59 flood insurance claims·$670,826 paid·2 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Limestone County, Alabama. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from heavy rainfall events dominates the flood risk profile in Limestone County, supported by 67 flash flood events and 22 general flood events recorded over the last 30 years, alongside occasional tropical storm and depression impacts.
Recent occurrences illustrate this pattern. In January 2023, a convective system brought excessive rainfall and damaging winds to the region. This was followed in March 2023 by supercells that produced a band of 3 to 6 inches of rainfall across northwest into north-central Alabama, resulting in flash flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that while low-risk areas experience significant claim volumes—such as 29 claims averaging an 2-inch recorded water depth in Zone X and 14 claims averaging 2 inches in Zone X_UNSHADED—properties in designated high-risk areas face greater severity. Zone A accounts for 14 claims with a higher average recorded water depth of 26 inches and an average payout of $7,728. Homeowners in these higher-risk zones, as well as residents near areas prone to rapid rainfall accumulation, should pay the closest attention to their flood exposure.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
50% of Limestone County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
30 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 6 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2003, with 11 claims and $60,416 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
29 NOAA storm reports from Limestone County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Feb 5, 2020 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 8, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 28, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 27, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 15, 2011 |
| Hurricane Gustav | Aug 29, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
92 since 1996: 67 flash floods and 22 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jan 3, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Mar 2, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 1, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 18, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 10, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 22, 2025. Heavy rainfall over a 3-4 hour period led to widespread flash and nuisance flooding across portions of Limestone and Madison Counties during the afternoon and early evening hours of the 22nd. Several roads were closed and numerous families had to be evacuated from their homes and apartments during the flooding in Harvest in Madison County, AL. 6-12 of water affected the apartments in Harvest, forcing residents to…
Flash Flood · Jul 21, 2023. Thunderstorms repeatedly moved across from NW to SE across Central Madison County, dumping in excess of 7.5 in Harvest, AL. This heavy rainfall caused widespread flash flooding, closing roads, and water into several homes in Harvest, Monrovia, and portions of North Huntsville.
Flood · Jan 3, 2023. A quasi-linear convective system progressed east through north Alabama and southern middle Tennessee from the late morning through the middle afternoon hours. A supercell within the line produced an EF-1 tornado in Franklin County northwest of Russellville. Damaging winds were reported at times along this line, knocking down trees, power lines, and producing damage to some homes. A second area of thunderstorms a…
Flood · Mar 2, 2023. Supercells erupted during the late afternoon and early evening hours in northern Mississippi and spread east across north Alabama during the rest of the evening into the overnight hours. At least one tornado was determined to produce damage in northern Madison County near New Market. Other reports of damaging winds were reported. The other impact from this evening was excessive rainfall and flash flooding. A band…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Limestone County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.