491 flood insurance claims·$3.1M paid·6 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 Jefferson County, Colorado. 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood character of Jefferson County, accounting for 35 events and 3 deaths compared to 9 standard flood events over the last 30 years. Recent NOAA records illustrate these hazards, such as an August 2023 storm that produced minor flooding between Pine and Buffalo Creek in southern Jefferson County. Another severe thunderstorm on July 20, 2019, triggered a flash flood in southern Jefferson and southwest Denver counties, resulting in a vehicle rescue in Lakewood and a fatality near West 12th Avenue and Miller Street.
NFIP claims data demonstrates that property owners in both mapped high-risk areas and lower-risk zones experience flooding. Zone A leads with 230 claims at an average payout of $12,091 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X recorded 127 claims with an average payout of $20,999 and an average water depth of 23 inches. Lower-risk designations also accumulated claims, including 70 claims in Zone X Unshaded with an average 2-inch water depth, 47 claims in Zone Unknown averaging 2 inches of water, and 17 claims in Zone X Shaded averaging 2 inches of water. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A and Zone X, where claim counts and average water depths are highest.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
27% of Jefferson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
317 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 10 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 2013, with 63 claims and $853,523 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides.
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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Jefferson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Colorado flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Quarry Fire | Aug 1, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 8, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Sep 11, 2013 |
| Lower North Fork Fire | Mar 26, 2012 |
| Indian Gulch Fire | Mar 21, 2011 |
| Snow | Dec 18, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Snow | Mar 17, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
44 since 1996: 35 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2023 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Aug 1, 2023 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2019 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2019 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Jun 14, 2015 | $15,000 |
| Flood | May 9, 2015 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 7, 2014 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 14, 2013 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 31, 2023. Severe thunderstorms produced heavy rain, large hail and damaging wind across parts of Boulder, Denver, Elbert, Larimer and Weld counties. One tornado touched down briefly near Carr, but no damage was observed. Hail up to half dollar size was observed, along with peak wind gusts around 60 mph. Heavy rainfall, up to 3.64 inches, produced flooding and flash flooding around Fort Collins and Livermore in Larimer C…
Flood · Aug 1, 2023. Severe thunderstorms produced hail up to half dollar size and wind gusts around 60 mph across parts of Jefferson, Morgan. Washington and Weld counties. In addition, localized flash flooding occurred in the the Cameron Peak burn scar. Flash flooding was observed |along the lower part of County Road 44H in Buckhorn Canyon , and on County Road 43 at Streamside Road east of Glen Haven. Heavy rainfall also produced…
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2019. A severe thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 60 mph at Centennial Airport. A thunderstorm produced a flash flood in southern Jefferson and southwest Denver counties. The flooding was particularly bad on southbound I-25 near 6th Avenue. One woman was rescued by a passerby in Lakewood when floodwaters began pouring into her car near Casa Bonita. A homeless woman drowned near West 12th Avenue and Miller Street wh…
Flood · Jun 14, 2015. Severe thunderstorms produced large hail up to golfball size. The combination of heavy rain and snowmelt also produced a prolonged period of flooding over southern Jefferson and southwestern Douglas County.
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 Jefferson 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.