1 flood insurance claims·$73 paid·1 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 Sheridan 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.
Riverine flooding driven by seasonal snowmelt and ice jams dominates the flood profile of Sheridan County, MT, accounting for 11 flood events alongside 4 flash flood events over the last 30 years.
Historical events illustrate this pattern. In February 2017, an early-season thaw triggered snowmelt and ice breakups that caused water to rise along main stem waterways and form ice jams. Subsequent warm periods in March 2015 and March 2017 caused further snowpack melt over saturated soils, sending run-off through small streams and creeks toward larger rivers while partially ice-jammed culverts flooded roadways.
Federal insurance data records a single claim in an unknown flood zone with an average payout of $73 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inches. Properties near rivers, small streams, and ice-jam-prone waterways should pay the most attention to flood risk in this area.
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 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.
3 NOAA storm reports from Sheridan County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Montana flood stories →
6 federal disaster declarations since 2000, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Flooding | Apr 10, 2023 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 4, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Oct 31, 2000 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
15 since 1996: 4 flash floods and 11 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 21, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Mar 18, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Mar 16, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Mar 12, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Jun 17, 2011 | — |
| Flood | Jun 7, 2011 | — |
| Flood | Apr 3, 2011 | — |
| Flood | Mar 14, 2007 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 21, 2017. An early season thaw caused snowpack to melt and ice to break up, which allowed water to rise along main stem waterways. Some sections of rivers prone to developing ice jams, did so during this period.
Flood · Mar 18, 2017. A warmer than normal period for early March allowed much of the remaining seasonal snowpack to melt. With already saturated soils across the area, the melt water easily caused flooding conditions as the run-off was quickly directed through small streams and creeks toward the larger main-stem rivers. Some effected culverts remained partially ice-jammed and were unable to handle the volume of water, resulting in fl…
Flood · Mar 16, 2017. A warmer than normal period for early March allowed much of the remaining seasonal snowpack to melt. With already saturated soils across the area, the melt water easily caused flooding conditions as the run-off was quickly directed through small streams and creeks toward the larger main-stem rivers. Some effected culverts remained partially ice-jammed and were unable to handle the volume of water, resulting in fl…
Flood · Mar 12, 2015. The first major warm-up of the season earlier this month was enough to begin breaking up the ice and start the creeks running, which impacted a some of the smaller drainage basins across northeast Montana through mid-month.
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 Sheridan 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.