Washington County, Vermont: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Washington County, Vermont has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 52.2 out of 100, higher than about 52% of US counties, with landslides, winter storms and lightning scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $22 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 31 federal disaster declarations that included Washington County since 1973, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4810-VT (Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, declared 20 August 2024). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has no tornado on record touching Washington County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for Vermont All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 59,777 Buildings worth $14 billion Area 702 sq mi Risk rank in Vermont 5 of 14 FIPS 50023
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | 97.0 | $366,339 | about 1.5 a year | — |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 80.1 | $275,460 | about 22 a year | 419 |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | 71.3 | $679,616 | about 22 a year | 54,315 strikes |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Low | 70.9 | $18 million | about 2.3 a year | 63 |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | 67.3 | $601,321 | about once every 23 years | 14 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Low | 55.8 | $636,827 | about once every 1.4 years | 14 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 52.4 | $403,906 | about once every 752 years | — |
| Ice storm | Relatively Low | 50.6 | $114,017 | about once every 4.1 years | 17 |
| Avalanche | Very Low | 46.9 | $537 | about once every 100 years | 0 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Low | 44.9 | $1.0 million | about 4.3 a year | 81 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Low | 23.6 | $285,730 | about once every 1.1 years | 34 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 19.1 | $9,205 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Tornado | Very Low | 13.9 | $158,150 | about once every 24 years | 0 |
| Hail | Very Low | 11.7 | $49,381 | about 1.4 a year | 51 |
| Drought | No Rating | 0.0 | — | — | 0 |
| Coastal flooding | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Tsunami | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 31
Most common: Severe Storm 14, Flood 13, Hurricane 3, Tropical Storm 1.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2 | Flood ×2 |
| 1980s | 2 | Flood ×2 |
| 1990s | 7 | Flood ×4, Severe Storm ×3 |
| 2000s | 2 | Severe Storm ×2 |
| 2010s | 11 | Severe Storm ×6, Flood ×3, Hurricane ×2 |
| 2020s | 7 | Severe Storm ×3, Flood ×2, Tropical Storm, Hurricane |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Washington County
- Tropical Depression Debby (2024, EM-3609-VT): 14 Vermont counties designated.
- Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2023, DR-4720-VT): 14 Vermont counties designated.
- Flooding (2023, EM-3595-VT): 14 Vermont counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Tropical Depression Debby (2024), Tropical Storm Henri (2021), Tropical Storm Irene (2011), Hurricane Irene (2011), Tropical Storm Floyd (1999).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. Vermont also had 2 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 0
No tornado in NOAA's Storm Prediction Center record touched Washington County between 1950 and 2025. That does not mean one cannot happen.
How Washington County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington County (this page) | — | Relatively Low | 52.2 | Landslide |
| Orange County | 35 km | Very Low | 26.4 | Landslide |
| Lamoille County | 37 km | Very Low | 18.3 | Winter weather |
| Chittenden County | 43 km | Relatively Low | 63.9 | Winter weather |
| Caledonia County | 46 km | Very Low | 30.2 | Landslide |
| Addison County | 50 km | Very Low | 26.8 | Landslide |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Vermont, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Very Low 12.9 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Very High 94.0 |
| Community risk factor | 0.80 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $22 million |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for Washington County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Vermont · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Landslide: Landslides recorded
- Winter weather: Power outages now · Carbon monoxide in winter
- Lightning: Weather alerts for Vermont
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Washington County
What natural disasters is Washington County, Vermont most at risk from?
Washington County, Vermont has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 52.2 out of 100, higher than about 52% of US counties, with landslides, winter storms and lightning scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $22 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Washington County had?
OpenFEMA lists 31 federal disaster declarations that included Washington County since 1973, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4810-VT (Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, declared 20 August 2024). Another 2 Vermont declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Washington County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has no tornado on record touching Washington County from 1950 to 2025.
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.