3,878 flood insurance claims·$57.5M paid·8 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 Lycoming 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.
River flooding and flash flooding from slow-moving summer thunderstorms dominate the flood risk in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, supported by over the last 30 years of NOAA records documenting 44 flood events, 38 flash flood events resulting in 6 deaths, and 1 tropical storm event. Recent historical events include a May 2025 low-pressure system that brought heavy showers and thunderstorms to the area, as well as multiple events in June 2025 and July 2025 driven by humid conditions, high precipitable water values, and rainfall rates topping two inches per hour.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrates that flood risk extends beyond high-risk areas. While Zone A properties account for 3,273 claims with an average payout of $17,813 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches, properties in lower-risk zones also experience significant impacts. Zone X properties recorded 190 claims with an average payout of $18,690 and an average water depth of 14 inches, Shaded Zone X recorded 187 claims averaging $11,559 with an average water depth of 9 inches, and Unshaded Zone X recorded 114 claims averaging $12,385 with an average water depth of 13 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A, while recognizing that properties in Zone X and shaded or unshaded Zone X designations also face meaningful flood and flash flood exposure.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Lycoming County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
3,574 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 1996, with 960 claims and $16.8M paid, the year of Severe Storms 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.
26 NOAA storm reports from Lycoming County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Pennsylvania flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Debby | Aug 9, 2024 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 10, 2018 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Oct 20, 2016 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 3, 2011 |
| Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 3, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Apr 25, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
83 since 1996: 38 flash floods and 44 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 26, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jul 24, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Aug 18, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 26, 2025. Hot and humid conditions under the influence of a lee-side trough allowed for scattered thunderstorm development during the afternoon and evening hours of June 26, 2025. Ample moisture in place across the region (PWATs in 1.75 to 2.00 range), coupled with overly favorable instability (CAPE in the 2000-3000 J/kg range) allowed for pulse thunderstorms to push up towards severe limits and trend downward without suffi…
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2025. A fairly moist and unstable environment ahead of a shortwave trough allowed for showers and thunderstorms to begin forming across central Pennsylvania during the morning hours of July 14, 2025. Showers and thunderstorms became more numerous into the early afternoon hours, pushing eastward through the evening hours. Saturated soils across eastern Pennsylvania from recent flooding allowed for numerous instances of f…
Flood · Jul 14, 2025. A shortwave trough, moving through an unstable and extremely moist air mass (PWATs over 2.00) over central Pennsylvania, allowed for showers and thunderstorms to develop across the area during the afternoon hours of July 13, 2025. Thunderstorms in this environment began to become strong-to-severe; however, rainfall rates within the thunderstorms were the most notable feature, topping out over two inches per hour.…
Flash Flood · Jul 14, 2025. A shortwave trough, moving through an unstable and extremely moist air mass (PWATs over 2.00) over central Pennsylvania, allowed for showers and thunderstorms to develop across the area during the afternoon hours of July 13, 2025. Thunderstorms in this environment began to become strong-to-severe; however, rainfall rates within the thunderstorms were the most notable feature, topping out over two inches per hour.…
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 Lycoming 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.