Natural hazards · Shell Lake

Shell Lake, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Shell Lake comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 2002. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Shell Lake?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Shell Lake to be higher than in 12% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves49%Inland flooding28%Tornadoes8%Lightning5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Shell Lake faces

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

Cold waves

49% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 25% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 21 years in the area

Lightning

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windDrought

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 Shell Lake flood?

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

12paid claims since 2002

$688Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20022026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Washburn County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Shell Lake

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Shell LakeDeclared for Washburn County only

2001

Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes

$31K to the City of Shell Lake for repairs

Washburn County has had 8 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and tornadoes.

Around Shell Lake

Shell Lake and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Beaver Brookmostly cold wavesVery low

Shell Lakemostly cold wavesVery low

Bashawmostly cold wavesVery low

Barronettmostly 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. Shell Lake 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 Shell Lake’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Shell Lake. 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.