14 flood insurance claims·$118,386 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 Converse 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.
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 2023, with 2 claims and $66,507 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.
1 NOAA storm reports from Converse County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wyoming flood stories →
5 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Arapahoe Fire | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Hensel Fire-06/07/02 | Jun 18, 2002 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding & Mudslides | May 29, 1978 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
5 since 1996: 5 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 20, 2019 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 7, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 9, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2009 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 1998 | $2,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 20, 2019. A strained earthen dam became breached water near the Fiddle Back Ranch releasing water as high as eight feet deep. Emergency Management reported the road at the intersection of Dull Center and Lynch Road was washed out as a result. The water eventually reached the Cheyenne River increasing the flow and level to top of the bank in places.
Flash Flood · May 7, 2016. Rain on snowmelt produced flash flooding in southwest Converse County. A thunderstorm produced large hail in eastern Laramie County.
Flash Flood · Aug 9, 2013. Slow moving thunderstorms across extreme northern Converse County produced rainfall estimates of one to three inches in a two-hour period. This heavy rainfall resulted in flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jul 12, 2009. A couple of severe thunderstorms produced large hail and some flooding over parts of Converse and Platte counties.
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 Converse 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.