24 flood insurance claims·$840,357 paid·1 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Washburn County, Wisconsin. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 12 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2003, with 10 claims and $612,017 paid.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
9 NOAA storm reports from Washburn County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wisconsin flood stories →
10 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 11, 2016 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Sep 2, 2002 |
| Flooding, Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Apr 10, 2001 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 26, 2000 |
| Winds, Hail & Rain | Aug 5, 1977 |
| Drought | Jun 17, 1976 |
| Tornadoes, Severe Storms & Flooding | Apr 21, 1965 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
11 since 1996: 9 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 4, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 4, 2025 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 27, 2024 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Apr 12, 2023 | $30,000 |
| Flood | Apr 12, 2022 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 20, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2000 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 4, 2025. A warm front lifted across northwestern Wisconsin the morning of the 4th bringing a very warm and humid airmass to the region. Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours with a few being severe across Burnett and Washburn counties. Sporadic wind damage to trees was reported along with some marginally severe hail. Areas just west of the town of Shell Lake in Bashaw Township in Washburn County saw extensive…
Flash Flood · Aug 27, 2024. A decaying complex of storms moved northeast out of east-central Minnesota in the hours after sunrise the morning of the 27th. A few isolated reports of tree damage were received along with a few washed out gravel roads from the heavy rainfall.
Flood · Apr 12, 2023. Record breaking snowfall for the 2022-2023 winter season was received across all of northwest Wisconsin which was about 200% of normal snowfall. Much of this snowpack remained on the ground into April. Warm temperatures 10 to 20 degrees above normal during the second week of the month led to rapid snowmelt across the region with fast rises on area waterways. This above normal warmth was quickly followed by a late…
Flood · Apr 12, 2022. A strong and slow moving area of low pressure moved from the Central Plains on the 12th to over Minnesota on the morning of the 14th and became occluded. A cold front pushed across northwest Wisconsin on the 13th with heavy rainfall being received in some locations. Rainfall totals or 2-3 inches were recorded around Washburn County with most falling in a 5 hour period. Additionally, frost was still in the ground l…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Washburn County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.