Photo: WabbyTwaxx · CC BY-SA 2.0Storms, floods and disasters in Winterstown
Winterstown isn’t graded for hazard risk: Winterstown has 389 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 26 claims here since 1979.
What Winterstown faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Hurricanes
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
Does Winterstown flood? Sometimes: 26 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Winterstown, from FEMA’s records.
- Tropical Storm Lee10 claims · $75K
- Hurricane Irene1 claim · $3K
Winterstown isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: York County.The storms Winterstown remembers
None of the 17 disasters declared for York County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Winterstown itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 201111 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for York County
- 200410 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for York County
- 20012 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
York County has had 17 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Winterstown after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Winterstown archive →Get ready for what Winterstown faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Winterstown
Does Winterstown flood?
Flood insurance has paid 26 claims in Winterstown since 1979, $166K in all. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Lee (10).
Is Winterstown in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In York County, 30% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Winterstown?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Winterstown’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Winterstown?
By flood claims, Tropical Storm Lee: 10 paid, $75K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Winterstown.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Winterstown’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.