313 flood insurance claims·$11.0M paid·1 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 Montgomery County, Tennessee. 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 dominates the flood character of Montgomery County, with the NOAA Storm Events Database recording 58 flash flood events compared to 16 general flood events over the last 30 years, resulting in two recorded flood deaths. Recent historical events illustrate this risk, notably a major severe weather and flooding event on February 15-16, 2025, where heavy rainfall caused numerous flooded roadways and several flooded homes in Montgomery County. Another potent storm system brought additional severe weather and flooding concerns to the region on March 16, 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that flood risks extend across multiple zones, with the highest claim volume concentrated in Zone X (137 claims, averaging a $22,773 payout and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches) and Zone A (115 claims, averaging a $77,126 payout and an average recorded water depth of 15 inches). Additional claims occurred in unknown zones, unshaded Zone X, and shaded Zone X. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in both high-risk zones like Zone A and moderate-to-low risk areas like Zone X, where historical claims demonstrate that significant water depths and financial losses can occur outside traditionally mapped high-risk zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
20% of Montgomery County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
143 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 2010, with 117 claims and $6.8M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, 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.
30 NOAA storm reports from Montgomery County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 8, 2024 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Dec 9, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornado | Mar 1, 2023 |
| Severe Storm And Straight-line Winds | Oct 26, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Associated Flooding | Apr 25, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 19, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
74 since 1996: 58 flash floods and 16 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 16, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | $1.0M |
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 3, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 3, 2025 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Mar 16, 2025. A potent storm system brought multiple rounds of thunderstorms and severe weather to Middle Tennessee on March 15, 2025. The main risk for severe weather was associated with a line of thunderstorms that tracks east across Middle Tennessee during the afternoon and evening hours. This line produced one EF-1 tornado near Christiana. As this line moved towards the Cumberland Plateau, it strengthened and caused wind da…
Flood · Feb 16, 2025. A major severe weather and flooding event unfolded across Middle Tennessee on February 15-16, 2025. As well above average moisture spread into the area, this helped set the stage for very heavy rainfall across Middle Tennessee. Showers and thunderstorms began early during the day on February 15th, and the primary threat with this first round was flooding. The most significant flooding was reported in Montgomery an…
Flood · Feb 15, 2025. A major severe weather and flooding event unfolded across Middle Tennessee on February 15-16, 2025. As well above average moisture spread into the area, this helped set the stage for very heavy rainfall across Middle Tennessee. Showers and thunderstorms began early during the day on February 15th, and the primary threat with this first round was flooding. The most significant flooding was reported in Montgomery an…
Flash Flood · Feb 15, 2025. A major severe weather and flooding event unfolded across Middle Tennessee on February 15-16, 2025. As well above average moisture spread into the area, this helped set the stage for very heavy rainfall across Middle Tennessee. Showers and thunderstorms began early during the day on February 15th, and the primary threat with this first round was flooding. The most significant flooding was reported in Montgomery an…
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 Montgomery 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.