78 flood insurance claims·$255,380 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 Lincoln 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 dominates the flood history of Lincoln County, Nebraska, accounting for 39 of the 58 total flood events recorded over the last 30 years by the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Recent storm events illustrate this hazard. On July 29, 2025, widespread thunderstorms dropped 1 to 3 inches of heavy rain across the area, leading to flash flooding in the North Platte region. Earlier, on July 23, 2025, severe storms tracked east from Keith County into Lincoln and Custer Counties during the evening hours. Spring events also occur, such as the thunderstorms on May 15, 2021, which brought high winds and heavy rain following earlier regional flooding in March 2019 caused by snowmelt and rain on frozen ground.
National Flood Insurance Program records show the highest concentration of claims in Zone A with 59 claims averaging $7,728 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Zone X accounts for 6 claims with an average payout of $15,223 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch, while Zone UNKNOWN records 11 claims averaging $524 with an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located within Zone A and Zone X should pay the most attention to flood risk given these historical claim patterns and the frequency of intense summer flash floods.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Lincoln County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
61 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 2011, with 19 claims and $153,845 paid, the year of 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.
22 NOAA storm reports from Lincoln County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Nebraska flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1994, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Morrill-cottonwood Fire | Mar 12, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 19, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 20, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 9, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 6, 2015 |
| Flooding | Jun 17, 2011 |
| Flooding | May 24, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jun 1, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
58 since 1996: 39 flash floods and 19 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 29, 2025 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 23, 2025 | $200,000 |
| Flood | May 15, 2021 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 27, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | $15,000 |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2019 | $50,000 |
| Flood | Aug 8, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 29, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms developed over southwestern Nebraska during the mid afternoon hours of July 29th. Thunderstorms grew upscale over the next couple of hours, becoming widespread across the area by early evening. Heavy rain of 1 to 3 inches fell from Lincoln into Custer County, leading to flash flooding in the North Platte area.
Flash Flood · Jul 23, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms developed during the early afternoon hours of July 23 across the Sandhills, southwestern and portions of central Nebraska. This activity developed in advance of an approaching cold front. As the afternoon progressed, activity became better organized and severe over Keith County mid afternoon. As storms tracked east into Lincoln and Custer Counties, they maintained their intensity into the…
Flood · May 15, 2021. Thunderstorms initiated along the Colorado/Nebraska border during the early evening hours of May 15th. As these storms tracked east, they became severe over Perkins and Keith counties. Storms then tracked into Lincoln county where they weakened. Golf ball sized hail was reported in Perkins county and a 66 MPH wind gust was measured 4 miles north northeast of North Platte.
Flash Flood · May 27, 2019. A stalled out frontal boundary draped from southern Nebraska into northeastern Colorado served as the focal point for thunderstorms. Thunderstorms initiated over northeastern Colorado and became severe as they tracked east into southwestern Nebraska. Large hail and a tornado were reported with these severe storms. Urban and small stream flooding impacted local communities as storm drains were overwhelmed.
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.