39 flood insurance claims·$447,458 paid·2 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 Lincoln 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.
River overflow and rain-on-snow events dominate the flood history of Lincoln County, backed by 18 recorded flood events in the last 30 years. Notable recent events include a prolonged atmospheric river that caused catastrophic rain-on-snow flooding in December 2025, as well as unseasonably warm temperatures and heavy snowmelt that drove rivers to minor flood stages in May 2013 and May 2018. Additionally, convective precipitation brought widespread areal and river flooding in June 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood claims occur across multiple zones, with the highest claim volume concentrated in Zone A at 25 claims with an average payout of $11,613 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Properties in Zone X also experienced claims, including 7 claims in standard Zone X averaging a $15,788 payout with an average water depth of 0 inches, 5 claims in unshaded Zone X averaging an $18,443 payout with an average water depth of 4 inches, and 2 claims in shaded Zone X averaging a $25,440 payout with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties near rivers and streams, as well as low-lying areas vulnerable to snowmelt, heavy seasonal rainfall, and saturated winter conditions.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
22% of Lincoln County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
32 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 4 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 1996, with 20 claims and $176,351 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams.
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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Lincoln County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Montana flood stories →
12 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Dec 10, 2025 |
| Moose Peak Fire | Sep 9, 2017 |
| West Fork Fire | Sep 9, 2017 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Mt - Northwestern Zone 1 Fire Complex | Aug 14, 2000 |
| Wildfires | Jul 13, 2000 |
| Severe Storms,ice Jams, Snow Melt, Flooding | Mar 1, 1997 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Ice Jams | Feb 4, 1996 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
18 since 1996: 18 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Dec 11, 2025 | $31.0M |
| Flood | Jun 14, 2022 | — |
| Flood | May 5, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Mar 19, 2017 | — |
| Flood | May 13, 2013 | — |
| Flood | Nov 7, 2006 | — |
| Flood | Jan 19, 2005 | — |
| Flood | May 21, 2002 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Dec 11, 2025. Record precipitation fell as a prolonged atmospheric river event gripped the region from December 6 through 12. Much like a garden hose being moved back and forth, the jet stream shifted the focus of this moisture plume across the Pacific Northwest, repeatedly drenching parts of northern Idaho and western Montana. Between December 10 and 11, 2025, the atmospheric river specifically focused on northwest Montana, an…
Flood · Jun 14, 2022. Periods of convective and upslope precipitation brought areal and river flooding June 11 through June 16. Rainfall of 2 to 6 inches was common for the lower elevations of Northwest Montana between June 11 and June 15. Mountain locations received up to 10 inches of moisture over the same period. River flooding continued well into late June for the Flathead River.
Flood · May 5, 2018. The combination of above normal mountain snow-pack up to 200% of normal and warmer than normal temperatures in the month of May led to continued and new river flooding. Missoula County reported that the tally for damage was to the amount of $450,000.
Flood · Mar 19, 2017. Due to recent heavy rain and snow-melt, several main-stem rivers experienced minor flooding.
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 Lincoln 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.