581 flood insurance claims·$8.0M 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 Saratoga County, New York. 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.
Regular flooding events, driven predominantly by standard floods and flash floods, characterize Saratoga County's weather history alongside occasional tropical storms. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 81 flood events, 65 flash flood events, and 2 tropical storms. Recent severe weather includes a June 2025 event where a stalled frontal boundary and upper-level disturbances brought prolonged downpours that inundated numerous roadways and residential areas with standing water. Additionally, a strong upper-level system in July 2023 produced widespread showers and thunderstorms with heavy rainfall totals across the region.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that properties located in FEMA-designated Zone A face the highest concentration of risk, accounting for 423 claims with an average payout of $20,580 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. However, properties outside designated high-risk zones also experience losses, as demonstrated by 82 claims in Zone X averaging $9,999 with an average water depth of 16 inches, and 11 claims in Zone X_SHADED with an average water depth of 24 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and Zone X variants should pay close attention to these historical claim patterns and water depths when evaluating property risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7% of Saratoga County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
456 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 13 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 210 claims and $4.8M paid, the year of Hurricane Irene.
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.
57 NOAA storm reports from Saratoga County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the New York flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1987, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Henri | Aug 21, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Oct 31, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Mar 14, 2017 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 27, 2012 |
| Hurricane Irene | Aug 26, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 11, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 13, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
148 since 1996: 65 flash floods and 81 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jun 7, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 7, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Dec 18, 2023 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2023 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2023 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Jul 16, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2023 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jun 7, 2025. A frontal boundary stalled to the south of the ALY County Warning Area, in tandem with several mid- and upper-level disturbances generated widespread heavy rainfall and scattered thunderstorms across eastern New York on June 6 and 7. Prolonged, moderate to locally heavy downpours lead to widespread poor drainage and urban flooding with numerous roadways and residential roadways becoming inundated with standing wat…
Flood · Dec 18, 2023. An area of low pressure tracked up the East Coast and intensified in the process as it brought widespread moderate to heavy rainfall across eastern New York on December 18, 2023. Rainfall totals were between 2 and 5 inches with the highest amounts across the eastern Catskills. This rain led to both areal and river flooding across the region. Some rivers didn't recede until December 22.||States of Emergency were is…
Flash Flood · Jul 16, 2023. A couple of rounds of showers and thunderstorms resulted in wind damage and flash flooding over parts of eastern New York on July 16, 2023. One round occurred during the early morning hours which resulted in some downed trees and wires as well as some street flooding and washouts, primarily across the mid-Hudson Valley. The second round moved through during the afternoon leading to some flooding and flash flooding…
Flood · Jul 16, 2023. A couple of rounds of showers and thunderstorms resulted in wind damage and flash flooding over parts of eastern New York on July 16, 2023. One round occurred during the early morning hours which resulted in some downed trees and wires as well as some street flooding and washouts, primarily across the mid-Hudson Valley. The second round moved through during the afternoon leading to some flooding and flash flooding…
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 Saratoga 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.