25 flood insurance claims·$57,776 paid·11 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 Pennington 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 history of Pennington County, Minnesota. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 10 flash flood events alongside 5 general flood events. Vivid examples include severe slow-moving thunderstorms that caused flash flooding in the early morning hours of August 14, 2020, as well as storms driven by a cold front and low-pressure system on September 20, 2019. Additional significant flash flooding occurred due to stationary boundaries and high dew points on July 21, 2014, and May 24, 2010.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that claims span multiple zones with varying impacts. Zone X recorded 13 claims with an average payout of $1,666 and an average recorded water depth of 28 inches. Zone A saw 8 claims averaging $2,252 with an average water depth of 3 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED logged 3 claims with an average payout of $6,603 and an average water depth of 0 inches, while Zone UNKNOWN recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $2,210 and an average water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Pennington County should pay the closest attention to properties located across both standard risk areas like Zone X and special flood hazard areas like Zone A, as both zones have experienced verified insurance claims and significant standing water depths.
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 17 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 11 claims and $32,741 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Pennington County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Minnesota flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1966, 11 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 22, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Flooding | Mar 1, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 16, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes | Jun 9, 2002 |
| Severe Ice Storm And Flooding | Mar 1, 1999 |
| Severe Flooding, High Winds,severe Storms | Mar 21, 1997 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
15 since 1996: 10 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2020 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 20, 2019 | $250,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2014 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2010 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2010 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Mar 22, 2009 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Apr 10, 2009 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Mar 30, 2006 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 14, 2020. During the very early morning hours of Friday, August 14th, sporadic slow moving severe thunderstorms formed across portions of west central Minnesota. These resulted in reports of large hail, strong wind gusts, and flash flooding. Prior to sunrise and through Friday morning, additional storms developed back westward into southeast North Dakota, and they continued to fire across west central Minnesota. These storm…
Flash Flood · Sep 20, 2019. By the late afternoon of the 20th, a weak area of surface low pressure set up near Devils Lake, with the warm front extending out to the east-southeast. Temperatures had risen into the mid 70s to low 80s in the warm sector, with dew points in the upper 60s to lower 70s. To the southwest of the low, a cold front extended back toward Bismarck. Just before 5 pm CDT, a fairly solid line of thunderstorms developed alon…
Flash Flood · Jul 21, 2014. During the late afternoon of July 21st, a stationary boundary set up across northeast North Dakota. Temperatures north of the boundary were generally in the low to mid 80s, while to the south they were in the mid 80s to low 90s. Surface dew point readings were very high, with most locations in the low to mid 70s. A few thunderstorms fired north of the front around the Langdon, ND, area, dropping some large hail. H…
Flash Flood · May 25, 2010. After the first round of elevated convection from the early morning hours of the 24th drifted off to the northeast, a surface warm front was left along the North Dakota and South Dakota border by mid morning. By mid afternoon of the 24th, the warm front had pushed north to a Jamestown (ND) to Bemidji (MN) line. Behind this front, afternoon temperatures had increased to around 90 degrees with dew points in the mid…
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 Pennington 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.