209 flood insurance claims·$2.7M paid·8 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 Goodhue County, Minnesota. 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 profile in Goodhue County, accounting for 20 events and 3 deaths compared to 9 standard flood events over the last 30 years. Storms are frequently driven by stationary boundaries and excessive rainfall rates, such as an event on July 13, 2013, when 5 to 9 inches of rain fell near Northfield and Dundas, and an August 17, 2014 storm that dropped five inches of rain near Hampton in under two hours, causing damage to park trails along the Cannon River.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood impacts extend beyond high-risk areas. Zone A properties experienced the highest volume of claims at 176, with an average payout of $15,478 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 20 claims with an average payout of $21,606 and an average water depth of 13 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within high-risk Zone A near rivers and creeks, as well as properties in Zone X areas where lower claim frequencies still resulted in higher average payout amounts and deeper recorded water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4% of Goodhue County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
184 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 10 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 2001, with 48 claims and $648,469 paid, the year of Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes.
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.
3 NOAA storm reports from Goodhue County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 16, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 21, 2016 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 14, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 22, 2010 |
| Flooding | Mar 1, 2010 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes | Jun 9, 2002 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
29 since 1996: 20 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Sep 22, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 17, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2012 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2012 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2012 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 2, 2012 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 5, 2019. An afternoon intensifying mesoscale convective system that moved from southeast South Dakota, eastward across southern Minnesota during the late afternoon and evening of Friday, July 5th, produced sporadic wind damage around Arlington, southeast to Henderson, Minnesota. Two brief tornadoes occurred. Part of a roof was blown off in Arlington, but it wasn't enough to determine whether it was a tornado or a severe do…
Flood · Sep 22, 2016. On the evening of September 20th, a warm front was stretched west to east across southern Minnesota originating from a developing low pressure system across the South Dakota and Nebraska border. The weather pattern, and associated boundaries were nearly stationary through early Thursday morning, September 22nd. The atmosphere was very moist, which was evident in the soundings as near record high Precipitable Water…
Flash Flood · Aug 17, 2014. During the late afternoon and early evening of Sunday, August, 17th, several waves of thunderstorms moved across southern Dakota and northern Goodhue County. Rainfall was excessive with a report of five inches near Hampton in less than 2 hours. The worst areas were along the Cannon River northeast of Cannon Falls. The Miesville Ravine County Park had damage to their trail road. Downstream from Miesville Ravine Cou…
Flash Flood · Jul 13, 2013. Scattered thunderstorms that developed across west central Minnesota early Saturday morning, July 13th, moved southeast across central, east central and south central Minnesota by daybreak. After 3 AM CST, thunderstorms began across of the western suburbs of the Twin Cities, and slowly moved southeast across the southwest Metro, and then portions of south central and southeast Minnesota around Elko New Market, No…
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 Goodhue 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.