1 flood insurance claims·$0 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 Platte 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 Platte County, Wyoming. Over the past thirty years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 25 flash flood events compared to 6 general flood events.
Recent occurrences illustrate this summer thunderstorm pattern. On June 21, 2024, storms along the Laramie Range produced strong winds, hail, and localized flash flooding south of Chugwater. Similarly, slow-moving storms on June 22, 2023, dropped heavy rain that resulted in flash flooding across parts of the plains, alongside a tornado near Chugwater.
Federal insurance records reflect low utilization or payout history in mapped areas, with National Flood Insurance Program data showing a single claim in an unshaded Zone X reporting an average water depth of 0 inches and an average payout of $0. Homeowners and real estate agents looking at properties outside high-risk special flood hazard areas should still review local terrain and historical storm tracks, as convective summer weather patterns frequently create localized flash flood hazards across the county.
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.
11 NOAA storm reports from Platte County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Wyoming flood stories →
8 federal disaster declarations since 2000, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Pleasant Valley Fire | Jul 30, 2024 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 24, 2015 |
| Arapahoe Fire | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides | May 18, 2011 |
| Flooding | Jun 4, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Oct 31, 2000 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
31 since 1996: 25 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 2, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 20, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 2, 2025. A strong cold front pushed across Wyoming and into the high plains the evening of June 2nd. Scattered thunderstorms developed ahead and near the cold front and moved east and southeast into western Nebraska. Large hail and strong damaging winds were reported with these thunderstorms.
Flash Flood · Jun 21, 2024. Scattered to numerous thunderstorms developed along the Laramie Range during the mid afternoon hours on 6/21. A couple of storms became strong to marginally severe, producing quarter sized hail and wind gusts up to 60 MPH to the south of Chugwater along the Platte and Laramie County line. Localized flash flooding was also observed.
Flash Flood · Jun 22, 2023. Severe storms developed across the southeast Wyoming high plains the afternoon of 22 June 2023. Storms produced heavy rain resulting in flash flooding for parts of the plains and a tornado near Chugwater, Wyoming.
Flash Flood · Jun 21, 2023. Showers and thunderstorms initially developed over the higher terrain of the Laramie Range late in the afternoon on 6/21, rapidly increasing in both coverage and intensity as they tracked slowly eastward through the evening. This activity evolved into a large, slow moving cluster of moderate to heavy rain and embedded thunderstorms, with pockets of small to marginally severe (quarter to half dollar sized) hail ass…
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 Platte 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.