83 flood insurance claims·$209,428 paid·7 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 Nobles 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 profile of Nobles County, accounting for 24 out of 34 recorded flood events over the last thirty years, alongside 10 general flood events.
Recent history illustrates this pattern. In June 2024, a multi-day heavy rainfall event dropped 5 to 10 inches across southwest Minnesota, resulting in major to record river flooding and extensive overland damage. This followed a flash flood earlier that same month caused by rainfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour falling on saturated soils. An earlier event in June 2020 brought 2.74 inches of rain to Worthington from slow-moving thunderstorms along a cold front.
NFIP claims data shows that properties in Zone A should pay the most attention to flood risk, as this zone accounts for 67 total claims with an average payout of $4,046 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Properties in zones designated as UNKNOWN, X_UNSHADED, X_SHADED, and X have recorded significantly fewer claims, averaging between 0 and 5 inches of water depth and lower average payouts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
9% of Nobles County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
74 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 7 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 2010, with 18 claims and $45,986 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
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 Nobles County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 16, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 29, 2022 |
| 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 Winter Storm | Apr 9, 2013 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 22, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 6, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
34 since 1996: 24 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jun 21, 2024 | $3.6M |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2020 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 6, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | $316,000 |
| Flood | Sep 12, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jun 1, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 21, 2024. A second mesoscale convective system in as many nights developed across southeast South Dakota and southwest Minnesota in the late afternoon and early evening in response to a weak mid-level wave and warm advection over a stalled frontal boundary to the south. Rainfall rates up to 2 to 3 inches per hour on top of previously saturated soil resulted in local flash flooding.
Flood · Jun 21, 2024. A multi-day significant heavy rainfall event from June 20-22 resulted in widespread rain totals between 5 and 10 inches across southwest Minnesota. As rainfall reached area streams and rivers, major to record flooding was observed, devastating multiple towns and communities. Extensive overland flooding also resulted in significant impacts and damages. All river crest information is preliminary until made official…
Flash Flood · Jun 18, 2020. With deep moisture resulting in around 1.75 inches precipitable water, slow-moving thunderstorms along a cold front brought 2.74 inches of rainfall at Worthington during the afternoon of June 18.
Flash Flood · Jul 6, 2020. Training thunderstorms late overnight and early morning resulted in around 2 to 5 inches of rainfall over a few hours in southwest Minnesota.
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 Nobles 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.