15 flood insurance claims·$406,249 paid·3 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 Antelope County, Nebraska. 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 and river floods dominate the flood history of Antelope County, Nebraska, with the NOAA Storm Events Database recording 16 flash floods and 11 general floods over the last 30 years. Notable recent events include a major flash flood driven by a mesoscale convective system on July 7, 2025, and historic widespread flooding on March 13, 2019, caused by a bomb cyclone that melted remaining snow cover over frozen ground while dropping 1 to 2.5 inches of rain.
Federal insurance records reflect these risks, with the vast majority of National Flood Insurance Program payouts concentrated in high-risk areas. Specifically, Zone A properties account for 14 claims with an average payout of $32,873 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. By contrast, Zone X unshaded areas recorded only 1 claim with an average payout of $11,776 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A, as these areas experience the highest frequency of claims and financial loss.
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 2 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 2010, with 9 claims and $288,677 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Ice Jams, and Flooding and Severe Storms and 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.
15 NOAA storm reports from Antelope County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Nebraska flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1967, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | May 12, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 9, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Straight-line Winds | Apr 13, 2018 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 1, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Ice Jams, And Flooding | Mar 6, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorm | Dec 22, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Dec 19, 2006 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Nov 27, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
27 since 1996: 16 flash floods and 11 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 7, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Jan 19, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 15, 2017 | $30,000 |
| Flood | Aug 28, 2015 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 27, 2015 | $75,000 |
| Flood | May 28, 2013 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 7, 2025. On July 7, 2025, a lee surface trough pushed into western Nebraska and South Dakota during the afternoon, initiating scattered thunderstorms across the region. By evening, these storms consolidated into a larger mesoscale convective system (MCS) that tracked into northeast Nebraska before expanding southward across eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa through the night.||Ahead of the main MCS, several discrete supe…
Flash Flood · May 31, 2024. Upper-level troughing was noted over the northern Rockies via upper-air analysis the morning of the 30th. This disturbance slowly tracked east across the northern Plains. Associated with this upper-level disturbance, a weakening cold front dove southeast across the northern Plains, stalling out across eastern Nebraska and northwest Iowa by the morning of the 31st. Along and ahead of this front, scattered showers a…
Flood · Jan 19, 2019. A winter storm brought some ice to the area. Initial forecasts also called for 2 to 5 inches of snow, but dry air in the mid levels resulted in freezing drizzle throughout the duration, and snowfall of one half inch or less. Ice accumulation ranged one or two tenths of an inch in some locations. A few power outages were noted and travel was at times difficult. A winter weather advisory was issued for all countie…
Flood · Mar 13, 2019. A 971mb bomb cyclone moved out of the central Rockies on Wednesday, March 13, 2019 and helped to create widespread, moderate to major, and in many cases historic, flooding across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. From 4 to 15 inches of snow cover remained across the mid Missouri River valley, and the ground was frozen with existing frost depths of 15 to 23 inches. Warm temperatures allowed all of the snow to rapi…
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 Antelope 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.