10 flood insurance claims·$156,933 paid·4 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 Guthrie 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.
Flash flooding and general flooding events occur with near-equal frequency in Guthrie County, driven by persistent thunderstorms and heavy rainfall systems. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 41 flash flood events and 39 general flood events.
Recent weather patterns illustrate these risks. In May 2024, multiple rounds of slow-moving thunderstorms produced 2 to 4 inches of rainfall, resulting in flash flooding over portions of northern and central Iowa. Earlier, in April 2022, a saturated atmosphere brought over 3 inches of rain to narrow corridors, causing flash flooding within towns and brief road closures.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that historical claims span multiple zones. Zone A recorded 6 claims with an average payout of $27,723 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone X recorded 2 claims with an average payout of $8,565 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch, while unshaded Zone X recorded 2 claims with an average payout of $1,188 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Residents with properties in Zone A and standard Zone X should pay the most attention to these flood risks.
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 1 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 2019, with 2 claims and $115,997 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.
72 NOAA storm reports from Guthrie County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Dec 15, 2021 |
| Severe Storms | Aug 10, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 20, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 1, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 19, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 23, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 25, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
80 since 1996: 41 flash floods and 39 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 21, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 22, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jun 5, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jun 25, 2015 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 25, 2015 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Sep 7, 2015 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 7, 2015 | $50,000 |
— = 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 · Apr 22, 2022. A warm front moved across the area late on the evening of April 21 into April 22. While thunderstorms remained below severe criteria, deep saturation and precipitable water values over 1.5 inches allowed for a band of heavier precipitation to set up over a narrow corridor in central Iowa. Several locations received over 3 inches of rain and a few areas saw flash flooding within towns, resulting in brief road closu…
Flood · Jun 5, 2022. A shortwave trough dropped out of the Canadian Rockies and across the upper midwest. Storms developed along a surface boundary in the afternoon, resulting in a few hail reports and a strong wind gust. In addition to the moderate CAPE , the backed wind profile supported some rotation within storms. While no tornadoes occurred there was a funnel cloud reported north of the Des Moines metro. Later that night the dee…
Flood · Jun 25, 2015. A slowly northward moving boundary/warm front was draped across the area throughout the day. By the evening vigorous storms fired up just north of the boundary and continued as the low level jet began to pick up. Numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds were reported. Fairly quickly after sunset, storms transitioned away from multi-cellular severe to training heavy rain producers over an area NW to SE r…
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 Guthrie 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.