28 flood insurance claims·$544,669 paid·5 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 Winston County, Mississippi. 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 heavy rainfall events dominates the flood history of Winston County. Over the past 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 33 flash flood events, alongside 3 hurricane events resulting in 1 death, 1 tropical storm event, 1 tropical depression event, and 1 general flood event. Notable recent events include a significant flash flood on July 13, 2023, which dropped 6 to 9 inches of rain across the area, washing out roads, flooding structures, and submerging vehicles. Remnants of major systems also impact the region, as demonstrated on August 30, 2021, when the remnants of Hurricane Ida brought tropical storm force gusts that downed trees and power lines.
Federal Emergency Management Agency National Flood Insurance Program records indicate varying risk levels across different zones. Zone A properties experienced 10 claims with an average payout of $31,819 and an average recorded water depth of 16 inches. Zone X properties recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $71,649 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Zone X shaded areas logged 11 claims with an average payout of $1,038 and an average water depth of 1 inch, while Zone X unshaded areas had 2 claims with an average payout of $15,075 and an average water depth of 9 inches. Zone D recorded 1 claim with no payout and 0 inches of water depth.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A and unshaded Zone X, where claims have involved significantly deeper average water depths and higher payouts driven by intense rainfall and tropical weather systems.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
57% of Winston County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
23 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 8 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 2023, with 8 claims and $380,968 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes..
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.
25 NOAA storm reports from Winston County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 28, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 28, 2014 |
| Hurricane Isaac | Aug 26, 2012 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Associated Flooding | Apr 15, 2011 |
| Hurricane Gustav | Aug 28, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
39 since 1996: 33 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2023 | $2.5M |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2023 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2021 | $5,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 30, 2021 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 25, 2021 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Jun 10, 2021 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 7, 2021 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Oct 5, 2021 | $3,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 13, 2023. A significant flash flood event unfolded during the early morning hours of July 13th into the late morning and midday. A corridor of 6 to 9 inches fell, with locally higher amounts, roughly from Ackerman to Louisville to DeKalb MS. Some of the most impacted areas were across Choctaw and Winston Counties. Multiple roads were flooded, washed out or closed. Many structures were flooded as well along with stalled or s…
Flash Flood · Jul 8, 2023. On July 8th, scattered thunderstorms, largely fueled by daytime heating, produced heavy rains and some gusty winds.
Flash Flood · Aug 30, 2021. Major hurricane Ida made landfall as a strong category four hurricane around 11:55am on August 29 near Grand Isle, LA. It then moved very slowly north through south central Louisiana and into Mississippi on August 30. It then turned northeast and moved across the Jackson metro area as a tropical storm and into northeast Mississippi as a tropical depression through the early morning of August 31. Ida brought tropic…
Tropical Storm · Aug 30, 2021. Major hurricane Ida made landfall as a strong category four hurricane around 11:55am on August 29 near Grand Isle, LA. It then moved very slowly north through south central Louisiana and into Mississippi on August 30. It then turned northeast and moved across the Jackson metro area as a tropical storm and into northeast Mississippi as a tropical depression through the early morning of August 31. Ida brought tropic…
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 Winston 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.