86 flood insurance claims·$2.0M 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 Outagamie County, Wisconsin. 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 and river flooding from summer thunderstorms equally dominate the flood character of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, according to thirty-year NOAA records showing an even split of ten flood and ten flash flood events. Severe convective storms frequently produce torrential rainfall, urban flooding, and flash flooding across the area, as demonstrated by heavy downpours that struck the region in August 2018 and August 2019.
Federal flood insurance claims data shows that historical impacts extend across multiple zones. Properties located in high-risk Zone A experienced 60 claims with an average recorded water depth of 5 inches and an average payout of $37,779. Meanwhile, moderate-to-low-risk Zone X properties recorded 21 claims with an average water depth of 4 inches and an average payout of $10,105, alongside a smaller number of claims in unmapped areas.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within designated Zone A due to the higher frequency and severity of historical claims, while also noting that properties in Zone X remain vulnerable to significant water accumulation during intense summer storms.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Outagamie County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
60 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 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 2026, with 35 claims and $1.5M 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.
5 NOAA storm reports from Outagamie County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wisconsin flood stories →
10 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jul 18, 2019 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 7, 2004 |
| Flooding, Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Apr 10, 2001 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Jun 7, 1993 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Jun 22, 1990 |
| Drought | Jun 17, 1976 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Apr 27, 1973 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
20 since 1996: 10 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2024 | $290,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2024 | $289,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2019 | $2,500 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 28, 2018 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 8, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2010 | $150,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2010 | $25,000 |
| Flood | Mar 31, 2004 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 13, 2024. Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon on Saturday (7/13) as the area reached its convective temperature. These initial storms produced large hail up to 3 inches, gusty winds, and heavy rainfall across central Wisconsin. Flash Flooding was reported in Wausau as 2 to 3 inches of rain fell during the afternoon. ||A line of severe thunderstorms, associated with a mesoscale convective vortex, then tracked thro…
Flash Flood · Jul 5, 2024. An area of low pressure slowly tracked east across east-central Wisconsin to central Lake Michigan through the day on Friday (7/5). Showers and thunderstorms developed shortly after daybreak and then became more concentrated during the mid-morning into the early afternoon. A cluster of showers and thunderstorms became slow moving over Waupaca County, resulting in 4 to 6 inches of rain with the city of Manawa measu…
Flash Flood · Aug 7, 2019. Severe thunderstorms formed in very unstable air ahead of a passing cold front. The worst of the damage from the storms occurred across east-central and parts of northeast Wisconsin. Thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees and some power lines, hail as large as golf balls fell, and a weak tornado touched down on the east side of Green Bay (Brown Co.). Heavy rain led to flooding in parts of east-central Wisconsin…
Flash Flood · Aug 28, 2018. Severe thunderstorms produced wind damage, including a tornado, over east-central Wisconsin. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted and power lines downed. The storms also produced torrential rainfall that caused urban flooding and flash flooding in parts of the Green Bay area and Fox Valley. There were numerous reports of 2 to 4 inches of rain, along with a few even higher totals.
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 Outagamie 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.