Natural hazards · Scottsbluff

Scottsbluff, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Scottsbluff comes from hail, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 23 claims here since 1983. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Scottsbluff?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Scottsbluff to be higher than in 65% of U.S. communities, mostly from hail and inland flooding.

Hail39%Inland flooding27%Cold waves11%Tornadoes10%Strong wind5%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Scottsbluff faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Hail

39% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 41% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesWildfireLandslidesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Scottsbluff flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Scottsbluff, from FEMA’s records.

23paid claims since 1983

$107Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19832026

Biggest named events

Late spring storms: 5 claims, $10K

of all homes
are insured

🏷️ 10% off flood insurance. Scottsbluff is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Scotts Bluff County.

Disasters that hit Scottsbluff

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Scottsbluff itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Scottsbluff.

Brought FEMA money into ScottsbluffDeclared for Scotts Bluff County only

2011

Flooding

$230K to the City of Scottsbluff for repairs

Scotts Bluff County has had 7 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Scottsbluff covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Scottsbluff’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Scottsbluff. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Scottsbluff total about $1.5M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.