High Wind

Hazard in Severe Weather

A widespread structural and utility hazard: straight-line winds, derechos and dust storms that down trees, lines and signage across a region.

Plans also call it: straight-line wind, windstorm, severe wind, damaging wind, downburst, microburst, derecho, dust storm

Talk to us about High WindAll 73 hazards →

What you’d hand your council

The first page of a High Wind evidence brief: likelihood, impact and readiness on your own scale, every figure sourced.

Evidence brief for Cedar Ridge County (example)

September 14, 2026

High Wind

Hazard in Severe Weather, on the established threats & hazards list

Impact
5432112345

Likelihood

Likelihood
3

Possible — Expected occasionally — roughly once in 10 to 50 years (2–10% chance in any year).

Impact
5

Catastrophic — Overwhelming effects — mass casualties possible, widespread destruction, essential services out for a month or more, long-term recovery requiring state and federal assistance.

Readiness
2

Low — Some elements of capability are in place, but important gaps remain that could significantly limit the organization's ability to perform effectively. Additional development is needed before the capability can be relied upon.

  • 2source documents
  • 58verified mentions
  • 2federal declarations
  • 91.6NRI score, relatively high
Worked example: Cedar Ridge County is fictional. The scores illustrate the format and are nobody's decision. Open a full sample brief →

The national record

FEMA National Risk Index: Strong Wind

$3.2B
expected loss a year, nationally
505
counties rated high or very high

Your county’s own rating is the first thing we pull.

How it maps

The same hazard in the vocabularies your plan and FEMA already use.

FEMA National Risk Index
Strong Wind (SWND)one of the 18 hazards NRI scores per county
FEMA declaration incident type
Straight-Line Winds, Severe Storm1,150 declarations on record
NOAA Storm Events type
High Wind, Strong Wind, Thunderstorm Wind, Dust Storm, Dust Devil
Hazzard category
Severe Weather, natural hazards

How it connects

The national record

What the federal data says about High Wind

The same national sources a Hazzard brief starts from. For your jurisdiction we narrow each one to your county and its neighbors.

Where High Wind is rated high

Share of each state's counties FEMA rates Relatively High or Very High

Alabama: 15 of 67 counties rated high (22%) · $60M expected loss a yearAlaska: 0 of 7 counties rated high (0%) · $5K expected loss a yearArizona: 1 of 15 counties rated high (7%) · $14M expected loss a yearArkansas: 10 of 75 counties rated high (13%) · $55M expected loss a yearCalifornia: 1 of 58 counties rated high (2%) · $13M expected loss a yearColorado: 10 of 64 counties rated high (16%) · $44M expected loss a yearConnecticut: 4 of 9 counties rated high (44%) · $16M expected loss a yearDelaware: 2 of 3 counties rated high (67%) · $4M expected loss a yearDistrict of Columbia: 1 of 1 counties rated high (100%) · $6M expected loss a yearFlorida: 18 of 67 counties rated high (27%) · $163M expected loss a yearGeorgia: 6 of 159 counties rated high (4%) · $80M expected loss a yearHawaii: 0 of 5 counties rated high (0%) · $84K expected loss a yearIdaho: 1 of 44 counties rated high (2%) · $11M expected loss a yearIllinois: 33 of 102 counties rated high (32%) · $154M expected loss a yearIndiana: 23 of 92 counties rated high (25%) · $119M expected loss a yearIowa: 14 of 99 counties rated high (14%) · $124M expected loss a yearKansas: 8 of 105 counties rated high (8%) · $82M expected loss a yearKentucky: 22 of 120 counties rated high (18%) · $113M expected loss a yearLouisiana: 11 of 64 counties rated high (17%) · $43M expected loss a yearMaine: 0 of 16 counties rated high (0%) · $8M expected loss a yearMaryland: 8 of 24 counties rated high (33%) · $40M expected loss a yearMassachusetts: 6 of 14 counties rated high (43%) · $22M expected loss a yearMichigan: 36 of 83 counties rated high (43%) · $164M expected loss a yearMinnesota: 17 of 87 counties rated high (20%) · $154M expected loss a yearMississippi: 10 of 82 counties rated high (12%) · $53M expected loss a yearMissouri: 20 of 115 counties rated high (17%) · $123M expected loss a yearMontana: 1 of 56 counties rated high (2%) · $10M expected loss a yearNebraska: 18 of 93 counties rated high (19%) · $123M expected loss a yearNevada: 0 of 17 counties rated high (0%) · $3M expected loss a yearNew Hampshire: 1 of 10 counties rated high (10%) · $8M expected loss a yearNew Jersey: 21 of 21 counties rated high (100%) · $252M expected loss a yearNew Mexico: 1 of 33 counties rated high (3%) · $10M expected loss a yearNew York: 15 of 62 counties rated high (24%) · $104M expected loss a yearNorth Carolina: 15 of 100 counties rated high (15%) · $89M expected loss a yearNorth Dakota: 1 of 53 counties rated high (2%) · $35M expected loss a yearOhio: 19 of 88 counties rated high (22%) · $100M expected loss a yearOklahoma: 13 of 77 counties rated high (17%) · $110M expected loss a yearOregon: 3 of 36 counties rated high (8%) · $15M expected loss a yearPennsylvania: 20 of 67 counties rated high (30%) · $97M expected loss a yearRhode Island: 0 of 5 counties rated high (0%) · $2M expected loss a yearSouth Carolina: 14 of 46 counties rated high (30%) · $48M expected loss a yearSouth Dakota: 2 of 66 counties rated high (3%) · $26M expected loss a yearTennessee: 15 of 95 counties rated high (16%) · $84M expected loss a yearTexas: 44 of 254 counties rated high (17%) · $190M expected loss a yearUtah: 2 of 29 counties rated high (7%) · $16M expected loss a yearVermont: 0 of 14 counties rated high (0%) · $5M expected loss a yearVirginia: 10 of 133 counties rated high (8%) · $79M expected loss a yearWashington: 1 of 39 counties rated high (3%) · $10M expected loss a yearWest Virginia: 2 of 55 counties rated high (4%) · $19M expected loss a yearWisconsin: 10 of 72 counties rated high (14%) · $72M expected loss a yearWyoming: 0 of 23 counties rated high (0%) · $4M expected loss a year
  • None
  • Up to 10%
  • 10–25%
  • 25–50%
  • Over 50%
  • Not rated
FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0, county table

1,150 federal declarations since 1956

Declarations FEMA filed as “Straight-Line Winds”, “Severe Storm”, by year (2026 to date)

040801956: 3 declarations1960: 2 declarations1962: 2 declarations1965: 1 declaration1969: 1 declaration1970: 2 declarations1973: 5 declarations1974: 1 declaration1975: 5 declarations1976: 3 declarations1977: 1 declaration1978: 2 declarations1979: 6 declarations1980: 2 declarations1981: 4 declarations1982: 2 declarations1983: 4 declarations1984: 3 declarations1985: 1 declaration1987: 2 declarations1989: 3 declarations1990: 11 declarations1991: 5 declarations1992: 8 declarations1993: 8 declarations1994: 20 declarations1995: 16 declarations1996: 28 declarations1997: 26 declarations1998: 41 declarations1999: 21 declarations2000: 34 declarations2001: 29 declarations2002: 22 declarations2003: 40 declarations2004: 44 declarations2005: 30 declarations2006: 46 declarations2007: 57 declarations2008: 62 declarations2009: 48 declarations2010: 60 declarations2011: 57 declarations2012: 28 declarations2013: 35 declarations2014: 23 declarations2015: 24 declarations2016: 16 declarations2017: 26 declarations2018: 17 declarations2019: 29 declarations2020: 19 declarations2021: 14 declarations2022: 24 declarations2023: 30 declarations2024: 45 declarations2025: 31 declarations2026 (to date): 21 declarations2008: 621960197019801990200020102020
OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, as of 2026-09-27. Counts distinct disasters; major, emergency and fire-management declarations.

In your plan

What a High Wind profile needs, and where each part comes from

A local hazard mitigation plan profiles each hazard the same way (44 CFR 201.6). Here is how Hazzard fills each part for High Wind.

  1. Location

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    National data

    FEMA's National Risk Index rates High Wind for every county. We place yours against its neighbors and the state, then add what your plans map in more detail.

  2. Extent

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    Your documents

    The magnitude your plans use for High Wind (a scale, a depth, an acreage, a duration), read from your documents and cited, so the profile states the strength you plan for.

  3. Previous occurrences

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    National data

    Every FEMA declaration filed as Straight-Line Winds or Severe Storm that included your county, back to 1953, alongside the events your own records and after-action reports describe.

  4. Probability of future events

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    National data

    NRI's annualized frequency for your county, and the declaration history, drafted into a likelihood on your own scale for your team to accept or change.

  5. Vulnerability and impacts

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(ii)

    National data

    NRI's expected annual loss and social vulnerability for your county, the Census population profile and HHS emPOWER counts, with the impacts your plans already describe.

  6. The assessment itself

    Your team decides

    Likelihood, impact and readiness for High Wind are drafted with every source attached, and a person on your team accepts each one. Hazzard never records a score on its own.

How we can help

How we’d help you prepare for High Wind

  1. 1

    We pull your county's record

    FEMA's National Risk Index rating and expected loss, every disaster declaration, and the daily temperature record behind heat and cold, before we meet.

  2. 2

    We read the plans you already have

    Your hazard mitigation plan and EOP annexes, so you can see what they say about High Wind and where the profile stops short.

  3. 3

    You leave with a cited brief

    Likelihood, impact and readiness for High Wind on your own scale, every figure tied to its source, ready for the planning team or the council.

Also in Severe Weather

Preparing for High Wind

Walk into your next plan update with High Wind already sourced.

Severe weather is the part of a plan everyone assumes is covered. We check whether yours says why, with your county's own record instead of a regional average. A person replies within one business day.

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