19 flood insurance claims·$223,329 paid·5 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 Howard 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 and standard flooding from severe thunderstorms equally dominate the flood profile of Howard County, Nebraska, with each hazard accounting for 11 recorded events over the last 30 years according to the NOAA Storm Events Database. Recent historical impacts include multiple rounds of significant heavy rainfall from thunderstorms in May 2024, as well as a persistent narrow band of heavy rain that tracked through the region over a 10-hour period between June 21 and June 22, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood claims have been filed across multiple zones, though the highest concentration of claims occurs in high-risk areas. Specifically, Zone A accounts for 13 claims with an average payout of $21,516 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 2 claims averaging $27,672 with an average water depth of 1 inch. Zone UNKNOWN and Zone X_UNSHADED each recorded 2 claims with average payouts of $1,008 and $0, respectively, and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A, as this zone experiences the highest frequency of claims and measurable water depths, alongside properties situated in areas susceptible to rapid summer convective rainfall and flash flooding.
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 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 2019, with 11 claims and $187,962 paid, the year of Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, 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.
18 NOAA storm reports from Howard County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Nebraska flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1966, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 19, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 20, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Apr 25, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 9, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Straight-line Winds | Apr 13, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Winter Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Oct 2, 2013 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 1, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Ice Jams, And Flooding | Mar 6, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
22 since 1996: 11 flash floods and 11 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 30, 2024 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 30, 2024 | $500,000 |
| Flood | Jun 22, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2024 | $600,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | $1.0M |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | $3.0M |
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2016 | $15,000 |
| Flood | Jun 20, 2014 | $50,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 30, 2024. Multiple rounds of thunderstorms brings isolated, but significant, heavy rainfall to portions of Howard County from May 30th into the 31st. The initial bout of strong thunderstorms and heavy rainfall developed during the early morning hours of May 30th. This activity was the result of a mesoscale convective vortex (MCV) that emanated from convection over the High Plains the previous evening. Another round of stro…
Flash Flood · May 30, 2024. Multiple rounds of thunderstorms brings isolated, but significant, heavy rainfall to portions of Howard County from May 30th into the 31st. The initial bout of strong thunderstorms and heavy rainfall developed during the early morning hours of May 30th. This activity was the result of a mesoscale convective vortex (MCV) that emanated from convection over the High Plains the previous evening. Another round of stro…
Flood · Jun 22, 2024. Although it impacted only a handful of west central and especially northern counties of South Central Nebraska, a persistent narrow band of heavy rain on the evening of Friday the 21st into the pre-dawn of Saturday the 22nd caused what was likely the overall most impactful flooding event of 2024 within the 24-county area. Over the course of 10 hours between 5 p.m. and 3 a.m. CDT, numerous and mostly sub-severe thu…
Flash Flood · Jun 21, 2024. Although it impacted only a handful of west central and especially northern counties of South Central Nebraska, a persistent narrow band of heavy rain on the evening of Friday the 21st into the pre-dawn of Saturday the 22nd caused what was likely the overall most impactful flooding event of 2024 within the 24-county area. Over the course of 10 hours between 5 p.m. and 3 a.m. CDT, numerous and mostly sub-severe thu…
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 Howard 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.