57 flood insurance claims·$247,435 paid·2 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 Natrona 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 Natrona County, accounting for 29 out of 32 recorded flood events over the last thirty years. Recent events illustrate this pattern: slow-moving thunderstorms dropped heavy rain and up to a foot of hail along Highway 259 south of Midwest in June 2023, while high rainfall rates of one to two inches per hour caused flash flooding in Casper and surrounding suburbs later that same month. Additionally, drenching thunderstorms in July 2021 triggered a mudslide that closed Casper Mountain Road for several hours.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with the highest concentration in high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for 27 claims with an average recorded water depth of 6 inches and an average payout of $11,427. Meanwhile, shaded, unshaded, and standard Zone X areas recorded between 7 and 12 claims each, with average water depths ranging from 1 to 26 inches and average payouts between $5,605 and $22,649. Homeowners and real estate professionals should pay the most attention to properties in designated Zone A areas, as well as locations vulnerable to rapid surface runoff and heavy seasonal downpours.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
44% of Natrona County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
48 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 8 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 1978, with 8 claims and $17,937 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding & Mudslides.
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.
16 NOAA storm reports from Natrona County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wyoming flood stories →
8 federal disaster declarations since 1978, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Flooding | Jun 15, 2023 |
| Station Fire | Oct 11, 2015 |
| Sheep Herder Hill Fire Complex | Sep 9, 2012 |
| Jackson Canyon Fire | Aug 14, 2006 |
| Wy - Dead Horse Fire | Jul 30, 2000 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding & Mudslides | May 29, 1978 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
32 since 1996: 29 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2023 | $2.9M |
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 23, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 5, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2015 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 5, 2015 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 29, 2023. Deep moisture and a passing shortwave combined to produce to slow moving strong to severe thunderstorms across Natrona County. The most notable storm occurred in northern Natrona County to the south of Midwest. A thunderstorm dropped large amounts of hail up to quarter size along Highway 259, leaving up to a foot of hail on the road that made travel very difficult for several hours. The combination of hail and ver…
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2023. On June 15th, roughly between 300 PM and 415 PM MDT, slow moving thunderstorms fueled by a wet air mass led to heavy rain over parts of Natrona County, including the city of Casper, WY and surrounding suburbs. Rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour were common for many locations. These high rainfall rates combined with other factors, such as wet antecedent conditions, hilly topography, and urban impermeable surf…
Flash Flood · Jul 30, 2021. Drenching thunderstorms brought very heavy rain to Casper and Casper Mountain. On Casper Mountain Road, a mudslide closed the road for several hours from the evening of July 30th through the morning of July 31st.
Flash Flood · Jun 23, 2018. Three slowly moving thunderstorms merged over Midwest and brought large amounts of hail and street flooding. A rain gauge measured over 2.5 inches of precipitation with rain and melting hail. The hail flowed into a wash and drifted up to four feet in some areas. Flooding was also noted in Salt Creek Oil Field as well as in portions of Midwest.
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 Natrona 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.