59 flood insurance claims·$552,979 paid·13 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 Nicollet 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.
Flooding in Nicollet County is characterized by a nearly equal mix of general floods and flash floods, driven by severe summer thunderstorms and spring snowmelt. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 12 floods resulting in one death, along with 11 flash flood events.
Recent events illustrate these varied triggers. In March 2019, a severe spring flood melt along regional rivers and tributaries was caused by above-average snowpack and a cold late winter, compounded by mid-month storms. Flash flooding also occurred during the morning of April 17, 2019, when efficient rainfall from slow-moving thunderstorms affected areas from Mankato to St. Peter. Additionally, slow-moving summer thunderstorms produced flash flooding on June 29, 2020, and July 26, 2020, fueled by anomalous moisture convergence and high precipitable water values.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that property owners should pay attention regardless of mapped zone. While Zone A properties experienced higher severity with 19 claims averaging a $27,797 payout at an average water depth of 2 inches, Zone X properties also carry risk, logging 29 claims with an average payout of $9,427 and an average water depth of 3 inches. Residents in unshaded and shaded Zone X areas have also filed claims, demonstrating that flood risks extend beyond traditional high-risk riverine zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
34% of Nicollet County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
29 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 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.
The worst year was 1997, with 8 claims and $78,151 paid, the year of Severe Winter Storms and Severe Flooding, High Winds,severe Storms.
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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Nicollet County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1965, 13 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, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 15, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jun 11, 2014 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 16, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 22, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 17, 2010 |
| Flooding | Mar 1, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
23 since 1996: 11 flash floods and 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 26, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Mar 17, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 17, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 17, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2016 | — |
| Flood | Jun 18, 2014 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 17, 2014 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 29, 2020. During the evening of Sunday, June 28th, a complex of thunderstorms that developed across Iowa previously, moved slowly northward across southern Minnesota before stalling in central Minnesota Monday morning. Before the torrential rain began in south central Minnesota, a few of the storms caused minor damage to a home in Sibley County. ||Deep moisture convergence along the axis of thunderstorms, training along the…
Flash Flood · Jul 26, 2020. A very anomalous moist atmosphere was in place for this flash flood event to develop. Precipitable water values (PWATs) were over 2 inches across southern Minnesota which is well over climatological normals. The 2.25 inches of precipitable water tallied from the 7 PM weather balloon launch at Chanhassen was just below record record levels for the day and was above the 95th percentile for this time of year. ||There…
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 warmed, and snow be…
Flash Flood · Apr 17, 2019. During the morning of Wednesday, April 17th, a large area of showers developed across southern Minnesota. Several embedded thunderstorms developed after sunrise and moved across south central, and into southeast and east central Minnesota. A very anomalous moist atmosphere was in place, and rainfall was very efficient. Several of the storms moved across the same areas from Mankato to St. Peter, and New Prague, whi…
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 Nicollet 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.