Retirement Lists uses “storms and seasonal risk” for two independent kinds of planning evidence:
1. Historical seasonal climate observations, such as temperature, humidity, heavy-precipitation, and high-wind measures.
2. U.S. county hazard context from FEMA, using the hazard label supplied by each source row.
These groups are not blended into a score. Every observation is display-only: none may influence a score, filter, sort, ranking or collection, Fit, Compare, or hard constraint.
Historical observations describe past or source-period conditions. They do not predict a future event or establish the safety, insurability, or suitability of a property.
The two evidence groups
| Evidence group | Sources | Native geographic grain | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonal climate observations | NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily and NASA POWER daily point data | Source-specific station or coordinate rows | Separate historical observations for seasonal temperature, thresholds, humidity, comfort, months, precipitation, or wind when the required row and metadata are present. |
| U.S. county hazard context | FEMA National Risk Index county data | County selected by the city point’s intersection | County-level planning context using the native FEMA hazard label supplied with the row. It is not property-level evidence. |
The groups must remain separate. A seasonal observation must not be converted into a FEMA hazard result, and a FEMA county value must not become a city climate score.
Seasonal climate observations
Retirement Lists may display the following separate observations when the required value and source metadata are present:
- average summer high;
- average winter low;
- days above 90°F;
- days below freezing;
- humidity;
- comfortable months per year;
- best months to live there;
- worst months to live there;
- heavy-precipitation days per year; and
- high-wind days per year.
These observations do not form one seasonal-risk score. Each retains its own source, period, geographic grain, observation date, and source-update information when supplied.
Labels such as “best months” and “worst months” are source-bounded planning summaries. They are not personal recommendations and do not account for an individual’s health, mobility, activities, housing, or preferences.
NOAA temperature and threshold observations
NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily supports native station observations used for temperature and threshold-based seasonal conditions, including:
- average summer high;
- average winter low;
- days above 90°F;
- days below freezing.
When supplied by the native row, the grain may be station calendar-day observations grouped by observed year. The row’s own period start, period end, observation time, and source-update metadata must remain attached to that observation.
A station observation is not necessarily a citywide average. It describes the source station and period represented by the row.
NASA POWER point observations
NASA POWER daily point data supports source-specific observations for:
- humidity;
- comfortable months per year;
- best and worst months;
- heavy-precipitation days;
- high-wind days.
The grain is the native point row supplied for the destination, commonly a daily POWER coordinate point. Dates remain specific to that row.
A coordinate-based observation does not describe every neighborhood, elevation, property, or local microclimate.
U.S. county FEMA hazard context
Retirement Lists may also display U.S. county hazard context from FEMA’s National Risk Index.
The city coordinate is associated with the county that contains that point. This county-point-intersection method provides county-level context; it does not measure conditions at a particular address or parcel.
Potential FEMA metric families include:
- natural-disaster risk;
- flood risk;
- wildfire risk;
- storm risk;
- drought risk.
Each displayed value must use the native hazard label supplied by its FEMA row. A generic “storm risk” field must not be renamed as hurricane evidence. In the verified test record, its native hazard is Tornado.
This page does not promise hurricane coverage merely because “storms” appears in the route or title.
FEMA evidence is limited to supported U.S. county rows. If the county-grain observation or its native hazard metadata is missing, the result is unavailable. Unsupported international hazard context also remains unavailable.
FEMA dates
FEMA release period, Retirement Lists observation time, and source-update date come from each native row and must remain distinct.
One verified current test record uses:
- Release period: December 2025
- Observed: July 19, 2026, at 07:45:45.516Z
That timestamp applies to the verified test record only. It must not be generalized to every destination.
Sources, grains, dates, and meaning
| Source track | Supported observations | Grain | Date treatment | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily | Temperature and threshold-based seasonal conditions | Native station row; may be station calendar-day observations by observed year | Preserve the row’s period start, period end, observation time, and source-update metadata when present | Historical station evidence for the named metric and period |
| NASA POWER daily point service | Humidity, comfort, month, precipitation, and wind observations | Native point row, commonly a coordinate daily POWER point | Preserve the row’s source-specific dates | Historical or source-period point evidence for the named metric |
| FEMA National Risk Index | Native U.S. county hazard context | County-point intersection | Preserve native release period, observation time, and source-update date separately | County planning context for the hazard named by the row |
There is no uniform global grain. Station, coordinate-point, and county observations must not be presented as interchangeable.
Missing observations and valid zero
If a seasonal observation or its required source metadata is absent, that observation is unavailable. Retirement Lists must not borrow, average, or substitute a value from another place, metric, or source.
If a U.S. FEMA county row or its native hazard metadata is absent, the hazard observation is unavailable. Unsupported international hazard context remains unavailable.
Unavailable does not mean:
- zero risk or zero events;
- average or neutral conditions;
- a failed threshold;
- a value inferred from another source;
- or a qualifying result.
A valid observed zero is different. When a supported source and method are applied successfully and return zero for the named metric, zero remains a valid historical observation. It does not prove that a future event cannot occur.
| State | Meaning | Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Valid observed zero | A supported source and method produced zero for the named metric and period | Preserve as zero with its source, grain, and dates. Display-only. |
| Unavailable | The value or required source metadata is absent | Preserve as unavailable; never substitute, score, or qualify. |
Display versus decision eligibility
| Product use | Eligible observations |
|---|---|
| Display | Supported observations with required metadata |
| Decision score | 0 |
| Filter | 0 |
| Sort | 0 |
| Rankings or collections | 0 |
| Fit | 0 |
| Compare | 0 |
| Hard constraints | 0 |
The page defines display evidence only. Retirement Lists does not currently rank destinations using these observations or combine them into a Storms and Seasonal Risk score.
What this evidence cannot establish
Historical climate and county hazard context does not predict whether, when, or where a future event will occur.
It does not establish:
- property-level flood, wildfire, wind, storm, drought, or heat risk;
- hurricane exposure;
- evacuation access or emergency response;
- infrastructure resilience;
- road or utility reliability;
- building condition or construction quality;
- insurance requirements, availability, exclusions, or cost;
- accessibility during an emergency;
- personal safety; or
- suitability for a person’s health or mobility needs.
County-level context can conceal substantial differences within a county. Station and coordinate observations can differ from conditions at a particular home.
Retirement Lists is a broader retirement decision platform. Climate and place are one branch, and these observations are limited screening context rather than property or personal risk advice.
What readers should verify
Before choosing a home or acting on displayed evidence:
- Check current official state, county, municipal, and emergency-management hazard information.
- Review current parcel- or property-level flood, wildfire, and other applicable maps.
- Confirm local evacuation routes, shelter information, alerts, and emergency plans.
- Ask an insurer or licensed professional about requirements, exclusions, availability, and costs for the specific property.
- Inspect building condition, drainage, roof, foundation, utilities, access, and relevant mitigation features with qualified professionals.
- Consider how heat, cold, humidity, smoke, wind, outages, evacuation, and disrupted services could affect personal health or mobility.
- Recheck source dates and native hazard labels before relying on an observation.
This page is methodology, not personal insurance, medical, financial, relocation, or property-safety advice.
Proposed internal links
Source ledger
methodology_evidence_contract_v1, reviewed August 3, 2026
Supports exactly two independent evidence groups; no blended score; display-only status; zero filter, sort, ranking, collection, Fit, Compare, score, or hard-constraint eligibility; supported seasonal observations; missing and valid-zero behavior; source-specific dates and grains; native FEMA hazard-label requirements; and the verified December 2025 FEMA test record observed July 19, 2026, at 07:45:45.516Z.
Official sources do not support these Retirement Lists product-state rules.
| Source | What it supports |
|---|---|
| NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily access | Native daily station rows used for temperature and threshold-based seasonal observations. |
| NASA POWER daily point service | Daily point data used for humidity, comfort, month, precipitation, and wind observations at the native source grain. |
| FEMA National Risk Index county query | Native U.S. county hazard context used at county-point-intersection grain. |
ThinkHazard and generic public records are not active sources under the verified contract and must not appear as evidence for this method.
Sources and review
- NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily access
Native daily station rows used for temperature and threshold-based seasonal observations.
- NASA POWER daily point service
Daily point data used for humidity, comfort, month, precipitation, and wind observations at the native source grain.
- FEMA National Risk Index county query
Native U.S. county hazard context used at county-point-intersection grain.