Winter Weather Risk in Iowa

All Iowa counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index winter weather score

Winter Weather risk — heavy snow, blizzards, and hazardous winter conditions — is rated for 99 of 99 Iowa counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Linn County carries the state's highest winter weather score at 94.5, with $787K in expected annual winter weather losses.

9 Iowa counties are rated High or Very High for winter weather, and expected annual losses from winter weather total roughly $12M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Winter Weather

#CountyWinter Weather ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Linn County
94.5
High 16.58 / yr $787K
2 Black Hawk County
93.0
High 17.79 / yr $598K
3 Polk County
90.3
High 14.11 / yr $506K
4 Story County
90.2
High 15.89 / yr $533K
5 Scott County
88.2
High 15.68 / yr $432K
6 Cerro Gordo County
88.1
High 20.11 / yr $343K
7 Johnson County
87.9
High 15.53 / yr $492K
8 Sioux County
87.0
High 16.84 / yr $557K
9 Woodbury County
85.7
High 14.84 / yr $293K
10 Marshall County
84.7
Medium 15.63 / yr $268K
11 Dickinson County
83.7
Medium 19.26 / yr $317K
12 Pottawattamie County
81.6
Medium 14.11 / yr $261K
13 Webster County
79.9
Medium 16.63 / yr $243K
14 Buena Vista County
76.9
Medium 15.37 / yr $178K
15 Plymouth County
75.8
Medium 15.26 / yr $192K
16 Dubuque County
72.1
Medium 16.79 / yr $254K
17 Hardin County
71.7
Medium 17.79 / yr $141K
18 Dallas County
71.6
Medium 14.42 / yr $256K
19 Kossuth County
71.1
Medium 19.89 / yr $204K
20 Lyon County
71.1
Medium 18.42 / yr $209K
21 Clay County
71.0
Medium 17.84 / yr $202K
22 Wright County
69.7
Medium 17.68 / yr $129K
23 Muscatine County
67.4
Medium 15.16 / yr $122K
24 Osceola County
66.7
Medium 18.42 / yr $106K
25 Hancock County
66.5
Medium 19.58 / yr $136K
26 Jasper County
66.4
Medium 14.32 / yr $132K
27 O'Brien County
66.3
Medium 17.32 / yr $198K
28 Hamilton County
66.1
Medium 16.63 / yr $129K
29 Floyd County
65.8
Medium 18.05 / yr $107K
30 Winnebago County
63.7
Medium 19.74 / yr $100K
31 Emmet County
62.8
Medium 18.95 / yr $104K
32 Fayette County
61.8
Medium 17.63 / yr $87K
33 Calhoun County
61.7
Medium 16.00 / yr $91K
34 Cherokee County
60.8
Medium 15.89 / yr $91K
35 Boone County
60.5
Low 15.68 / yr $162K
36 Tama County
60.3
Low 15.47 / yr $80K
37 Des Moines County
59.7
Low 13.16 / yr $93K
38 Clinton County
59.5
Low 16.74 / yr $93K
39 Butler County
58.3
Low 17.74 / yr $139K
40 Grundy County
57.4
Low 17.53 / yr $144K
41 Humboldt County
56.0
Low 17.68 / yr $94K
42 Pocahontas County
55.4
Low 16.84 / yr $83K
43 Benton County
55.1
Low 16.16 / yr $128K
44 Carroll County
53.4
Low 14.74 / yr $83K
45 Washington County
53.1
Low 13.58 / yr $71K
46 Bremer County
52.6
Low 17.79 / yr $129K
47 Iowa County
52.3
Low 14.79 / yr $83K
48 Lee County
52.0
Low 11.84 / yr $67K
49 Wapello County
51.1
Low 11.37 / yr $64K
50 Madison County
51.1
Low 12.68 / yr $60K
51 Franklin County
50.5
Low 18.68 / yr $91K
52 Palo Alto County
50.2
Low 18.21 / yr $102K
53 Buchanan County
48.6
Low 16.58 / yr $98K
54 Cass County
48.2
Low 12.53 / yr $47K
55 Crawford County
48.1
Low 14.58 / yr $64K
56 Chickasaw County
47.0
Low 18.21 / yr $62K
57 Poweshiek County
46.8
Low 13.89 / yr $67K
58 Mitchell County
46.6
Low 18.53 / yr $70K
59 Mahaska County
46.6
Low 12.53 / yr $66K
60 Winneshiek County
45.9
Low 18.26 / yr $74K
61 Greene County
45.5
Low 15.21 / yr $65K
62 Union County
43.8
Low 11.89 / yr $41K
63 Henry County
42.6
Low 12.68 / yr $48K
64 Delaware County
42.5
Low 16.89 / yr $53K
65 Page County
41.5
Low 12.32 / yr $46K
66 Jefferson County
41.4
Low 12.16 / yr $40K
67 Worth County
38.8
Low 19.58 / yr $64K
68 Adair County
38.3
Low 12.89 / yr $38K
69 Sac County
37.4
Low 15.63 / yr $67K
70 Harrison County
36.0
Low 14.26 / yr $37K
71 Jones County
35.6
Low 16.63 / yr $58K
72 Guthrie County
34.6
Low 14.32 / yr $58K
73 Audubon County
34.2
Low 14.00 / yr $34K
74 Cedar County
33.9
Low 15.95 / yr $58K
75 Mills County
33.6
Low 12.89 / yr $54K
76 Ida County
33.1
Low 14.74 / yr $36K
77 Montgomery County
31.1
Low 12.16 / yr $33K
78 Marion County
30.8
Low 12.53 / yr $40K
79 Shelby County
30.8
Low 13.84 / yr $49K
80 Jackson County
30.6
Low 17.21 / yr $38K
81 Keokuk County
30.5
Low 13.05 / yr $35K
82 Clayton County
30.2
Low 16.89 / yr $33K
83 Taylor County
29.9
Low 11.26 / yr $24K
84 Davis County
29.8
Low 11.11 / yr $20K
85 Howard County
29.2
Low 18.68 / yr $43K
86 Fremont County
28.3
Low 12.79 / yr $31K
87 Warren County
25.7
Low 12.95 / yr $39K
88 Appanoose County
23.1
Very Low 10.84 / yr $17K
89 Louisa County
22.3
Very Low 13.74 / yr $26K
90 Clarke County
22.2
Very Low 11.68 / yr $29K
91 Lucas County
21.6
Very Low 11.47 / yr $16K
92 Van Buren County
21.4
Very Low 11.53 / yr $15K
93 Allamakee County
20.2
Very Low 16.79 / yr $15K
94 Adams County
19.1
Very Low 11.47 / yr $18K
95 Decatur County
16.5
Very Low 11.53 / yr $13K
96 Ringgold County
13.4
Very Low 11.42 / yr $15K
97 Wayne County
12.1
Very Low 11.32 / yr $7K
98 Monona County
10.8
Very Low 14.32 / yr $9K
99 Monroe County
9.9
Very Low 11.58 / yr $11K

99 Iowa counties with measurable winter weather risk. See the national winter weather ranking or all Iowa counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Iowa county has the highest winter weather risk?

Linn County has the highest FEMA winter weather risk score in Iowa at 94.5 (High), with $787K in expected annual losses and about 16.58 events per year.

How many Iowa counties face significant winter weather risk?

99 Iowa counties record measurable winter weather risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 9 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in Iowa

Cold Wave Drought Earthquake Hail Heat Wave Hurricane Ice Storm Riverine Flood Landslide Lightning Strong Wind Tornado Wildfire