395 flood insurance claims·$2.6M 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 Somerset 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 inland flooding from heavy rainfall dominate Somerset County, supported by NOAA records showing 61 flash flood events, 24 general flood events, and 1 tropical storm over the last 30 years. Recent regional events include a flood on July 16, 2025, driven by slow-moving showers and thunderstorms with efficient rainfall rates, and extensive flooding and flash flooding across the county on May 13, 2025, caused by a deep stream of moisture pulled northwestward from the Atlantic Ocean around an upper-level low.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage occurs across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for the highest number of claims at 232, with an average payout of $9,784 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Properties in Zone UNKNOWN recorded 87 claims with an average payout of $4,133 and an average water depth of 3 inches, while Zone X recorded 50 claims with an average payout of $11,688 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 18 claims with an average payout of $9,927 and an average water depth of 8 inches, and Zone X_SHADED recorded 8 claims with an average payout of $1,668 and an average water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in Zone A, which carries the highest concentration of historical claims, as well as properties in unmapped or moderate-risk zones where damaging water depths have also been recorded.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Somerset County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
258 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 5 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 122 claims and $771,453 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.
20 NOAA storm reports from Somerset 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Snow | Feb 14, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
86 since 1996: 61 flash floods and 24 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flood | May 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2025 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 3, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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…
Flash 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…
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…
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…
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 Somerset 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.