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 Gove County, Kansas. 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 history of Gove County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 30 flash flood events compared to 11 general flood events.
Recent storms illustrate this pattern. On June 21, 2020, unorganized supercells merged into a line extending from Greeley County to Sheridan County, producing flash flooding in Grinnell, KS that left a vehicle stuck in the water. Later, on September 16, 2024, storms repeatedly moved over the same location following wind gusts up to 67 MPH and 1.5-inch hail, resulting in flash flooding.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties vulnerable to sudden, intense rainfall and localized runoff generated by slow-moving or training thunderstorm cells.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11 NOAA storm reports from Gove County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
12 federal disaster declarations since 2005.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 18, 2025 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, And Wildfires | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms And Straight Line Winds | Dec 15, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 28, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 22, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes | May 22, 2008 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 6, 2007 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 28, 2006 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
41 since 1996: 30 flash floods and 11 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2020 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 20, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 28, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 18, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 5, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Jun 20, 2017 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 16, 2024. In the early afternoon of the 16th, scattered storms began to form near the west Kansas border. By the early evening, an organized line of storms began producing wind gusts up to 67 MPH. Over the following hours, a report of 1.5 inch hail was sent in and the storms began to repeatedly move over the same location, leading to flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 21, 2020. Unorganized supercells formed along the dry line in Wallace/Logan counties and moved east into an increasingly unstable air mass. As the cells moved east, they merged into a line that extended from Greeley County to Sheridan County. The storms from this event produced a landspout tornado near Hoxie, KS, up to ping pong sized hail, and flash flooding in Grinnell, KS with a vehicle stuck in the water.
Flash Flood · Aug 20, 2019. Thunderstorms produce isolated hail up to golf ball size and flash flooding in northwest Kansas.
Flood · May 28, 2018. The largest severe weather outbreak of the year began in the morning. The storms activity spread west across Northwest Kansas, eventually expanding into Southwest Nebraska and East Central Colorado. The first tornado of the day for Northwest Kansas occurred near Hill City. No damage was reported from the tornado. The largest hail size reported was golf ball size from multiple locations area. Some of the thund…
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 Gove 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.