Strong Wind Risk by State & County
Ranked by FEMA National Risk Index strong wind hazard score · code SWND
Strong Wind risk reflects damaging straight-line winds outside of tornadoes and hurricanes. FEMA's National Risk Index scores each county's strong wind hazard from its expected annual loss, annualized event frequency, and exposed population. Monmouth County, New Jersey currently leads the nation with a strong wind score of 100.0 and $91M in expected annual loss. New Jersey, Florida, New York account for much of the highest-rated strong wind risk in this dataset.
Read the full strong wind risk guide — how FEMA scores it and how to prepare →
Strong Wind Risk by State
| # | State | Expected Ann. Loss | Avg. Score | Rating | Counties Rated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | $252M | Very High | 21 of 21 | |
| 2 | Texas | $190M | Medium | 254 of 254 | |
| 3 | Michigan | $164M | High | 83 of 83 | |
| 4 | Florida | $163M | Medium | 67 of 67 | |
| 5 | Minnesota | $154M | Medium | 87 of 87 | |
| 6 | Illinois | $154M | High | 102 of 102 | |
| 7 | Iowa | $124M | Medium | 99 of 99 | |
| 8 | Missouri | $123M | Medium | 115 of 115 | |
| 9 | Nebraska | $123M | Medium | 93 of 93 | |
| 10 | Indiana | $119M | High | 92 of 92 | |
| 11 | Kentucky | $113M | High | 120 of 120 | |
| 12 | Oklahoma | $110M | Medium | 77 of 77 | |
| 13 | New York | $104M | Medium | 62 of 62 | |
| 14 | Ohio | $100M | High | 88 of 88 | |
| 15 | Pennsylvania | $97M | High | 67 of 67 | |
| 16 | North Carolina | $89M | Medium | 100 of 100 | |
| 17 | Tennessee | $84M | High | 95 of 95 | |
| 18 | Kansas | $82M | Medium | 105 of 105 | |
| 19 | Georgia | $80M | Low | 159 of 159 | |
| 20 | Virginia | $79M | Medium | 133 of 133 | |
| 21 | Wisconsin | $72M | Medium | 72 of 72 | |
| 22 | Alabama | $60M | Medium | 67 of 67 | |
| 23 | Arkansas | $55M | Medium | 75 of 75 | |
| 24 | Mississippi | $53M | Medium | 82 of 82 | |
| 25 | South Carolina | $48M | High | 46 of 46 | |
| 26 | Colorado | $44M | Low | 64 of 64 | |
| 27 | Louisiana | $43M | Medium | 64 of 64 | |
| 28 | Maryland | $40M | High | 24 of 24 | |
| 29 | North Dakota | $35M | Low | 53 of 53 | |
| 30 | South Dakota | $26M | Low | 66 of 66 | |
| 31 | Massachusetts | $22M | High | 14 of 14 | |
| 32 | West Virginia | $19M | Low | 55 of 55 | |
| 33 | Connecticut | $16M | High | 9 of 9 | |
| 34 | Utah | $16M | Low | 29 of 29 | |
| 35 | Oregon | $15M | Low | 36 of 36 | |
| 36 | Arizona | $14M | Medium | 15 of 15 | |
| 37 | California | $13M | Very Low | 58 of 58 | |
| 38 | Idaho | $11M | Very Low | 44 of 44 | |
| 39 | New Mexico | $10M | Low | 33 of 33 | |
| 40 | Washington | $10M | Low | 39 of 39 | |
| 41 | Montana | $10M | Very Low | 56 of 56 | |
| 42 | Maine | $8M | Low | 16 of 16 | |
| 43 | New Hampshire | $8M | Medium | 10 of 10 | |
| 44 | District of Columbia | $6M | Very High | 1 of 1 | |
| 45 | Vermont | $5M | Low | 14 of 14 | |
| 46 | Delaware | $4M | High | 3 of 3 | |
| 47 | Wyoming | $4M | Very Low | 23 of 23 | |
| 48 | Nevada | $3M | Very Low | 17 of 17 | |
| 49 | Rhode Island | $2M | Low | 5 of 5 | |
| 50 | Hawaii | $84K | Very Low | 5 of 5 | |
| 51 | Alaska | $5K | Very Low | 30 of 30 |
States ranked by total expected annual strong wind losses; the average score is the mean over all counties, counting unrated counties as zero.
Riskiest Counties for Strong Wind
| # | County | State | Strong Wind Score | Rating | Ann. Freq. | Ann. Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monmouth County | NJ | Very High | 5.81 / yr | $91M | |
| 2 | Jackson County | OK | Very High | 4.09 / yr | $44M | |
| 3 | Orange County | FL | Very High | 1.08 / yr | $33M | |
| 4 | Polk County | FL | Very High | 1.00 / yr | $25M | |
| 5 | Ocean County | NJ | Very High | 4.38 / yr | $39M | |
| 6 | Lubbock County | TX | Very High | 2.21 / yr | $17M | |
| 7 | Osceola County | FL | Very High | 0.94 / yr | $27M | |
| 8 | Highlands County | FL | Very High | 0.57 / yr | $13M | |
| 9 | Kings County | NY | Very High | 5.39 / yr | $10M | |
| 10 | Queens County | NY | Very High | 5.39 / yr | $10M | |
| 11 | Wayne County | MI | Very High | 5.10 / yr | $13M | |
| 12 | Middlesex County | NJ | Very High | 6.95 / yr | $14M | |
| 13 | Cook County | IL | Very High | 5.70 / yr | $12M | |
| 14 | Atlantic County | NJ | Very High | 4.18 / yr | $15M | |
| 15 | Mecosta County | MI | Very High | 2.30 / yr | $11M | |
| 16 | New York County | NY | Very High | 5.39 / yr | $8M | |
| 17 | Douglas County | NE | Very High | 4.34 / yr | $16M | |
| 18 | Mercer County | NJ | Very High | 7.02 / yr | $13M | |
| 19 | Tulsa County | OK | Very High | 6.75 / yr | $11M | |
| 20 | Dakota County | MN | Very High | 4.75 / yr | $19M | |
| 21 | Stone County | MO | Very High | 5.96 / yr | $10M | |
| 22 | Harris County | TX | Very High | 1.52 / yr | $8M | |
| 23 | Bronx County | NY | Very High | 5.39 / yr | $6M | |
| 24 | Hardee County | FL | Very High | 0.76 / yr | $10M | |
| 25 | DuPage County | IL | Very High | 5.78 / yr | $11M |
Showing the top 25 seeded counties for strong wind risk.