145 flood insurance claims·$5.2M paid·3 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 Tipton 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 from summer thunderstorms and heavy frontal systems dominates the flood risk in Tipton County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 46 flash flood events resulting in 2 deaths, alongside 13 general flood events and 1 tropical storm. Recent activity includes significant multi-hazard events in April 2025 and heavy rain and training storms producing flash flooding on June 19, 2025.
Federal insurance data demonstrates that flood risks extend beyond designated high-risk areas. National Flood Insurance Program records document 79 claims in Zone X, with an average payout of $44,098 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. In Zone A, 61 claims averaged $37,106 with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, while 5 claims in unknown zones averaged $3,560 with an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in both designated high-risk zones and moderate-to-low risk Zone X properties should pay close attention to these patterns, as historical claims and average water depths confirm that properties outside traditional flood zones frequently experience damaging water accumulation during heavy rainfall.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Tipton County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
61 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 3 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 59 claims and $2.6M 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.
24 NOAA storm reports from Tipton County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 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 And Straight-line Winds | Jul 18, 2023 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 25, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Mar 31, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornado | Mar 1, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 3, 2022 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 19, 2019 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
60 since 1996: 46 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2025 | $5.0M |
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2025 | $5,000 · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2023 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 16, 2023 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 3, 2023 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 13, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 19, 2025. A very warm, moist, and unstable airmass was in place across the Mid-South ahead of an approaching cold front. Dewpoints ranged from 75 to 80 degrees across the area. As the cold front sagged south, an upper-level disturbance pushed into the region, causing an increase in shear. Convection developed along an old outflow boundary during the late afternoon and evening hours on June 18, 2025. Additional development o…
Flash Flood · Apr 5, 2025. The front eventually sagged south back into the Mid-South during the early morning hours of April 5th. Strong low-level moisture transport into the frontal zone resulted in heavy rain and training storms across northern sections of the Mid-South, mainly north of I-40. A bow echo developed along and just south of the slowly advancing front. This feature crossed the entire forecast area producing 13 tornadoes, inclu…
Flash Flood · Apr 2, 2025. A significant multi-hazard, multi-day event occurred across the Mid-South from April 2, 2025, to April 8, 2025, producing 35 tornadoes, record flooding, and numerous reports of damaging winds and large hail. A large upper-level trough covered the Western U.S. in early April. A significant piece of energy rotated around the base of the trough and ejected into the Southern Plains and the Middle-Upper Mississippi Va…
Flash Flood · Jul 21, 2023. A residual boundary left over from pre-dawn storms was located near the Tennessee/Mississippi state line during the morning hours of July 21, 2023. By early afternoon a progressive mid-level trough moved into the region on northwest flow aloft. Along and south of the boundary the airmass became strongly unstable with mixed-layer convective available potential energy values over 4000 J/kg and downdraft convective a…
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 Tipton 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.