13 flood insurance claims·$357,000 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 Nowata 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 from severe thunderstorms and slow-moving weather systems dominates the flood history of Nowata County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 43 flash flood events compared to 19 general flood events.
Heavy rainfall events frequently result from warm, moist air interacting with approaching cold fronts and stationary boundaries. For example, severe thunderstorms produced heavy rainfall and flash flooding on May 15, 2020, and similar slow-moving systems caused widespread flash flooding across the region on May 20 and 21, 2019.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that properties located within FEMA flood zones should pay the closest attention to these risks. Zone A accounts for the majority of claims with 9 filings averaging a $41,824 payout and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $19,060 and an average water depth of 14 inches, and Zone X Unshaded recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $7,051 and an average water depth of 0 inches.
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 6 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 5 claims and $253,185 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding and Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, 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 Nowata County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oklahoma flood stories →
31 federal disaster declarations since 1986, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 25, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 8, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 7, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 30, 2019 |
| Dld Fire Complex | Nov 11, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 5, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 18, 2013 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
62 since 1996: 43 flash floods and 19 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 27, 2021 | — |
| Flood | May 15, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 30, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 25, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 24, 2019 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 23, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 21, 2019 | — |
| Flood | May 21, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 27, 2021. Severe thunderstorms developed across eastern Oklahoma during the afternoon of the 27th, near an outflow boundary from previous storms, and ahead of a cold front. These storms eventually organized into a line and moved through southeastern Oklahoma during the evening. A tornado, large hail up to baseball size, and damaging wind occurred as the storms moved through the area. Some of the thunderstorms moved repeated…
Flood · May 15, 2020. Thunderstorms developed into eastern Oklahoma during the morning of the 15th. The strongest storms produced damaging wind and a tornado across northeastern Oklahoma. Very moist air across the region, combined with slow storm motion, resulted in locally heavy rainfall and flash flooding. The storms developed slowly southward during the day, with intensification noted as they moved into southeastern Oklahoma, which…
Flash Flood · Apr 30, 2019. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed across eastern Oklahoma during the early afternoon hours of the 30th, to the east of a stationary frontal boundary that was located across north-central Oklahoma into northwest Texas. Moderately strong instability combined with strong wind shear resulted in the development of supercell thunderstorms, which produced multiple tornadoes, including two strong tornadoes, large h…
Flash Flood · Sep 25, 2019. Thunderstorms developed across northeast Oklahoma during the late evening of the 25th, and continued across the region into the early morning hours of the 26th. The strongest thunderstorms produced large hail up to half dollar size and damaging wind. Additionally, the thunderstorms moved slowly and produced locally heavy rainfall repeatedly across the same areas, which resulted in some 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 Nowata 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.