18 flood insurance claims·$447,510 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 Boone County, Iowa. 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.
Flooding and flash flooding from storms dominate the recorded history in Boone County, Iowa, with NOAA data showing 38 flood events and 26 flash flood events over the last 30 years. These incidents are driven by weather patterns such as the slow-moving thunderstorms in May 2024 that dropped 2 to 4 inches of rainfall, causing flash flooding over portions of northern and central Iowa. Additional events stem from heavy rainfall and rapid snowmelt over frozen ground, as occurred during a large storm system in March 2019, as well as heavy rain from thunderstorms training along a stationary front in June 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that damage claims have been filed across multiple zones. Properties in Zone X recorded 8 claims with an average payout of $19,852 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 6 claims with an average payout of $14,937 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Meanwhile, Zone A recorded 4 claims with a higher average payout of $72,125 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay particular attention to properties located within Zone A, which shows significantly higher average claim payouts, as well as structures in Zone X and Zone X_UNSHADED that experience water depth impacts during severe weather events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 2 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 5 claims and $193,985 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.
55 NOAA storm reports from Boone County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms | Aug 10, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 1, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 19, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 25, 2008 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 17, 2007 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 23, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
64 since 1996: 26 flash floods and 38 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 21, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jun 15, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 15, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 14, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 14, 2019 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 21, 2024. PLEASE NOTE, for tornadoes, please see separate Storm Data entry for May 21st. ||Multiple rounds of thunderstorms brought torrential rainfall, damaging winds, hail and destructive tornadoes to the state. These thunderstorms were the result of a low pressure system which lifted north into the area on the night of May 20th, 2024, producing slow moving storms that dropped 2 to 4 inches of rainfall. This resulted in f…
Flash Flood · Jul 12, 2023. Two rounds of convection moved across Iowa in quick succession beginning in the pre-dawn hours of July 12th. This first was an area of convection that developed along an elevated boundary into northwest Iowa. While this area of storms mainly remained sub-severe, severe hail did fall across central Iowa near 6 am. At the same time a MCS moved out of the Dakotas and into western Iowa, moving quickly and eventually m…
Flood · Jun 15, 2022. A cold front moved across Iowa overnight from the 14th to 15th of June. The week had been steamy with near record highs and high humidity, making for a highly unstable airmass with CAPE over 3000 J/kg. Storms initiated along the front in central Iowa later on June 14th, resulting in a number of hail and wind damage reports. While storms dropped below severe limits shortly after midnight, heavy rain continued as th…
Flash Flood · Jun 21, 2019. Periods of moderate to heavy rainfall are not uncommon throughout the spring and summer months, but given the very wet spring across Iowa, soils were primed and unable to hold copious amounts of new rainfall. The overall setup for this event was somewhat typical with a shortwave moving through the parent flow, and 850 mb low level jet aiding in convective initiation and moisture transport, precipitable water value…
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 Boone 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.