Top counties by winter weather risk
Winter weather risk captures expected losses from heavy snow, blizzards, and mixed precipitation. Highest scores appear in the Great Lakes snowbelt, northern Rockies, and interior Northeast, where lake-effect and orographic snowfall is frequent. Winter weather impacts transportation networks, utilities, agriculture, and population health.
3,142 counties scored 111 rated Very High Showing top 50
| # | County | State | NRI score | Rating | NOAA events 2016–2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cook County | IL | 100 | Very High | 0 |
| 2 | Johnson County | KS | 100 | Very High | 0 |
| 3 | El Paso County | CO | 99.9 | Very High | 0 |
| 4 | Kings County | NY | 99.9 | Very High | 0 |
| 5 | El Paso County | TX | 99.9 | Very High | 0 |
| 6 | Montgomery County | PA | 99.8 | Very High | 0 |
| 7 | Philadelphia County | PA | 99.8 | Very High | 0 |
| 8 | Potter County | TX | 99.8 | Very High | 0 |
| 9 | Penobscot County | ME | 99.7 | Very High | 0 |
| 10 | Baltimore County | MD | 99.7 | Very High | 0 |
| 11 | Queens County | NY | 99.7 | Very High | 0 |
| 12 | Gallatin County | MT | 99.6 | Very High | 0 |
| 13 | Middlesex County | NJ | 99.6 | Very High | 0 |
| 14 | Burleigh County | ND | 99.6 | Very High | 0 |
| 15 | Cass County | ND | 99.6 | Very High | 0 |
| 16 | New Castle County | DE | 99.5 | Very High | 0 |
| 17 | Erie County | NY | 99.5 | Very High | 0 |
| 18 | Lancaster County | PA | 99.5 | Very High | 0 |
| 19 | Camden County | NJ | 99.4 | Very High | 0 |
| 20 | Ocean County | NJ | 99.4 | Very High | 0 |
| 21 | Berks County | PA | 99.4 | Very High | 0 |
| 22 | Cascade County | MT | 99.3 | Very High | 0 |
| 23 | Bronx County | NY | 99.3 | Very High | 0 |
| 24 | Randall County | TX | 99.3 | Very High | 0 |
| 25 | Aroostook County | ME | 99.2 | Very High | 0 |
| 26 | Montgomery County | MD | 99.2 | Very High | 0 |
| 27 | Delaware County | PA | 99.2 | Very High | 0 |
| 28 | Prince George's County | MD | 99.1 | Very High | 0 |
| 29 | Yellowstone County | MT | 99.1 | Very High | 0 |
| 30 | Bucks County | PA | 99.1 | Very High | 0 |
| 31 | Cumberland County | ME | 99 | Very High | 0 |
| 32 | Washoe County | NV | 99 | Very High | 0 |
| 33 | New York County | NY | 99 | Very High | 0 |
| 34 | Ada County | ID | 98.9 | Very High | 0 |
| 35 | Shawnee County | KS | 98.9 | Very High | 0 |
| 36 | Nassau County | NY | 98.9 | Very High | 0 |
| 37 | Ward County | ND | 98.9 | Very High | 0 |
| 38 | Anchorage Municipality | AK | 98.8 | Very High | 0 |
| 39 | Suffolk County | NY | 98.8 | Very High | 0 |
| 40 | Lehigh County | PA | 98.8 | Very High | 0 |
| 41 | Bernalillo County | NM | 98.7 | Very High | 0 |
| 42 | Dallas County | TX | 98.7 | Very High | 0 |
| 43 | Salt Lake County | UT | 98.7 | Very High | 0 |
| 44 | Pueblo County | CO | 98.6 | Very High | 0 |
| 45 | Bergen County | NJ | 98.6 | Very High | 0 |
| 46 | Lubbock County | TX | 98.6 | Very High | 0 |
| 47 | Burlington County | NJ | 98.5 | Very High | 0 |
| 48 | Union County | NJ | 98.5 | Very High | 0 |
| 49 | Wayne County | NC | 98.5 | Very High | 0 |
| 50 | Onslow County | NC | 98.4 | Very High | 0 |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0, December 2025. Scores are 0–100 percentile rankings among all US counties — a score of 95 means this county's expected annual loss from winter weather exceeds 95% of all other counties. See the methodology page for definitions. Download the full CSV for all 3,142 scored counties.
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