56 flood insurance claims·$1.1M paid·3 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 Nolan 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 Nolan County's flood risk profile, accounting for the vast majority of historical events over the last thirty years alongside occasional general floods and tropical depressions.
Local weather patterns have produced notable events, such as an upper-level disturbance and unstable airmass that brought severe storms in May 2019, and heavy rain driven by upper-level disturbances interacting with gulf moisture in October 2018.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that homeowners and real estate agents in Special Flood Hazard Areas, designated as Zone A, should pay the closest attention to flood risk. Zone A properties account for the majority of historical claims in the county, with 37 claims averaging a $28,089 payout and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Properties in Zone X and areas with unknown zone designations have also experienced claims, recording averages of 8 inches and 1 inch of water depth respectively.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Nolan County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
37 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 2 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 2018, with 14 claims and $740,695 paid, the year of Severe Storms 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 Nolan County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Texas flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1980, 3 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 Winter Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Dec 26, 2015 |
| Wildfires | Aug 30, 2011 |
| Nolan County Fire Complex | Jul 11, 2011 |
| White Hat Fire | Jun 20, 2011 |
| Wildfires | Apr 6, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
31 since 1996: 26 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Sep 16, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jul 5, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 3, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 21, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Oct 17, 2018 | $1.1M |
| Flash Flood | Oct 8, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 7, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 24, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Sep 16, 2023. Isolated severe storms produced damaging winds and large hail across portions of the Big Country and Concho Valley.
Flood · Jul 5, 2021. The combination of a weak stationary front and abundant tropical moisture resulted in showers and thunderstorms that produced some localized flooding mainly in San Angelo and Abilene.
Flash Flood · May 3, 2019. On May 1, a very unstable airmass, dryline and a residual outflow boundary combined across the Big Country or the region north of Interstate 20 to trigger a few supercell thunderstorms. These ingredients resulted in two tornado reports and a few hail reports. By May 3, an upper level disturbance moved into West Central Texas and caused more severe storms to develop. These storms produced large hail on May 3. T…
Flash Flood · Sep 21, 2018. A slow moving upper and surface trough, an abundance of Gulf of Mexico moisture, and remnants of moisture from a dying Pacific tropical cyclone resulted in devastating flash flooding in part of West Central Texas. The town of Sonora along the Dry Devil's Draw was hardest hit by a wall of water and subsequent flash flooding.
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 Nolan 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.