Storm risk in Woodbury County, Iowa

FEMA's overall hazard score for Woodbury County is 83.27 (Relatively Moderate), 527th of 3,144 counties. Hail scores 95.01 (Relatively High), strong wind 84.10 (Relatively High) and tornado 96.53 (Relatively High). Expected hail loss is $61 per $1 million of buildings a year; NOAA logged 92 hail reports in Woodbury County from 2014 to June 2026.

FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026. NOAA hail reports 2014 to June 2026.

Woodbury County: expected yearly loss per $1 million of buildings for hail, strong wind and tornado, on a log scale, against all U.S. counties and the counties of IA$0.1$1$10$100$1,000Hail: $61 per $1 million, 817th of 3,126 rated counties$61Hail817th of 3,126 countiesStrong wind: $48 per $1 million, 829th of 3,121 rated counties$48Strong wind829th of 3,121 countiesTornado: $760 per $1 million, 88th of 3,144 rated counties$760Tornado88th of 3,144 counties
  • Woodbury County, coloured by its FEMA rating
  • all U.S. counties
  • each county in the state
  • U.S. median
  • state median

Expected yearly loss per $1 million of buildings, log scale. Dot colour is FEMA’s rating band. The tornado lane counts everything exposed, not only buildings.

How FEMA rates Woodbury County

HazardRatingScore (0 to 100)Rank in U.S.Rank in IA
OverallRelatively Moderate 83.27527 of 3,1445 of 99
HailRelatively High 95.01158 of 3,1269 of 99
Strong windRelatively High 84.10501 of 3,12614 of 99
TornadoRelatively High 96.53110 of 3,1263 of 99

Expected yearly loss, in dollars

HazardThis county, total a yearPer $1M of buildingsState median countyU.S. median countyRank per $1M, U.S.Rank per $1M, state
Hail$1,313,279$61 $51$22 817 of 3,12644 of 99
Strong wind$1,046,901$48 $66$20 829 of 3,12179 of 99
Tornado$16,489,249$760 $417$199 88 of 3,1447 of 99

Rank 1 is the highest. Overall, hail and wind losses count buildings; the tornado row counts everything FEMA exposes, so it overstates building damage. Expected annual loss is an average over many years for the whole county, not a forecast for one roof.

What stands out in Woodbury County

  • FEMA expects hail in Woodbury County to cost $61 per $1 million of buildings a year: 2.71 times the U.S. median and 1.18 times the IA county median, ranked 817th of 3,126 counties nationally and 44th of 99 in Iowa.
  • FEMA expects strong wind in Woodbury County to cost $48 per $1 million of buildings a year: 2.37 times the U.S. median and 0.73 times the IA county median, ranked 829th of 3,121 counties nationally and 79th of 99 in Iowa.
  • FEMA expects tornado in Woodbury County to cost $760 per $1 million of buildings a year: 3.82 times the U.S. median and 1.82 times the IA county median, ranked 88th of 3,144 counties nationally and 7th of 99 in Iowa.
  • Applying FEMA's estimate to a $172,000 home, the average yearly loss in Woodbury County is about $10 for hail and $8.30 for wind before any deductible; at the U.S. median county rates it would be $3.84 and $3.50.
  • If the next years look like 2014 to 2025, a roof kept 20 years in Woodbury County meets about 33.3 hail days of 1 inch or more; the median county in NOAA's file (1,275 counties) would give 35.0.
  • Built in 1958, the median home in Woodbury County is 68 years old, so an original roof has outlived a 3-tab shingle (15 to 20 years) and an architectural one (25 to 30 years); 89.1% of its 43,121 homes are at least 26 years old.
  • March to June holds 81 of the 92 hail reports in Woodbury County (88 percent); the quietest month is January, with 0 reports.

What hail and wind cost a home here in an average year

Enter a home value. The calculator applies Woodbury County’s own loss rate: the county’s expected yearly loss divided by the value of its buildings. It starts at the Census median home value for the county.

$10hail, a year; $3.84 at the U.S. median county rate
$8.30strong wind, a year; $3.50 at the U.S. median county rate
$374hail and wind together over 20 years, at today’s rate

Formula: home value × Woodbury County yearly loss ÷ building value. Hail: $1,313,279 ÷ $21,684,081,302 = 0.0000606. Wind: $1,046,901 ÷ $21,684,081,302 = 0.0000483. This is FEMA’s estimate of average damage to buildings and does not account for your deductible. Tornado is left out because FEMA’s tornado loss counts people and other exposure, not only buildings.

Read this as a yardstick. The rate is an average over every building in the county, from sheds to office towers, and over many years. Real losses come in rare, large storms; a roof with no damage in 19 years can need full replacement in the 20th. The figure is not a quote and not a prediction for one address.

Woodbury County in plain numbers

  • Woodbury County scores 83.27 in FEMA's overall hazard index (Relatively Moderate): 527th of 3,144 rated counties and 5th of 99 in Iowa.
  • Hail scores 95.01 (Relatively High). FEMA expects $1,313,279 of hail damage to buildings in Woodbury County a year, which is $61 per $1 million of buildings, 2.71 times the U.S. median.
  • Strong wind scores 84.10 (Relatively High) with $1,046,901 of expected yearly building loss in Woodbury County: $48 per $1 million of buildings, 2.37 times the U.S. median.
  • Tornado scores 96.53 (Relatively High) and FEMA's expected yearly tornado loss is $16,489,249, counting everything exposed, or $760 per $1 million of buildings in Woodbury County.
  • FEMA's own event record for Woodbury County averages 6.02 hail events and 4.20 strong-wind events a year.
  • NOAA logged 92 hail reports in Woodbury County between 2014 and June 2026, on 26 days with stones of 1 inch or more; the largest was 2 inches.
  • In Woodbury County, FEMA counts buildings worth 21.68 billion dollars and 105,853 residents.
  • Social vulnerability is Relatively Low in Woodbury County.
  • Community resilience there is Very High, for 105,853 residents.
  • 1 city in Woodbury County is covered on this site: Sioux City. 19 Census ZIP areas have more than half of their land in the county.
  • Our guide range for a 2,000 sq ft asphalt roof in Sioux City is $6,090 to $13,485.
  • Woodbury County ranks 53 of the 194 counties with a page here for hail loss per $1 million of buildings, 20 for wind and 9 for tornado.
  • In Woodbury County, June is the busiest month with 43 of the 92 reports (47 percent), against 0 reports in December.
  • Woodbury County's worst year was 2026, with 6 hail days at 1 inch or more and 17 reports. At the 2014 to 2025 pace that is 1.67 such days a year, one about every 7.2 months.
  • The median home in Woodbury County was built in 1958; 76.2% of its 43,121 housing units date from before 1980, 89.1% from before 2000 and 5.6% from 2010 on.
  • Census puts the median home value in Woodbury County at $172,000, and 68.4% of homes are lived in by their owners.
  • 1,463 single-family building permits were issued in Woodbury County from 2014 to 2025, about 33.9 per 1,000 homes, peaking in 2017.
  • NOAA lists 8 tornado tracks in Woodbury County since 2014; the strongest was an EFU on December 15, 2021 near Salix, 0.8 miles long.
  • The fastest gust in NOAA's records for Woodbury County is 96 mph on May 17, 2026 at Salix.
  • The nearest county with a page here is Pottawattamie County, 77 miles from the centre of Woodbury County; its hail score is 95.74.
  • Across counties the median is one roofing firm for every 5,189 homes; Census counted 11 roofing contractor establishments in Woodbury County in 2023, one for every 3,920 homes.
  • FEMA has named Woodbury County in 5 disaster declarations since 2014, the latest 482 days before its data end, and 2 of them were storm-type.

The hail record of Woodbury County, year by year

NOAA logged 92 reports in Woodbury County; hail of 1 inch or more fell on 26 days. That is 1.7 such days a year; the median county in NOAA’s file has 1.8.

Woodbury County: NOAA hail reports per year, 2014 to June 2026, with the number of days that had hail of 1 inch or more051015202014: 17 reports, 3 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.5 inch142015: 7 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch152016: 10 reports, 2 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch162017: 6 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch172018: 5 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.25 inch182019: 3 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0.88 inch192020: 2 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch202021: 1 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch212022: 4 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch222023: 6 reports, 4 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.25 inch232024: 11 reports, 5 days at 1 inch or more, largest 2 inch242025: 3 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0.88 inch252026: 17 reports, 6 days at 1 inch or more, largest 2 inch26*
  • reports
  • days with hail of 1 inch or more
  • * 2026 runs to June only
Woodbury County: NOAA hail reports by calendar month, 2014 to June 2026January: 0 reports0JanFebruary: 0 reports0FebMarch: 0 reports0MarApril: 20 reports20AprMay: 18 reports18MayJune: 43 reports43JunJuly: 1 reports1JulAugust: 5 reports5AugSeptember: 3 reports3SepOctober: 0 reports0OctNovember: 2 reports2NovDecember: 0 reports0Dec

Reports by calendar month, all years together. Peak: June, 43 reports.

The same numbers as a table (years with at least one report)
YearReportsDays, 1 inch or moreDays, 1.75 inch or moreLargest stoneDamage reported
201417301.5 in–
20157111.75 in–
201610221.75 in–
20176111.75 in–
20185101.25 in–
20193000.88 in–
20202101 in–
20211111.75 in–
20224111.75 in–
20236401.25 in–
202411512 in–
20253000.88 in–
2026 (to June)17622 in–

Biggest hail days in Woodbury County

DateLargest stoneReports that dayDamage reportedNear
June 12, 20242 in7none recordedSloan
May 15, 20262 in5none recordedAnthon
April 24, 20161.75 in7none recordedCorrectionville
June 29, 20171.75 in6none recordedClimbing Hill
August 9, 20151.75 in4none recordedCorrectionville

Where large hail was reported

FEMA scores the county as a whole. NOAA’s reports show where inside Woodbury County the big stones fell.

Reported hail locations, Woodbury County

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  • 561 to 1.74 in
  • 101.75 to 2.74 in, golf ball to tennis ball
  • 02.75 in and up, baseball

Largest plotted stone: 2 in. Bigger dots are bigger stones.

66 reports of 1 inch or larger have coordinates. Each dot is a reported location, not a storm path.

Sources: NOAA, Census county outline

Wind and tornado records for Woodbury County

Fastest gusts in Woodbury County

DateGustNear
May 17, 202696 mphSalix
May 17, 202696 mphSalix
May 17, 202696 mphSalix
May 17, 202690 mphSalix

Strongest tornado tracks in Woodbury County

DateScaleLengthInjured / killedNear
May 22, 2026EFU0.58 mi0 / 0Oto
May 12, 2022EFU0.08 mi0 / 0Sergeant Bluff
December 15, 2021EFU0.8 mi0 / 0Salix
December 15, 2021EF28.44 mi0 / 0Bronson

8 tornado tracks in all since 2014; the strongest 4 are listed.

How old the roofs are

Census counts homes by the decade they were built. Under each bar is the number of hail days of 1 inch or more that an original roof from that decade has met, at Woodbury County’s 2014 to 2025 pace of 1.67 such days a year. Most roofs have been replaced since; the row shows what a roof that never was would have taken.

Woodbury County: share of homes by decade built, with the hail days at 1 inch or more that an original roof from each decade has met at the county's 2014 to 2025 ratepre-1940: 31.2% of homes31.2%<19401521940s: 8.1% of homes8.1%1940s1351950s: 13.9% of homes13.9%1950s1181960s: 10.2% of homes10.2%1960s1021970s: 12.8% of homes12.8%1970s851980s: 5.6% of homes5.6%1980s681990s: 7.3% of homes7.3%1990s522000s: 5.3% of homes5.3%2000s352010s: 4.9% of homes4.9%2010s182020+: 0.7% of homes0.7%2020+5

Bars: share of 43,121 housing units by decade built. Figures under the decade: hail days met by an original roof, at the county’s 2014 to 2025 pace. The pace of earlier years is unknown.

Median year built1958
Built before 198076.2%
Built before 200089.1%
Built since 20105.6%
Owner-occupied68.4%
Median home value$172,000
Single-family permits, 2014 to 20251,463
Permits per 1,000 homes33.9

Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) and 25 to 30 years (architectural). Source: Census ACS 2019 to 2023 and Building Permits Survey.

Roofers and past disasters in Woodbury County

Roofing firms in Woodbury County

Roofing contractor establishments, 202311
Change since 2016+3 (+38%)
Homes per roofing firm3,920
Median across counties5,189
Employees, 202345

Source for Woodbury County: Census County Business Patterns, NAICS 238160.

FEMA disaster declarations naming Woodbury County since 2014

Declarations naming Woodbury County5
Storm / flood / winter / fire2 / 2 / 1 / 0
Median IA county3
Rank among 67 IA counties21
Days from the latest to the data cutoff482

Source for Woodbury County: OpenFEMA, data to 2026-09-15.

Nearby counties

The closest counties that have a risk page, by distance between county centres. Loss is per $1 million of buildings; the columns marked "times here" divide the neighbour's loss by Woodbury County's.

CountyMilesOverallHail lossHail, times hereWind lossWind, times hereNOAA hail reports
Pottawattamie County, IA77 Relatively Low $1272.09$551.1483
Story County, IA136 Relatively Low $210.35$250.51153
Black Hawk County, IA192 Relatively Low $260.44$260.5365
Linn County, IA230 Relatively Moderate $1091.80$250.52175
Johnson County, IA236 Relatively Moderate $1171.93$1723.57109
Dubuque County, IA269 Relatively Low $1031.69$370.7663

More Iowa counties, nearest first

All 194 counties, with a filter by state and sorting

Cities and ZIP areas in Woodbury County

1 city in this county is on PickARoofer. ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are Census shapes that approximate ZIP codes; where we have a city’s ZIPs, the share is the part of each area’s land that lies in this county. 19 such areas have more than half their land here.

CityZIP areas (share of land in the county)Pages
Sioux City 51103 (100%), 51104 (100%), 51106 (100%) Roofers

Storm hit your roof in Woodbury County? A free inspection tells you if there is damage. One local roofer answers, not five.

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Questions

How high is storm risk in Woodbury County?

FEMA's National Risk Index gives Woodbury County an overall score of 83.27 (Relatively Moderate), 527th of 3,144. Hail scores 95.01 (Relatively High), strong wind 84.10 (Relatively High) and tornado 96.53 (Relatively High).

In Woodbury County, how many hail reports has NOAA logged?

A report is one entry for one storm in one county, so counts follow where people live as well as where hail fell. NOAA has 92 for Woodbury County between 2014 and June 2026, on 26 days with hail of 1 inch or more; the largest stone was 2 inches.

What do hail and wind cost a home in Woodbury County each year, on average?

Applying FEMA's county rates to its median home value of $172,000: FEMA's estimate is about $10 a year for hail and $8.30 for wind, before any deductible, against $3.84 and $3.50 at the U.S. median county rates. This is an average over many years and all buildings, not a prediction for one roof; one bad storm costs far more than the average year.

How does Woodbury County compare with the rest of Iowa?

Per $1 million of buildings Woodbury County loses $61 to hail a year, against $51 in the median county of the state. Among 99 rated counties it is 9th for hail, 14th for strong wind and 3rd for tornado.

How old are the roofs in Woodbury County?

The median home was built in 1958, 68 years ago, and 89.1% of the 43,121 housing units in Woodbury County date from before 2000. Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) or 25 to 30 years (architectural), so an original roof of either kind is past its rated life. The Census does not record when a roof was replaced.

What does expected annual loss mean?

It is FEMA's estimate of the average yearly loss from a hazard, in dollars, summed over the county. It is built for comparing counties at planning level, not for pricing one house.

Does a high rating mean my roof will be damaged?

No. The index compares counties and cannot say what will happen on your street. After a storm, a roof inspection is the only way to know.

Sources for Woodbury County: FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026; NOAA Storm Events Database hail reports for Woodbury County; Census Bureau ZCTA-to-county relationship file (2020); Census ACS and Building Permits Survey, homes in Woodbury County; Census County Business Patterns, roofing firms in Woodbury County; OpenFEMA, declarations naming Woodbury County. Planning-level information about Woodbury County, not an inspection and not insurance advice.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset 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).