43 flood insurance claims·$721,897 paid·5 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 Culpeper County, Virginia. 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.
Frequent riverine flooding and heavy summer thunderstorms dominate the flood risk in Culpeper County, VA. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records document 101 general flood events resulting in 4 deaths, alongside 55 flash flood events and 1 tropical storm. Recent activity includes slow-moving showers and thunderstorms in June 2025 that dropped two to four inches of rain and caused localized flooding, as well as a moist tropical airmass in July 2025 that brought training thunderstorms and rainfall totals reaching locally six inches, resulting in multiple flood and flash flood events.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate historical claims across multiple zones with varying impacts. Properties in Zone A experienced 21 claims with an average payout of $31,918 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Zone X recorded 12 claims with an average payout of $16,825 and an average water depth of 41 inches, while properties with an unknown zone logged 10 claims averaging $5,573 and an average water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located in mapped high-risk riverine areas (Zone A) as well as those in moderate-to-low risk areas (Zone X) should pay close attention to these flood risks, given that both zones have experienced recorded claims and significant water depths during past events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Culpeper County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
21 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 15 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 1996, with 6 claims and $40,656 paid, the year of Hurricane Fran and Associated Severe Storm Cond.
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.
56 NOAA storm reports from Culpeper County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 2, 2022 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 22, 2016 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Earthquake | Aug 23, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
157 since 1996: 55 flash floods and 101 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 18, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 18, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Dec 22, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 18, 2025. An anomalously moist tropical airmass resided over Virginia bringing numerous rounds of showers and thunderstorms. Thunderstorms trained over portions of central Virginia bringing rainfall amounts of two to locally six inches. This resulted in instances of flooding and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 18, 2025. An anomalously moist tropical airmass resided over Virginia bringing numerous rounds of showers and thunderstorms. Thunderstorms trained over portions of central Virginia bringing rainfall amounts of two to locally six inches. This resulted in instances of flooding and flash flooding.
Flood · Jun 15, 2025. Slow moving showers and thunderstorms caused localized flooding across portions of Virginia during the afternoon and evening of June 15, 2025. These showers and thunderstorms were in association with a vigorous upper level shortwave trough and quasi-stationary boundary meandering over the area. A general two to four inches of rain fell across areas where flooding occurred.
Flood · May 14, 2025. A slow moving closed upper level low originating from the Gulf of America brought anomalous moisture into the area bringing localized heavy rain and a long duration moderate rain event.
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 Culpeper 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.