16 flood insurance claims·$121,770 paid·1 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 Albany County, Wyoming. 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Albany County, accounting for 21 out of 23 recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside 2 standard flood events.
Recent occurrences illustrate these risks. In June 2023, strong thunderstorms brought heavy rainfall and an overflowing canal that flooded a nearby mobile home park in Laramie. The following month, in July 2023, a strong monsoonal moisture push produced heavy rainfall that led to flash flooding in Laramie and areas between Laramie and Cheyenne.
National Flood Insurance Program claims reflect risk across multiple zones. Properties located in Zone A should pay the most attention, as this zone recorded 7 claims with an average payout of $39,833 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Additional claims occurred in Zone X with 5 claims averaging a $2,271 payout and 0 inches of average water depth, Zone X_UNSHADED with 3 claims averaging a $0 payout and 1 inch of average water depth, and Zone X_SHADED with 1 claim averaging a $0 payout and 0 inches of average water depth.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 1 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 2010, with 3 claims and $2,271 paid, the year of 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Albany County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wyoming flood stories →
10 federal disaster declarations since 2002, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Mullen Fire | Sep 25, 2020 |
| Badger Creek Fire | Jun 11, 2018 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 24, 2015 |
| Squirrel Creek Fire | Jul 1, 2012 |
| Arapahoe Fire | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides | May 18, 2011 |
| Wy - Reese Mountain Fire - 07/01/02 | Jun 29, 2002 |
| Hensel Fire-06/07/02 | Jun 18, 2002 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
23 since 1996: 21 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 31, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 11, 2023 | $15,000 |
| Flood | Jun 8, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 28, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2022 | $76,380 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 31, 2023. Stationary thunderstorms with heavy rainfall resulted in localized minor flooding south of Laramie off of US Highway 287.
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2023. A strong monsoonal moisture push led to afternoon thunderstorms with heavy rainfall leading to flash flooding in Cheyenne and Laramie and areas in-between.
Flash Flood · Jun 11, 2023. Nearly stationary thunderstorms developed across portions of southeast Wyoming leading to flash flooding in the Central Laramie Range west of Wheatland as well as in eastern Laramie County with flooded and washed out roads.
Flood · Jun 8, 2023. Strong thunderstorms developed in southeast Wyoming with heavy rainfall and up to penny size hail on the 8th. Additional rainfall in Laramie also led to an overflowing canal flooding a nearby mobile home park in Laramie.
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 Albany 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.