537 flood insurance claims·$5.9M 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 Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. 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 risk in Clearfield County, accounting for 37 out of 50 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 13 general flood events. Recent weather systems illustrate this pattern, including a multi-day rain event in May 2025 where 1 to 2.5 inches of rain caused Coal Run near DuBois to briefly leave its banks and temporarily close a road. Similarly, a prolonged period of wet weather from April 1 to April 3, 2024, brought 2 to 5 inches of rain over a 72-hour period, leading to the flooding of creeks and rivers across the area.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that properties within Zone A have experienced the highest impact by far, logging 358 claims with an average payout of $16,160 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 69 claims with an average payout of $14,598 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches, while Zone X_SHADED recorded 28 claims with an average payout of $2,813 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 27 claims with an average payout of $5,811 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, and zones of unknown designation accounted for 55 claims averaging a $1,471 payout with an average water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties in Zone A and near local creeks and rivers should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
13% of Clearfield County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
413 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 10 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 1996, with 130 claims and $718,036 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding and Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes.
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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Clearfield County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Pennsylvania flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Debby | Aug 9, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 26, 2013 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Tropical Depression Ivan | Sep 17, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances | Sep 8, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jul 19, 1996 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jan 19, 1996 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
50 since 1996: 37 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 22, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 18, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 3, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Sep 9, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Sep 10, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 2, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2017 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 22, 2025. A multi-day rain event caused by a slow-moving upper-level low resulted in 1-2.5 inches of rain across central Pennsylvania. Clearfield County saw the most rain with this system, with Coal Run near DuBois briefly leaving it's banks and temporarily closing one road.
Flash Flood · Jun 18, 2025. A short-wave trough moving into central Pennsylvania in a sufficiently unstable and sheared environment allowed for numerous showers to occur during the early afternoon hours of June 18, 2025 with thunderstorm coverage increasing during the mid-afternoon hours and into the evening. Lake breeze convection across northwestern Pennsylvania allowed for scattered thunderstorms to move into the sheared and unstable envi…
Flood · Apr 3, 2024. A stationary front followed by a significant early spring storm system led to a prolonged period of wet weather from April 1 into April 3, 2024. Central Pennsylvania received 2-4 (locally 5+) of rain falling over roughly a 72-hour period, which led to flooding of creeks and rivers in some areas. Additionally, WFO CTP received a call from WFO PHI that a dam on Octoraro Creek in western Chester County was performing…
Flood · Sep 9, 2023. A mesoscale convective vortex (MCV) pushed across northwestern Pennsylvania and into New York state during the morning and afternoon hours of September 9, 2023. A broken line of showers and storms developed by late morning over the western highlands, and progressed eastward through the afternoon hours. Additional storms developed ahead of this broken line. This activity resulted in locally heavy rain and isolated…
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 Clearfield 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.