5 flood insurance claims·$128,619 paid·12 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 Lake of the Woods 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 and spring snowmelt dominates the flood character of Lake of the Woods County, with NOAA records detailing 11 flash flood events and 5 general flood events over the last 30 years. Notable historical impacts include a severe June 2002 event where heavy rainfall brought widespread flooding, with the Baudette ASOS reporting 7.64 inches of rain and Norris Camp recording 11.95 inches over a two-day period. Spring warming cycles also drive local flood risks, such as the March 2009 snowmelt event caused by consecutive periods of high temperatures in the 40s and low 50s, and the March 2004 flooding that resulted in rushing water washing out County Road 69 west of Pitt.
FEMA National Flood Insurance Program records indicate historical claims have been filed in both moderate-to-low risk and high-risk areas. Properties located in Zone X recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $46,885 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties located in Zone A recorded 2 claims with an average payout of $17,424 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists monitoring properties in both designated special flood hazard areas and standard risk zones should pay close attention to these historical payout and water depth patterns.
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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Lake of the Woods County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 12 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 11, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 22, 2022 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jun 11, 2014 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 16, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes | Jun 9, 2002 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Mar 23, 2001 |
| Severe Flooding, High Winds,severe Storms | Mar 21, 1997 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
16 since 1996: 11 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 25, 2009 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Mar 28, 2004 | — |
| Flood | Apr 1, 2004 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2002 | — |
| Flood | Jun 10, 2002 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 10, 2002 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2002 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2001 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Mar 25, 2009. A stretch of warmer weather occurred from March 14th to 17th, which resulted in high temperatures in the 40s and low 50s. The snow depth in Fargo on the 14th was 15 inches with a melted water equivalent of 3.10 inches. By the 17th, the snow depth in Fargo had dropped to 6 inches. This was followed by a couple of cooler days, which temporarily slowed down any additional snowmelt. A second period of warmer weather b…
Flood · Mar 28, 2004. [See antecedent conditions written in brackets under Kittson county]. For Lake of the Woods county, people were advised to use caution if driving in rural areas. Rushing water washed out county road 69 west of Pitt.
Flood · Apr 1, 2004. [For more information on the beginning of this flood event, see the March 2004 Storm Data report. The flooding began on March 27th and 28th, and continued into early April]. Flooding problems diminished enough so that the county-wide flood warning was cancelled on the afternoon of April 1st.
Flood · Jun 10, 2002. Heavy rainfall on the 9th and 10th of the month produced widespread flooding across Lake of the Woods county. The ASOS at Baudette reported 7.64 inches of rain during the two day period and an NWS cooperative observer station at Norris Camp reported 11.95 inches. There were unofficial reports of 15 inches of rain in portions of the county. The lake level of the Lake of the Woods was down prior to this rain even…
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 Lake of the Woods 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.