272 flood insurance claims·$2.3M 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 Yellowstone 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.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Yellowstone County, accounting for 24 out of 37 total flood events recorded over the last 30 years, alongside 1 recorded death from standard flooding. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including heavy rainfall from a moist easterly flow that flooded the west side of Billings in June 2023, and torrential rain from an isolated severe thunderstorm that struck southwest Yellowstone County in July 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims distributed across multiple zones, with the highest claim counts concentrated in Zone A at 88 claims averaging $18,345 with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, and Zone UNKNOWN at 69 claims averaging $4,507 with an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone X properties recorded 60 claims averaging $7,702 with an average water depth of 6 inches, unshaded Zone X recorded 46 claims averaging $7,879 with an average water depth of 3 inches, and Zone D recorded 6 claims averaging $26,433 with an average water depth of 4 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and unmapped or unknown zones, as these areas carry the highest volume of historical insurance claims from local inundation.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
36% of Yellowstone County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
137 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 3 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 1978, with 52 claims and $180,698 paid, the year of Severe Storms & Flooding.
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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Yellowstone County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Montana flood stories →
14 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Jun 10, 2022 |
| Buffalo Wildfire | Jul 16, 2021 |
| Bobcat Fire | Sep 2, 2020 |
| Falling Star Fire | Aug 2, 2020 |
| Canyon Creek Fire | Aug 29, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 4, 2011 |
| Ford Road Fire | Aug 19, 2007 |
| Emerald Hills Fire | Aug 22, 2006 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
37 since 1996: 24 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 28, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2023 | $1.6M |
| Flash Flood | Jul 24, 2022 | — |
| Flood | May 27, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 1, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 10, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 28, 2025. A few thunderstorms impacted heavily poplulated areas of eastern Montana, producing localized flooding, gusts up to 70 mph, and hail up to 2 inches in diameter.
Flash Flood · Jun 2, 2023. A very moist, easterly surface flow was in place across the Billings area. An area of moderate to heavy rain, with an occasional embedded thunderstorm, positioned itself over western Yellowstone County during the evening hours of the 2nd. Many areas were flooded, especially the west side of Billings.
Flash Flood · Jul 24, 2022. An isolated severe thunderstorm occurred across eastern Stillwater County and Southwest Yellowstone County during the early evening hours on the 24th. This thunderstorm produced large hail, very high wind gusts and torrential rain.
Flood · May 27, 2019. Several days of heavy rain, combined with snow melt from the northern Big Horn Mountains, resulted in areas of flooding across portions of Yellowstone, Big Horn and Powder River Counties.
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 Yellowstone 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.