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Severe Weather and Thunderstorms

Hazard in Weather Hazards

A convective hazard that arrives several times a season, wind, hail and lightning together, with each piece of damage filed to the part that caused it.

Includes: Severe Thunderstorm, Hail, Lightning

  • Severe Thunderstorm. A fast-forming convective hazard that bundles wind, hail, lightning and downpours into one event, often several times a season.
  • Hail. A short, violent property hazard, roofs, vehicles and crops take the loss, usually in under half an hour.
  • Lightning. A frequent, localized hazard to people outdoors, electrical systems and dry fuels, where a single strike can start a fire.
See a sample briefBook a walkthroughAll 31 hazards →

Sample brief

The first page of a Severe Weather and Thunderstorms brief: likelihood, impact and readiness on your own scale, with each figure sourced.

Evidence brief for Cedar Ridge County (example)

September 14, 2026

Severe Weather and Thunderstorms

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

Impact
5432112345

Likelihood

Likelihood
4

Likely — Expected within the decade — roughly once in 1 to 10 years (10–100% chance in any year).

Impact
3

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

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: Hail, Lightning

$4.8B
expected loss a year, nationally, across 2 NRI hazards
191
counties rated high or very high for Hail

NRI scores Severe Weather and Thunderstorms as 2 hazards, so the loss is summed and the county count is Hail's, the larger of them. 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
Hail (HAIL), Lightning (LTNG)2 of the 18 hazards NRI scores per county: Hail $3.2B, 191 counties high; Lightning $1.6B, 570 counties high. The headline loss sums them; the county count is Hail's
FEMA declaration incident type
Severe Storm1,144 declarations on record
NOAA Storm Events type
Thunderstorm Wind, Hail, Lightning
Hazzard category
Weather Hazards, natural hazardsincludes Severe Thunderstorm, Hail, Lightning

How it connects

Can lead to

The national record

What the federal data says about Severe Weather and Thunderstorms

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

NRI scores Severe Weather and Thunderstorms as 2 hazards: Hail (HAIL), Lightning (LTNG). The map is the Hail rating, the larger by expected loss; the others are in the crosswalk above.

Where Hail is rated high

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

Alabama: 0 of 67 counties rated high (0%) · $10M expected loss a yearAlaska: 0 of 13 counties rated high (0%) · $40K expected loss a yearArizona: 1 of 15 counties rated high (7%) · $29M expected loss a yearArkansas: 4 of 75 counties rated high (5%) · $32M expected loss a yearCalifornia: 1 of 58 counties rated high (2%) · $16M expected loss a yearColorado: 11 of 64 counties rated high (17%) · $341M expected loss a yearConnecticut: 0 of 9 counties rated high (0%) · $2M expected loss a yearDelaware: 0 of 3 counties rated high (0%) · $639K expected loss a yearDistrict of Columbia: 1 of 1 counties rated high (100%) · $4M expected loss a yearFlorida: 5 of 67 counties rated high (7%) · $26M expected loss a yearGeorgia: 4 of 159 counties rated high (3%) · $66M expected loss a yearHawaii: 0 of 4 counties rated high (0%) · $51K expected loss a yearIdaho: 0 of 44 counties rated high (0%) · $4M expected loss a yearIllinois: 7 of 102 counties rated high (7%) · $86M expected loss a yearIndiana: 1 of 92 counties rated high (1%) · $51M expected loss a yearIowa: 9 of 99 counties rated high (9%) · $129M expected loss a yearKansas: 14 of 105 counties rated high (13%) · $149M expected loss a yearKentucky: 1 of 120 counties rated high (1%) · $67M expected loss a yearLouisiana: 3 of 64 counties rated high (5%) · $32M expected loss a yearMaine: 0 of 16 counties rated high (0%) · $3M expected loss a yearMaryland: 1 of 24 counties rated high (4%) · $14M expected loss a yearMassachusetts: 0 of 14 counties rated high (0%) · $4M expected loss a yearMichigan: 3 of 83 counties rated high (4%) · $58M expected loss a yearMinnesota: 7 of 87 counties rated high (8%) · $128M expected loss a yearMississippi: 3 of 82 counties rated high (4%) · $52M expected loss a yearMissouri: 4 of 115 counties rated high (3%) · $123M expected loss a yearMontana: 0 of 56 counties rated high (0%) · $9M expected loss a yearNebraska: 30 of 93 counties rated high (32%) · $272M expected loss a yearNevada: 1 of 17 counties rated high (6%) · $5M expected loss a yearNew Hampshire: 0 of 10 counties rated high (0%) · $1M expected loss a yearNew Jersey: 0 of 21 counties rated high (0%) · $4M expected loss a yearNew Mexico: 3 of 33 counties rated high (9%) · $16M expected loss a yearNew York: 2 of 62 counties rated high (3%) · $21M expected loss a yearNorth Carolina: 2 of 100 counties rated high (2%) · $50M expected loss a yearNorth Dakota: 3 of 53 counties rated high (6%) · $62M expected loss a yearOhio: 7 of 88 counties rated high (8%) · $97M expected loss a yearOklahoma: 12 of 77 counties rated high (16%) · $120M expected loss a yearOregon: 0 of 36 counties rated high (0%) · $4M expected loss a yearPennsylvania: 1 of 67 counties rated high (1%) · $15M expected loss a yearRhode Island: 0 of 5 counties rated high (0%) · $656K expected loss a yearSouth Carolina: 0 of 46 counties rated high (0%) · $21M expected loss a yearSouth Dakota: 1 of 66 counties rated high (2%) · $36M expected loss a yearTennessee: 0 of 95 counties rated high (0%) · $19M expected loss a yearTexas: 39 of 254 counties rated high (15%) · $835M expected loss a yearUtah: 0 of 29 counties rated high (0%) · $2M expected loss a yearVermont: 0 of 14 counties rated high (0%) · $829K expected loss a yearVirginia: 1 of 133 counties rated high (1%) · $23M expected loss a yearWashington: 0 of 39 counties rated high (0%) · $6M expected loss a yearWest Virginia: 0 of 55 counties rated high (0%) · $9M expected loss a yearWisconsin: 8 of 72 counties rated high (11%) · $134M expected loss a yearWyoming: 1 of 23 counties rated high (4%) · $12M 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

1,144 federal declarations since 1956

Declarations FEMA filed as “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: 44 declarations2025: 30 declarations2026 (to date): 17 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 Severe Weather and Thunderstorms 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 Severe Weather and Thunderstorms.

  1. Location

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

    National data

    FEMA's National Risk Index rates Severe Weather and Thunderstorms 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 Severe Weather and Thunderstorms (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 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 Severe Weather and Thunderstorms 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 Severe Weather and Thunderstorms

  1. 1

    We pull your county's record

    FEMA's National Risk Index rating and expected loss, your disaster declarations and NOAA's daily temperature record, gathered 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 Severe Weather and Thunderstorms and where the profile falls short.

  3. 3

    You leave with a cited brief

    Likelihood, impact and readiness for Severe Weather and Thunderstorms on your own scale, with each figure tied to its source. It is ready for your planning team or council.

Also in Weather Hazards

Preparing for Severe Weather and Thunderstorms

Walk into your next plan update with Severe Weather and Thunderstorms already sourced.

Most plans assume severe weather is covered. We check whether yours explains why, using your county's record instead of a regional average. We reply within one business day.

Book a walkthrough

Takes about two minutes. A person reads each request.

Or start by marking your area on the map