County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

Around Middleton

Middleton and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Cross Plainsmostly inland floodingLow

Middletonmostly inland floodingLow

Middletonmostly inland floodingVery low

Veronamostly inland floodingVery low

Springfieldmostly inland floodingVery low

Madisonmostly 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. Middleton covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Middleton’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Middleton. 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 Middleton total about $1.5M 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.