31 flood insurance claims·$364,742 paid·9 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 Winneshiek 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.
Winneshiek County experiences a balanced mix of river flooding and flash flooding from summer thunderstorms. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 33 flood events and 32 flash flood events.
Recent events illustrate these risks. In August 2025, repeated rounds of rain caused saturated soils and training storms, leading to numerous flooded roads on August 18th, alongside minor to moderate flooding along the Upper Iowa and Turkey Rivers. Earlier, above-normal rainfall combined with heavy rain between June 20th and 22nd, 2024, caused widespread river flooding across northeast Iowa.
Properties in high-risk riverine areas should pay the most attention, particularly those located in FEMA Flood Zone A, which accounted for 16 National Flood Insurance Program claims with an average payout of $14,731 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties in Zone X also face risk, representing 10 claims with an average payout of $7,605 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch.
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 3 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 2016, with 24 claims and $353,091 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding and 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.
41 NOAA storm reports from Winneshiek County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Iowa flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 9 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jun 16, 2024 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 6, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jul 19, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 21, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Aug 23, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 20, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 14, 2014 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
65 since 1996: 32 flash floods and 33 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Aug 18, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 23, 2024 | $108,000 |
| Flood | May 15, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Aug 28, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Aug 27, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jun 9, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Aug 18, 2025. Heavy rain throughout the middle of August contributed to rises along many area rivers in northeast Iowa. This included minor to moderate flooding along portions of the Little Cedar and Cedar Rivers, as well as the Upper Iowa and Turkey Rivers.
Flash Flood · Aug 18, 2025. Repeated rounds of rain led to increased saturation in soils during the month of August. As a result, when additional training storms moved over northeast Iowa during the morning hours on August 18th, numerous roads were flooded in Chickasaw and Winneshiek counties.
Flood · Jun 23, 2024. Above normal rainfall over the course of June, combined with a robust rainfall event between June 20th and 22nd, led to widespread river flooding across portions of northeast Iowa. Rainfall amounts upwards of 5 inches between the 20th and 22nd allowed the Mississippi River, Cedar River and many other river basins in northeast Iowa to enter flood stage towards the end of June. Flooding along the Mississippi River m…
Flood · May 15, 2023. Four consecutive days of light to heavy rainfall events during the middle of May resulted in near 1.5 inches and some minor flooding along the more narrow, shallow rivers in northeast Iowa. Initial light to moderate rainfall on May 12th quenched soils from a drier than normal spring, while subsequent storms over the weekend of May 13th-14th resulted in rapid runoff and minor flooding along the Little Cedar and Tur…
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 Winneshiek 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.