Enter any address in Steele County, Minnesota to see its FEMA flood zone
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms is the dominant flood character in Steele County. Between 1994 and 2024, NOAA Storm Events data recorded 19 flash flood events and 8 flood events. Recent examples include a flash flood event in June 2024 that caused widespread road washouts across southern Minnesota due to 4 to 10 inches of rain, and another in August 2025 where 5 to 10 inches of rain over 72 hours led to flooded roadways and damaged buildings.
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims data shows that properties in Zone A have experienced the most claims, with an average payout of $29,315 and an average water depth of 12.9 feet. Homeowners in Zone A, and those located near waterways or in areas prone to heavy rainfall events, should pay the most attention to flood risk.
Summary generated from NOAA storm narratives and NFIP claim data for this county. Not predictive.
9 NOAA storm reports from this county describe what happened, in the words of the meteorologists who were there.
Steele County, Minnesota has recorded 27 flood-related events since 1996 according to NOAA's Storm Events Database, including 19 flash floods and 8 river or area floods. The county has received 17 federal disaster declarations, 6 of which involved flooding or coastal storms. Enter any address above to check its FEMA flood zone designation.
FEMA Disaster Declarations (1965–2024)
Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
| Declaration | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Flood | Jun 16, 2024 |
| Covid-19 | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Covid-19 Pandemic | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Flood | Mar 12, 2019 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Flood | Sep 21, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Flood | Jun 11, 2014 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Severe Storm | Sep 22, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Tornado | Jun 17, 2010 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Severe Storm | Aug 18, 2007 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Hurricane | Aug 29, 2005 |
NOAA Storm Events Database (1996–2025)
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
| Type | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 17, 2025 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Jun 13, 2022 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2019 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Sep 22, 2016 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Jun 18, 2014 | 2.40M |
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2014 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2011 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2010 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Sep 23, 2010 | 28.40M |
Flash Flood — Aug 17, 2025
Several individual rounds of thunderstorms impacted southern Minnesota from Friday, August 16th through Sunday, August 18th. Heavy rain amounts on the order of 5-10 inches fell over the course of 72 hours, most of which fell from late Saturday into early Sunday, leading to several cases of flooded roadways and damaged buildings. The highest amounts and most widespread impacts were across Waseca...
Flash Flood — Jun 22, 2024
Catastrophic flooding occurred across parts of Minnesota in mid to late June 2024 as a stationary boundary stalled out across the Upper Midwest.||On June 19-21, several rounds of thunderstorms developed and tracked along this boundary, producing widespread 4 to 6 inches of rain across southern Minnesota, with some locations picking up 8 to 10 inches of rain near Mankato Minnesota.||There were d...
Flash Flood — Jun 13, 2022
A complex of storms that moved along the Minnesota/Iowa border surged northeast and began to train across south central Minnesota. Initially, large hail occurred south of Mankato, and around Owatonna. After the initial hail, training of the storms allowed for very heavy rainfall to occur between Waseca and Owatonna. Locally, 2.80 inches of rain fell around Waseca in less than three hours, and a...
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 to...
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 hig...
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
Source: OpenFEMA NFIP Individual Claims (2.25M records analyzed).
FEMA assigns flood zone designations to areas in Steele County, Minnesota:
AE High Risk — 1% annual chance of flooding. Insurance required.
VE Very High Risk — Coastal flooding with wave action.
X (Shaded) Moderate Risk — 500-year floodplain.
X Low Risk — Outside major floodplains.
Properties in Steele County, Minnesota that are in FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas (zones A and V) with federally backed mortgages are required to carry flood insurance.
Even outside high-risk zones, flood insurance is recommended. From 2014 to 2024, nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area.
Visit FloodSmart.gov to find an agent and get a quote.