24 flood insurance claims·$859,400 paid·2 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 Archer County, Texas. 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 severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall dominates the flood risk in Archer County, with 20 recorded flash flood events compared to 12 general flood events over the last 30 years. These weather patterns are driven by atmospheric systems such as upper-level troughs, drylines, and cold fronts. For example, severe thunderstorms fueled by a shortwave trough caused flash flooding on May 6, 2023, while an outflow boundary and dryline led to isolated flooding on May 15, 2020. Additional flash flooding occurred on June 23, 2019, due to thunderstorms along a cold front.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones with varying water depths and payout averages. Properties in Zone X accounted for 12 claims with an average payout of $52,153 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch, alongside one claim in Zone X_SHADED averaging $56,305 with 0 inches of recorded water depth, and two claims in Zone X_UNSHADED averaging $5,475 with an average water depth of 4 inches. Meanwhile, Zone A recorded 8 claims with an average payout of $36,410 and a significantly higher average recorded water depth of 25 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within designated Zone A flood areas, where historical claims indicate the potential for substantially deeper water accumulation during flood events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
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 2015, with 8 claims and $399,767 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds 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.
3 NOAA storm reports from Archer County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1989, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 10, 2018 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And Flooding | May 4, 2015 |
| Sisk Road Fire | Apr 29, 2011 |
| Wildfires | Apr 6, 2011 |
| Hurricane Ike | Sep 7, 2008 |
| Wildfires | Mar 14, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
32 since 1996: 20 flash floods and 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 6, 2023 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 15, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 23, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 1, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Oct 13, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 3, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 6, 2023. A low-amplitude shortwave trough, embedded within broad southwesterly flow aloft, moved across the Southern Plains on the 6th. Strong instability and sufficient wind shear lead to numerous severe thunderstorms across western-north Texas. A few reports of large hail and damaging wind occurred. Strong non-thunderstorm winds were also observed due to the development of a wake low behind thunderstorm activity.
Flash Flood · May 15, 2020. An outflow boundary and a dryline both led to numerous thunderstorms developing during the afternoon and evening of the 15th, with hail, wind, and isolated flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 23, 2019. Several rounds of thunderstorms associated with a cold front produced reports of wind, hail, and flooding on the 23rd.
Flash Flood · Jun 1, 2019. Scattered thunderstorms brought heavy rainfall, flooding, and isolated wind damage on the 1st.
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 Archer 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.