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 Phillips 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 risk in Phillips County, accounting for 14 of the 19 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, with general floods making up the remaining 5 events.
Slow-moving storm systems frequently produce intense, localized rainfall that leads to rapid flooding. For example, nearly stationary thunderstorms brought heavy rain during the early morning hours of May 31, 2024, following an evolving mesoscale convective vortex. Similarly, on April 28, 2022, a large, very slow-moving supercell stalled over the northern half of the county for approximately four hours, producing heavy rainfall alongside large hail and brief grass fires.
Property owners and real estate agents should pay close attention to areas vulnerable to rapid runoff and localized heavy downpours, particularly properties situated near small creeks, low-water crossings, and other low-lying areas susceptible to sudden flash flooding.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
17 NOAA storm reports from Phillips County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kansas flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 2004.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, And Wildfires | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 14, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Straight-line Winds | Mar 17, 2022 |
| Severe Storms And Straight Line Winds | Dec 15, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides | Apr 28, 2019 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 2, 2016 |
| Snowstorm | Feb 20, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jun 7, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
19 since 1996: 14 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2024 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 28, 2022 | — |
| Flood | May 27, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 2, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Sep 4, 2016 | $75,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 3, 2016 | $75,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 24, 2015 | $35,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2015 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 31, 2024. Nearly stationary thunderstorms bring isolated heavy rain to portions of Phillips County during the early morning hours of May 31st. A mesoscale convective vortex (MCV) evolved out of a cluster of thunderstorms in W Kansas during the late evening hours on May 30th, then slowly shifted eastward overnight. The MCV sparked new thunderstorm activity in Phillips County around 3AM. Thunderstorms continued to blossom in…
Flash Flood · Apr 28, 2022. It was truly a one storm show within this North Central Kansas area on this Thursday evening, as a large, very slow-moving supercell presided over much of the northern half of Phillips County for about four hours, causing flooding rains, large hail and even sparking a few brief, lightning-induced grass fires along its leading (southern) edge in advance of the heavy rain core. Above all else, flash flooding/areal f…
Flood · May 27, 2019. A right-moving supercell produced tennis ball size hail and funnel clouds on this Memorial Day (Monday) evening. Around 6 PM CST, a lone thunderstorm began forming along the Trego-Ness county line. This storm rapidly matured and became a supercell as it moved north-northeast. It began moving into southern Rooks county around 645 PM CST. At that time, the supercell was in the progress of splitting. A few minutes la…
Flash Flood · Oct 2, 2017. For the second straight evening/overnight, strong to severe storms affected portions of this six-county North Central Kansas area, this time occurring on the evening of Monday the 2nd into the early morning of Tuesday the 3rd. While there was a lone report of estimated 60 MPH winds at Burr Oak early in the evening, the big story on this night ended up being heavy rainfall and flooding, especially within western po…
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 Phillips 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.