12 flood insurance claims·$2,464 paid
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 Beaverhead County, Montana. 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.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 1 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 1984, with 8 claims and $95 paid.
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 Beaverhead County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Montana flood stories →
5 federal disaster declarations since 2000.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Mt - Central Zone 3c Fire Complex | Aug 8, 2000 |
| Wildfires | Jul 13, 2000 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
8 since 1996: 4 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 16, 2024 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Apr 10, 2023 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2013 | — |
| Flood | Jan 4, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 22, 2008 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2005 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 16, 2024. A series of weather systems brought impactful winter weather to the area with light snow developing across north central Montana, becoming more widespread across the region. Dangerously cold wind chills persisted along the Hi-Line. Warming temperatures elsewhere led to ice jamming, resulting in flooding concerns across portions of the Treasure State. ||** Isolated 9 inch snowfall report 6 WSW Forestgrove left out…
Flood · Apr 10, 2023. Unseasonably warm temperatures occurred in the first two weeks of April, with highs near 80 degrees occurring at times. These warm temps, along with occasional rain, resulted in melting of a deep snowpack on top of frozen ground which led to significant runoff into area waterways. Moderate to major flooding occurred along portions of the Milk River and its tributaries. Impactful snowmelt flooding also occurred acr…
Flash Flood · Jul 17, 2013. Convective activity developed early in the afternoon with thunderstorms rapidly developing over West and Southwest Montana in response to an upper trough moving across Northwest Montana into southern Alberta. Though jet streak energy supported the system, convective parameters were not overly impressive. Additionally, precipitable water values were very high across the CWA translating to heavy rain with some isola…
Flood · Jan 4, 2011. An ice jam formed on the Beaverhead River in Twin Bridges causing localized flooding in portions of the town.
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 Beaverhead 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.