7 flood insurance claims·$7,175 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 Donley 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 convective storms dominates the flood risk in Donley County, accounting for 20 of the 25 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 5 general flood events.
Heavy rainfall linked to regional spring storm systems and unstable airmasses frequently triggers these conditions. For example, a potent upper-level system and sharpening dryline produced widespread hazards on March 13, 2021, while severe thunderstorms driven by daytime instability and low-level moisture caused minor flooding on May 23, 2020. An additional severe weather event occurred on April 22, 2025, amid a multi-day setup of thunderstorms across the Texas Panhandle.
Homeowners, journalists, and real estate agents should note that historical National Flood Insurance Program records for Zone A show 7 claims with an average payout of $1,794 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties located within Zone A should pay the closest attention to these localized flood risks.
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 4 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 1997, with 2 claims and $2,916 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.
6 NOAA storm reports from Donley County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1970, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Corner Pocket Fire | Mar 15, 2026 |
| 8 Ball Fire | Feb 17, 2026 |
| Rest Area Fire | Mar 14, 2025 |
| 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
25 since 1996: 20 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 22, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2021 | $20,000 |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2021 | $1,000 |
| Flood | May 23, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Apr 17, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 22, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 28, 2014 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 22, 2025. Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours of April 22nd east of the dryline. The combination of instability, abundant low level moisture and wind shear allowed storms to become severe and produce hail up to ping pong ball size in the southeast Texas Panhandle. A similar setup occurred on April 23rd where the dryline was situated a little further west which allowed for storms to develop across more of the…
Flood · Mar 13, 2021. A very potent upper level system produced widespread hazards from heavy snow across the front range/Rockies to severe weather across the Southern High Plains. The vigorous closed upper low was approached the Four Corners region from the west. A warm front lifted north and northwest across all but the Oklahoma Panhandle and the northwest Texas Panhandle while a sharpening dryline was located over eastern New Mexico…
Flood · May 23, 2020. Scattered thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon and evening across eastern and central parts of the Texas Panhandle. The storms developed within a highly unstable and modestly sheared airmass along and ahead of the dryline. Some of these storms became severe across the southeast and south-central Texas Panhandle, producing large hail and gusts of 58 MPH or higher. One severe thunderstorm in the southea…
Flood · Apr 17, 2019. A cold front stalled across the Texas Panhandle, and was oriented from southwest to northeast over the region. The temperatures and moisture contrast along the front in-conjunction with a potent mid-level disturbance provided plenty of instability and lift for thunderstorms to develop. Sufficient wind shear allowed for supercells to develop and some of these storms produced large hail up to 2 in diameter and torna…
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 Donley 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.