Winter Storm/Heavy Snow

Hazard in Severe Weather

A forecastable but disruptive hazard that closes roads, strands travelers and strains plowing, sheltering and power restoration.

Plans also call it: snowstorm, severe winter weather, winter weather, lake-effect snow, snow squall, nor'easter, noreaster

Talk to us about Winter Storm/Heavy SnowAll 73 hazards →

What you’d hand your council

The first page of a Winter Storm/Heavy Snow evidence brief: likelihood, impact and readiness on your own scale, every figure sourced.

Evidence brief for Cedar Ridge County (example)

September 14, 2026

Winter Storm/Heavy Snow

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

Impact
5432112345

Likelihood

Likelihood
2

Unlikely — Possible but infrequent — roughly once in 50 to 100 years (1–2% chance in any year).

Impact
3

Moderate — Notable effects — injuries possible, damage in multiple areas, essential services disrupted for days.

Readiness
3

Moderate — The organization has a generally established capability to manage this threat or hazard, but identifiable gaps remain. The organization could likely perform many required actions, though effectiveness may vary depending on conditions, staffing, resources, or complexity.

  • 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: Winter Weather

$552M
expected loss a year, nationally
467
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
Winter Weather (WNTW)one of the 18 hazards NRI scores per county
FEMA declaration incident type
Snowstorm, Winter Storm207 declarations on record
NOAA Storm Events type
Winter Storm, Winter Weather, Heavy Snow, Lake-Effect Snow, Sleet
Hazzard category
Severe Weather, natural hazards

How it connects

The national record

What the federal data says about Winter Storm/Heavy Snow

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

Where Winter Storm/Heavy Snow is rated high

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

Alabama: 1 of 67 counties rated high (1%) · $3M expected loss a yearAlaska: 7 of 30 counties rated high (23%) · $7M expected loss a yearArizona: 6 of 15 counties rated high (40%) · $3M expected loss a yearArkansas: 6 of 75 counties rated high (8%) · $9M expected loss a yearCalifornia: 3 of 58 counties rated high (5%) · $3M expected loss a yearColorado: 10 of 64 counties rated high (16%) · $21M expected loss a yearConnecticut: 5 of 9 counties rated high (56%) · $3M expected loss a yearDelaware: 3 of 3 counties rated high (100%) · $4M expected loss a yearDistrict of Columbia: 1 of 1 counties rated high (100%) · $946K expected loss a yearFlorida: 0 of 34 counties rated high (0%) · $469K expected loss a yearGeorgia: 0 of 159 counties rated high (0%) · $3M expected loss a yearHawaii: 0 of 2 counties rated high (0%) · $1K expected loss a yearIdaho: 9 of 44 counties rated high (20%) · $12M expected loss a yearIllinois: 15 of 102 counties rated high (15%) · $16M expected loss a yearIndiana: 10 of 92 counties rated high (11%) · $12M expected loss a yearIowa: 9 of 99 counties rated high (9%) · $12M expected loss a yearKansas: 15 of 105 counties rated high (14%) · $25M expected loss a yearKentucky: 7 of 120 counties rated high (6%) · $12M expected loss a yearLouisiana: 2 of 64 counties rated high (3%) · $2M expected loss a yearMaine: 14 of 16 counties rated high (88%) · $16M expected loss a yearMaryland: 10 of 24 counties rated high (42%) · $14M expected loss a yearMassachusetts: 0 of 14 counties rated high (0%) · $1M expected loss a yearMichigan: 28 of 83 counties rated high (34%) · $19M expected loss a yearMinnesota: 14 of 87 counties rated high (16%) · $20M expected loss a yearMississippi: 1 of 82 counties rated high (1%) · $2M expected loss a yearMissouri: 9 of 115 counties rated high (8%) · $15M expected loss a yearMontana: 17 of 56 counties rated high (30%) · $18M expected loss a yearNebraska: 9 of 93 counties rated high (10%) · $13M expected loss a yearNevada: 6 of 17 counties rated high (35%) · $5M expected loss a yearNew Hampshire: 4 of 10 counties rated high (40%) · $3M expected loss a yearNew Jersey: 17 of 21 counties rated high (81%) · $23M expected loss a yearNew Mexico: 13 of 33 counties rated high (39%) · $8M expected loss a yearNew York: 18 of 62 counties rated high (29%) · $23M expected loss a yearNorth Carolina: 28 of 100 counties rated high (28%) · $25M expected loss a yearNorth Dakota: 20 of 53 counties rated high (38%) · $27M expected loss a yearOhio: 19 of 88 counties rated high (22%) · $16M expected loss a yearOklahoma: 11 of 77 counties rated high (14%) · $9M expected loss a yearOregon: 7 of 36 counties rated high (19%) · $5M expected loss a yearPennsylvania: 25 of 67 counties rated high (37%) · $33M expected loss a yearRhode Island: 0 of 5 counties rated high (0%) · $253K expected loss a yearSouth Carolina: 2 of 46 counties rated high (4%) · $3M expected loss a yearSouth Dakota: 13 of 66 counties rated high (20%) · $15M expected loss a yearTennessee: 7 of 95 counties rated high (7%) · $10M expected loss a yearTexas: 29 of 254 counties rated high (11%) · $34M expected loss a yearUtah: 12 of 29 counties rated high (41%) · $12M expected loss a yearVermont: 0 of 14 counties rated high (0%) · $2M expected loss a yearVirginia: 7 of 133 counties rated high (5%) · $11M expected loss a yearWashington: 6 of 39 counties rated high (15%) · $6M expected loss a yearWest Virginia: 1 of 55 counties rated high (2%) · $3M expected loss a yearWisconsin: 3 of 72 counties rated high (4%) · $8M expected loss a yearWyoming: 8 of 23 counties rated high (35%) · $7M 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

207 federal declarations since 1964

Declarations FEMA filed as “Snowstorm”, “Winter Storm”, by year (2026 to date)

015301964: 1 declaration1972: 1 declaration1977: 10 declarations1978: 8 declarations1979: 2 declarations1984: 1 declaration1985: 1 declaration1987: 1 declaration1991: 3 declarations1993: 18 declarations1994: 5 declarations1995: 1 declaration1996: 15 declarations1997: 1 declaration1998: 1 declaration1999: 5 declarations2000: 2 declarations2001: 9 declarations2002: 1 declaration2003: 10 declarations2004: 7 declarations2005: 17 declarations2006: 4 declarations2007: 5 declarations2008: 5 declarations2009: 1 declaration2010: 11 declarations2011: 5 declarations2013: 1 declaration2014: 1 declaration2015: 2 declarations2016: 5 declarations2017: 2 declarations2018: 3 declarations2021: 1 declaration2022: 5 declarations2023: 9 declarations2024: 4 declarations2025: 2 declarations2026 (to date): 21 declarations2026: 21197019801990200020102020
OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, as of 2026-09-27. Counts distinct disasters; major, emergency and fire-management declarations.

In your plan

What a Winter Storm/Heavy Snow 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 Winter Storm/Heavy Snow.

  1. Location

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

    National data

    FEMA's National Risk Index rates Winter Storm/Heavy Snow 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 Winter Storm/Heavy Snow (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 Snowstorm or Winter 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 Winter Storm/Heavy Snow 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 Winter Storm/Heavy Snow

  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 Winter Storm/Heavy Snow and where the profile stops short.

  3. 3

    You leave with a cited brief

    Likelihood, impact and readiness for Winter Storm/Heavy Snow on your own scale, every figure tied to its source, ready for the planning team or the council.

Also in Severe Weather

Preparing for Winter Storm/Heavy Snow

Walk into your next plan update with Winter Storm/Heavy Snow 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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