52 flood insurance claims·$551,480 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 Sheboygan 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.
Flood risk in Sheboygan County is characterized primarily by riverine floods and flash flooding driven by summer thunderstorms, alongside occasional lakeshore flooding. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 22 flood events, 12 flash flood events, and 2 lakeshore flood events. Severe weather events frequently impact the area, such as the persistent thunderstorms on August 16, 2024, that produced flash flooding and nearly 5 inches of rain in the Sheboygan area as low pressure moved through. Earlier in that summer, numerous thunderstorms along a warm front brought flooding to eastern Wisconsin on June 25, 2024.
Federal flood insurance claims data shows losses across multiple zones, indicating that flood risk extends beyond designated high-risk areas. Properties in Zone X recorded 23 claims with an average payout of $16,358 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone A accounts for 11 claims with an average payout of $27,024 and an average water depth of 2 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 11 claims with an average payout of $19,632 and an average water depth of 49 inches. Additionally, Zone UNKNOWN recorded 4 claims averaging $2,517 with an average water depth of 6 inches, and Zone X_SHADED recorded 3 claims averaging $3,491 with an average water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in both mapped high-risk zones like Zone A and unshaded Zone X areas, where severe localized rainfall and storms can produce significant water depths and costly claims.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
56% of Sheboygan County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
25 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 12 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 1998, with 10 claims and $167,076 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.
24 NOAA storm reports from Sheboygan County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wisconsin flood stories →
11 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 5, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 7, 2004 |
| Snow | Dec 11, 2000 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 5, 1998 |
| Severe Storms & Flooding | Sep 10, 1986 |
| Severe Storms, Icing, Wind & Flooding | Mar 23, 1976 |
| Tornadoes | Apr 26, 1974 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
36 since 1996: 12 flash floods, 22 river or area floods and 2 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 16, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flood | Jun 25, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 16, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 28, 2021 | $15,000 |
| Flood | May 18, 2020 | $2,000 |
| Flood | May 17, 2020 | $50,000 |
| Lakeshore Flood | May 17, 2020 | — |
| Lakeshore Flood | Jan 11, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 16, 2025. Two lines of severe thunderstorms tracked across southern Wisconsin from early afternoon through the early evening hours. Numerous supercell thunderstorms developed, producing a number of wall and funnel clouds as well as a few tornadoes. A secondary line of storms came through which caused sporadic wind damage. The main damage was in Iowa county from the strongest tornado which occurred near and northeast of D…
Flood · Jun 25, 2024. Numerous thunderstorms along a warm front brought large hail, damaging winds, and some flooding to eastern WI. Later in the day, scattered thunderstorms along the cold front brought large hail to the Janesville area.
Flash Flood · Aug 16, 2024. Persistent thunderstorms produced flash flooding and nearly 5 inches of rain in the Sheboygan area as low pressure slowly moved through the area.
Flash Flood · Aug 28, 2021. Slow moving and training thunderstorms in the vicinity of a warm front caused areas of urban and small stream flooding or flash flooding in east central and southeast WI.
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 Sheboygan 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.