74 flood insurance claims·$846,931 paid·8 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 Logan 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 profile of Logan County, accounting for 17 of the 22 recorded flood events over the last 30 years. Severe weather events frequently bring heavy rainfall and secondary hazards to the area. For example, a slow-moving thunderstorm on June 1, 2024, produced golf ball-sized hail and flooding in the town of Sterling. Earlier, a long-duration severe weather event on June 21, 2023, brought scores of tornadoes across Washington and Logan counties alongside heavy precipitation.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrates that properties situated in high-risk areas bear the brunt of these impacts. Zone A properties account for 47 claims with an average payout of $29,129 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Properties in Zone X and Zone UNKNOWN recorded fewer claims and lower average water depths of 1 inch, with average payouts of $4,999 and $2,332 respectively. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A, as these areas experience the highest frequency and severity of flood claims in the county.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Logan County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
47 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 4 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 1997, with 24 claims and $134,899 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Heavy Rain, Flash Floods, Flooding, 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 Logan County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Colorado flood stories →
12 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 8, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | May 4, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Sep 11, 2013 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Apr 11, 2001 |
| Severe Storms, Heavy Rain, Flash Floods, Flooding, Mudslides | Jul 28, 1997 |
| Heavy Rains, Snowmelt And Flooding | May 23, 1973 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | May 19, 1969 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
22 since 1996: 17 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 1, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2023 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Apr 27, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 27, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2017 | $20,000 |
| Flood | May 24, 2015 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 23, 2015 | $25,000 |
| Flood | May 9, 2015 | $200,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 1, 2024. A slow moving thunderstorm produced up to golf ball size hail and flooding in the town of Sterling. A weaker storm to the east produced hail up to 1 inch in the Haxtun area.
Flash Flood · Jun 21, 2023. Long duration severe weather event across the northeast plains, and most of the Denver metropolitan area beginning during the early afternoon hours. Scores of tornadoes occurred across Washington and Logan counties. Several rounds of hail across the Denver metro, with ping pong ball sized hail in downtown, larger hail up to 2 inches in diameter at concert in Red Rocks Amphitheatre. In all, seven patrons were…
Flood · Apr 27, 2021. Severe thunderstorms developed across portions of Adams, Elbert, and Lincoln counties. Hail from quarter to ping pong ball size was observed. Near Limon and Messex, the hail completely covered the roadways. Two tornados also touched down briefly in Lincoln County but no damage was observed. Very heavy rain developed across the northeast plains. The heavy rain caused small stream flooding across southeast Loga…
Flash Flood · May 27, 2019. Severe thunderstorms across the northeast plains of Colorado produced eight short-lived tornadoes. One tornado touched down and caused minor damage to 20,000 bushel capacity grain bins. Ten of 12 grain bins were damaged; some by downed pipes that fell on them. The rest of the tornadoes touched down in open country. In addition, large hail ranging from quarter to tennis ball size was reported. One of the stor…
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 Logan 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.