Natural hazards · Sheldon

Sheldon, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sheldon comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sheldon?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sheldon to be higher than in 73% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding55%Cold waves24%Tornadoes6%Strong wind5%Hail5%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Sheldon faces

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

Inland flooding

55% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

24% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 16 years in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hail

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% 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 Sheldon flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Monroe County.

Disasters that hit Sheldon

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SheldonDeclared for Monroe County only

2018

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

$803K to the Town of Sheldon for repairs

2017

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

$78K to the Town of Sheldon for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$171K to the Town of Sheldon for repairs

Monroe County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Sheldon

Sheldon and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Sheldonmostly inland floodingHigh

Wellingtonmostly inland floodingHigh

Ridgevillemostly inland floodingHigh

Ontariomostly inland floodingHigh

Whitestownmostly inland floodingHigh

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