16 flood insurance claims·$362,846 paid·7 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 Fulton 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 and river flooding from summer thunderstorms dominate the flood risk in Fulton County, Pennsylvania. According to NOAA Storm Events Database records from the last 30 years, the county experienced 15 flash flood events, 13 flood events resulting in 1 death, and 1 tropical storm.
Recent weather patterns illustrate this hazard. For example, a slow-moving surface warm front on June 17, 2025, produced numerous instances of flash flooding and road closures from slow-moving showers and thunderstorms in an anomalously moist environment. Additionally, a mid-level shortwave coupled with a low-level warm front on July 16, 2025, brought ample moisture and efficient rainfall rates that caused flooding across hydrologically sensitive areas.
FEMA National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property owners in Zone A should pay the most attention to flood risk, as this zone accounts for the vast majority of claims with 14 filed, an average payout of $21,725, and an average recorded water depth of 30 inches. Properties in Zone X and unknown zones have accounted for minimal claims.
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 30 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 2004, with 8 claims and $303,984 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances and Tropical Depression Ivan.
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.
11 NOAA storm reports from Fulton County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Pennsylvania flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Remnants Of Hurricane Ida | Aug 31, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 22, 2016 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 3, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Tropical Depression Ivan | Sep 17, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances | Sep 8, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
29 since 1996: 15 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 17, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 16, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 14, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 21, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Apr 11, 2021 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jun 1, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Jan 25, 2010 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 17, 2025. A slow-moving surface warm front stationed across western Pennsylvania allowed for slow-moving showers and thunderstorms to form across southwestern Pennsylvania in an environment of anomalously moist air with long, skinny CAPE and enhanced low-level shear. Showers and thunderstorms across southwestern Pennsylvania initially formed during the early afternoon hours and continued into the evening hours, producing nu…
Flood · Jul 16, 2025. Mid-level shortwave approaching the region, coupled with a low-level warm front, allowed for ample lift across central Pennsylvania during the late afternoon and evening hours of July 16, 2025. Ample moisture in place, with precipitable water values in the 1.80 to 2.20 range and very little deep-layer shear promoted slow-moving showers and thunderstorms with efficient rainfall rates across much of the area. Floodi…
Flood · May 14, 2025. A deep stream of moisture was pulled northwestward from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountains of south-central Pennsylvania around an upper level low centered over the Ohio Valley during the afternoon and evening hours of May 13. 2025. This led to extensive flooding and flash flooding across Somerset County and southwestern Bedford County, and more sporadic flooding from the remainder of Bedford County eastward in…
Flood · May 13, 2025. A deep stream of moisture was pulled northwestward from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountains of south-central Pennsylvania around an upper level low centered over the Ohio Valley during the afternoon and evening hours of May 13. 2025. This led to extensive flooding and flash flooding across Somerset County and southwestern Bedford County, and more sporadic flooding from the remainder of Bedford County eastward in…
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 Fulton 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.