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 Bailey 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 driven by severe thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Bailey County. Over the last thirty years, NOAA records show twenty flash flood events alongside six general flood events.
Storms are frequently fueled by moisture moving from the Gulf of Mexico or the eastern Pacific interacting with upper-level weather systems. For example, a strong upper-level system and boundary layer instability produced storms in September 2024. Tropical moisture streaming from Hurricane Lorena also combined with a moist atmosphere to cause significant flooding in Muleshoe in September 2019. Additional severe thunderstorm activity and flash flooding occurred in May 2022 and May 2021 as storms formed along a dryline near the Texas and New Mexico state line.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists tracking property risk in the area should pay the closest attention to locations prone to sudden runoff from intense convective storms and heavy seasonal rainfall.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7 NOAA storm reports from Bailey County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
16 federal disaster declarations since 1992, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 26, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Dec 26, 2015 |
| Wildfires | Apr 6, 2011 |
| Wildfires | Mar 14, 2008 |
| Extreme Wildfire Threat | Nov 27, 2005 |
| Hurricane Rita | Sep 23, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
26 since 1996: 20 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Sep 21, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 23, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 17, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Sep 21, 2019 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 9, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Jun 1, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Sep 18, 2014 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Sep 21, 2024. A strong upper level low pressure system moving across the southwestern United States into the four-corners region brought ample lift to create scattered thunderstorms late in the afternoon of the 21st. Thunderstorms initially developed across eastern New Mexico by mid-afternoon in response to the approaching upper level system and moderate boundary layer instability. These thunderstorms moved into the extreme sou…
Flash Flood · May 23, 2022. Returning Gulf of Mexico moisture into the South Plains of West Texas fueled widespread severe thunderstorm development across the region on the afternoon and evening of the 23rd. Moderate to strong instability developed across the western South Plains and eastern New Mexico Monday afternoon and evening as the improving low-level moisture and temperatures warming into the 80s developed beneath an approaching upper…
Flash Flood · May 17, 2021. A widespread severe thunderstorm event occurred on the afternoon and evening of the 17th. Thunderstorms initially formed along a dryline near the Texas/New Mexico state line and along an outflow boundary from previous day storms. The ample instability was complemented by large scale lift moving overhead from an upper level jet moving into the southern High Plains. Very intense supercells developed across the entir…
Flood · Sep 21, 2019. A very moist atmosphere combined with a strong upper level jet streak to create widespread rainfall and flooding in some locations on the Caprock. Precipitable water values were near record levels in part due to tropical moisture streaming over the region from Hurricane Lorena in the eastern Pacific Ocean. As a result, significant flooding was observed in Muleshoe (Bailey County) and Lubbock (Lubbock County).
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 Bailey 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.