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 Motley 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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Motley County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1986, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Matador Fire | Feb 27, 2011 |
| Hurricane Alex | Jun 30, 2010 |
| Wildfires | Mar 14, 2008 |
| Extreme Wildfire Threat | Nov 27, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
7 since 1996: 4 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 24, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 22, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2013 | — |
| Flood | Apr 16, 2010 | $25,000 |
| Tropical Depression | Aug 17, 2007 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 25, 2025. A short wave trough moving out of northern Mexico into the Southern High Plains brought widespread and intense convection to the South Plains and Rolling Plains of West Texas on the afternoon and evening of the 25th. This short wave trough brought the necessary large scale ascent that was missing the past several days to create the more widespread activity on the 25th. At the same time, a slow moving cold front wa…
Flash Flood · Apr 24, 2025. Another day of widespread severe thunderstorms occurred on the afternoon and evening hours of the 24th. Persistent but weak southwesterly flow aloft increased on the 24th which allowed supercell thunderstorms to produce giant hail. Increased low level southeasterly winds also allowed these thunderstorms to produce numerous tornadoes. Thunderstorms initially developed late in the afternoon along a dryline along the…
Flash Flood · May 28, 2023. Scattered supercell thunderstorms developed on the afternoon of the 28th and persisted through the evening producing several severe storms despite weak background forcing. Strong instability developed while the atmosphere became uncapped which allowed these supercell thunderstorms to develop. A slow moving storm near Vigo Park produced a brief tornado over an open field. More widespread thunderstorms evolved late…
Flood · Apr 22, 2015. Early this morning, a series of outflow boundaries moved south across the southern Texas Panhandle and much of the Rolling Plains. The most organized of these boundaries would eventually retreat north before stalling from near Hereford (Deaf Smith County, WFO AMA) southeast to Paducah (Cottle County). This boundary provided the focus for an intense and long-lived supercell that developed west of Hereford by mid-af…
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 Motley 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.