6 flood insurance claims·$80,584 paid·1 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 Jefferson County, Oklahoma. 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 driven by severe weather dominates the flood profile of Jefferson County, Oklahoma, accounting for 23 of the 32 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, with general flooding making up the remaining 9 events. Recent historical impacts include prolonged river flooding following heavy rainfall in May 2025, as well as severe flash flooding episodes driven by slow-moving upper systems and stationary boundaries in April 2025, and frontal storm lines in May 2017.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that claims have occurred across multiple zones, with the highest frequency in Zone A (3 claims averaging $13,455 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches), followed by unshaded Zone X (1 claim at $31,971 with an average recorded water depth of 2 inches) and Zone UNKNOWN (2 claims averaging $8,249 with an average recorded water depth of 1 inch).
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties situated in Zone A and unshaded Zone X, where claims have involved higher payouts and recorded standing water depths.
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 1993, with 2 claims and $37,623 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes & 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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Jefferson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oklahoma flood stories →
30 federal disaster declarations since 1970, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Nov 2, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jun 14, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 5, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 22, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 31, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 31, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
32 since 1996: 23 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 19, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 19, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 18, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 16, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 19, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 17, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 8, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 19, 2025. A severe weather and flash flood episode occurred across central and southern portions of the WFO Norman Forecast Area from the evening of the 19th into the early morning hours of the 20th. A slow-moving upper system continued to approach the area on the 19th. This, along with strong/moist low-level ascent atop a quasi-stationary boundary, helped initiate widespread thunderstorms across the region mentioned above.…
Flood · May 1, 2025. Very heavy rainfall during the latter portions of April 2025 resulted in prolonged river flooding across portions of central and southern Oklahoma during the first days of May 2025.
Flash Flood · May 19, 2017. A line of storms fired along and just ahead of a cold front on the afternoon of the 19th and continued eastward across the state overnight into the 20th.
Flash Flood · May 18, 2017. A line of storms fired along and just ahead of a dryline and cold front on the afternoon of the 18th and continued eastward across the state overnight into the 19th.
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 Jefferson 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.