Enter any address in Chippewa County, Minnesota to see its FEMA flood zone
Spring snowmelt floods are the dominant flood character in Chippewa County. Recent events include a significant flood in April 2023, driven by rapid snowmelt from a near-record snowfall season, and another major spring melt flood in March 2019, exacerbated by above-average snowpack and a cold late winter. Flash flooding from thunderstorms has also occurred, as seen in June 2014, causing road closures and inundated communities.
Homeowners in Zone A and Zone X_SHADED should pay the most attention to flood risk, as these zones have experienced the highest number of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims and substantial average payouts. While Zone X_UNSHADED has fewer claims, the reported average water depth suggests potential for significant flooding.
Summary generated from NOAA storm narratives and NFIP claim data for this county. Not predictive.
4 NOAA storm reports from this county describe what happened, in the words of the meteorologists who were there.
Chippewa County, Minnesota has recorded 15 flood-related events since 1996 according to NOAA's Storm Events Database, including 3 flash floods and 12 river or area floods. The county has received 21 federal disaster declarations, 10 of which involved flooding or coastal storms. Enter any address above to check its FEMA flood zone designation.
FEMA Disaster Declarations (1965–2023)
Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
| Declaration | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Flood | Apr 11, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Severe Storm | May 29, 2022 |
| Covid-19 | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Covid-19 Pandemic | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Flood | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Flood | Jun 11, 2014 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Flood | Mar 16, 2011 |
| Flooding | Flood | Mar 1, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Severe Storm | Mar 16, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Hurricane | Aug 29, 2005 |
NOAA Storm Events Database (1996–2025)
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
| Type | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 11, 2023 | 75.00K |
| Flood | Mar 17, 2019 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2014 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Mar 23, 2011 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Mar 17, 2010 | 345.00K |
| Flood | Mar 23, 2009 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Aug 20, 2002 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 7, 2001 | 300K |
| Flood | May 1, 2001 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2001 | — |
Flood — Apr 11, 2023
A near-record snowfall season across Minnesota and Wisconsin led to a snowpack with snow-water-equivilent (SWE) values of 4 to 6 inches across much of the region by mid-March. Below normal temperatures for the first of of spring kept much of the snowpack in tact until the end of the month when it started to melt.||The melt accelerated in early April. On April 08, highs were in the 60s across th...
Flood — Mar 17, 2019
There were many factors that led to a severe Spring flood melt along the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers and several of their tributaries during the last two weeks of March. The first factor was above average snowpack, especially over the Minnesota River Valley for mid March. Additionally, the added effect of a cold late Winter kept this snowpack deeper into the early Spring. Once temperatures...
Flash Flood — Jun 19, 2014
Several rounds of thunderstorms developed across western and southern Minnesota during the late evening and early morning hours of Thursday, June 19th, and moved eastward through the mid morning hours. Although some of the thunderstorms did produced wind damage near Wintrop, most of the damage was associated with extreme rainfall rates, where flash flooding caused mud slides, road closures, and...
Flood — Mar 23, 2011
Due to a very wet fall, and a deep snow pack by mid March, when temperatures began to rise and melt the snow, area streams, creeks and eventually rivers rose to minor, moderate, and major stage levels. ||During the onset of the snow melt, area streams, creeks and rivers had numerous ice jams that caused flooding across many areas in southern Minnesota. Road closures due to creeks and streams de...
Flood — Mar 17, 2010
Accumulating snowfall across the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains was extensive during the 2009/2010 winter with snowfall water equivalent amounts across the Minnesota River Valley as high as six inches. Across the Mississippi River Valley and the Crow, snowfall water equivalent amounts were between three and five inches. ||The winter had very little melting on the snow cover and therefore, on...
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
Source: OpenFEMA NFIP Individual Claims (2.25M records analyzed).
FEMA assigns flood zone designations to areas in Chippewa County, Minnesota:
AE High Risk — 1% annual chance of flooding. Insurance required.
VE Very High Risk — Coastal flooding with wave action.
X (Shaded) Moderate Risk — 500-year floodplain.
X Low Risk — Outside major floodplains.
Properties in Chippewa County, Minnesota that are in FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas (zones A and V) with federally backed mortgages are required to carry flood insurance.
Even outside high-risk zones, flood insurance is recommended. From 2014 to 2024, nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area.
Visit FloodSmart.gov to find an agent and get a quote.