10 flood insurance claims·$142,603 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 Dawson 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Dawson County, Texas, backed by 52 recorded flash flood events compared to just one standard flood event over the last 30 years.
Recent weather patterns illustrate this hazard. On May 29, 2025, a combination of a dryline, cold front, and upper-level disturbance produced severe storms and flash flooding across Dawson and Howard counties. Another heavy rain event occurred on September 13, 2025, when a nearby trough and a moist airmass brought a line of showers and thunderstorms that resulted in multiple reports of flash flooding.
Historical National Flood Insurance Program claims data show concentrated activity in specific areas, with nine claims in Zone A averaging a payout of $14,787 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. One claim was also recorded in Zone X Unshaded, with an average payout of $9,523 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Property owners and real estate agents in Zone A should pay the closest attention to these localized flood risks during heavy rainfall 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 1 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 1994, with 4 claims and $69,340 paid.
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.
18 NOAA storm reports from Dawson 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 Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Wildfires | Apr 6, 2011 |
| Hurricane Alex | Jun 30, 2010 |
| Wildfires | Mar 14, 2008 |
| Extreme Wildfire Threat | Nov 27, 2005 |
| Hurricane Rita | Sep 23, 2005 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
53 since 1996: 52 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 13, 2025 | $150,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 10, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 3, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 28, 2021 | $500 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 28, 2021 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 26, 2021 | $10.0M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 29, 2025. A disturbance in the quasi-zonal/northwesterly flow aloft, a dryline, and a cold front moving across the northern Permian Basin allowed for the development of scattered thunderstorms across Southeast New Mexico and West Texas. Thunderstorm coverage continued to increase into the afternoon and evening, and a number of storms became severe. The strongest storm of the day was in Dawson and Howard counties. This storm…
Flash Flood · Sep 13, 2025. A nearby trough, coupled with a very moist airmass, led to the development of a line of showers and thunderstorms in New Mexico during the morning of the 13th. This line moved across Southeast New Mexico and West Texas throughout the day, strengthening in the afternoon thanks to diurnal destabilization. Additional thunderstorms developed in Southeast New Mexico behind this line in the higher terrain. Though no sev…
Flash Flood · Jun 10, 2025. A cold front/outflow boundary, coupled with vorticity maxima in the northwesterly flow aloft, resulted in the development of severe thunderstorms in the Permian Basin of West Texas and Southeast New Mexico during the evening and overnight hours on June 9th. Supercells formed initially, but storms eventually grew upscale later that night. These storms produced multiple instances of severe winds (especially the MCS)…
Flash Flood · Jul 3, 2025. Anomalously high moisture associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry encouraged the development of tropical downpours across West Texas and Southeast New Mexico. These downpours resulted in Flash Flooding for portions of the area.
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 Dawson 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.