1,612 flood insurance claims·$21.5M 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 Westmoreland 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 history of Westmoreland County, backed by 238 recorded flash flood events and 84 general flood events over the last 30 years. Recent NOAA records illustrate this pattern, including multiple rounds of training thunderstorms along a stationary boundary on June 6, 2025, and moisture-driven storm activity that caused flash flooding on June 28, 2025, and July 26, 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage extends well beyond high-risk areas. While Zone A accounts for the highest volume with 972 claims averaging $20,418 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches, properties in lower-risk zones also experience significant impacts. Zone X records show 244 claims averaging $18,518 with an average water depth of 7 inches, while shaded Zone X properties average $13,026 across 132 claims with an average water depth of 4 inches. Unshaded Zone X properties recorded 143 claims averaging $5,350 with an average depth of 3 inches, and unknown zones recorded 121 claims averaging $2,320 with an average depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents situated in Zone A face the highest statistical risk and claim frequency. However, properties located in Zone X and shaded Zone X areas should also pay close attention, as they have experienced substantial average payouts and notable water depths during heavy precipitation events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
22% of Westmoreland County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,247 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 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 1996, with 231 claims and $2.1M 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.
187 NOAA storm reports from Westmoreland County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Pennsylvania flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1971, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 22, 2016 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| 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 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jan 19, 1996 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
322 since 1996: 238 flash floods and 84 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 28, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 26, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 17, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 6, 2025 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 28, 2025. A warm, moist airmass remained in place through the latter half of the month which allowed for daily shower and thunderstorm chances. Training storms was the primary factor to the resultant flash flooding as cells developed upshear of the initial updrafts in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. One of these storms did result in yet another round of flash flooding for portions of Wheeling WV.
Flash Flood · Jul 26, 2025. A weak trough and remnant outflows initiated afternoon thunderstorms. Initial single cell development across eastern Ohio ultimately congealed along propagating cold pools and surged southeast. A rich moisture environment was in place with 1000-2000 J/kg MLCAPE and near 30 knots of effective shear. The storms rolled into more favorable DCAPE, as high as 1200 J/kg, farther southeast, and repeated updrafts along out…
Flash Flood · Jun 17, 2025. The stalled boundary began to lift north during the day on the 17th but remained the focus of diurnal convection. While the front did eventually shift off to the east on the 18th, additional storms were able to fire with the lingering moist airmass as an upper level disturbance approached.
Flash Flood · Jul 16, 2025. A crossing cold front and weak shortwave passage spawned of scattered clusters of thunderstorms in an environment with 1500-2000 J/kg MLCAPE, >1000 J/Kg DCAPE, and weak deep layer shear. Some storms were severe with damaging wind.
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 Westmoreland 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.