1,729 flood insurance claims·$26.7M paid·5 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 Winnebago County, Illinois. 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 and river flooding from summer thunderstorms dominate the flood risk profile in Winnebago County, which recorded 53 flood events resulting in 1 death and 35 flash flood events resulting in 1 death over the last 30 years according to the NOAA Storm Events Database. Recent weather confirms this pattern, including localized flash flooding around Rockford on July 10, 2025, and torrential rainfall leading to minor flooding on June 18, 2025.
Federal insurance data shows that flood risks extend beyond high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for the vast majority of claims with 1,199 filings, an average payout of $23,081, and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. However, properties in lower-risk zones also experience damaging water accumulation. Claims in Zone X averaged 6 inches of water depth with an average payout of $21,165, while Zone X shaded properties recorded an average water depth of 10 inches and an average payout of $15,823.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in Zone A along waterways, as well as those in Zone X and shaded Zone X areas where heavy rainfall frequently causes significant indoor water accumulation despite a lack of traditional high-risk mapping.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of Winnebago County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,349 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 11 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 2008, with 328 claims and $8.6M paid, the year of Severe Storms 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.
22 NOAA storm reports from Winnebago County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Illinois flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Floodng | Jul 13, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 16, 2013 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 19, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 1, 2008 |
| Record Snow And Near Record Snow | Feb 5, 2008 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 7, 2007 |
| Snow | Nov 30, 2006 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
88 since 1996: 35 flash floods and 53 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 25, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 18, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2025 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 15, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 14, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2024 | — · 1 killed |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 25, 2025. Isolated thunderstorms produced funnel clouds across central Illinois during the late morning of July 25th. A narrow line of thunderstorms developed over southeast DuPage and central Cook Counties during the late morning of July 25th and continued into the early afternoon producing torrential rainfall and widespread flash flooding. Scattered thunderstorms moved across portions of northern Illinois during the lat…
Flood · Jun 18, 2025. A large system of low pressure produced widespread thunderstorms which impacted northern Illinois on the 18th. The storms produced damaging winds and torrential rainfall leading to instances of minor flooding during the early afternoon with additional heavy rain continuing into the evening.
Flash Flood · Aug 18, 2025. During the afternoon and evening of the 18th, a few rounds of thunderstorms brought torrential rainfall to much of northern Illinois resulting in flash flooding. One particularly strong storm also produced damaging winds in DeKalb County. Initial reports estimate $8.8 million in flood damages around northern and northeast Illinois, and around $2.5 million in the city of Chicago alone.
Flash Flood · Jul 10, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms moved across portions of northern Illinois during the afternoon of July 10th producing large hail, wind damage and heavy rain. Localized flash flooding occurred around Rockford. Additional thunderstorms moved across central portions of Illinois during the late evening of July 10th into the early morning of July 11th producing isolated wind damage.
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 Winnebago 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.