Flooding & Flood Zones In WY

[FDNYLiberty]

Hope that someone can tell me about WY flooding and any known or potential flood zones/areas in WY.  Any long-time residents with any knowledge or historical recounts about such should chime in.  It may sound like a dumb question to some, but I don't want to make the mistake and buy a home in an area that has any potential  or past history to flood during annual melt-off or very heavy rain.

Thanks.

FDNYLiberty

[Stratispho]

I'm a fan of this website for maps. http://www.nationalatlas.gov/mapmaker

Define your own terms and have your own layers and you can find the flood zones pretty quickly.

Step 1 once you get to the link. Use the drop down and select Wyoming.
Step 2, use the right side menu to find your information.

[HardwareHank]

Cheyenne has had some pretty severe flooding in past years.

Other than that, mostly flash floods in the outback. My wife and I were driving north on I-25 one stormy, pitch-black summer night. Between Casper and Kaycee... we came down a slight grade at 70 mph to find a foot of swift-flowing muddy water covering both lanes. We hydroplaned across it like a flat stone.

Talk with the county engineers... they get bored and will be happy to share their knowledge.

[manfromnevada]

Check the flood zones online.

[FDNYLiberty]

Great link Stratispho, very neat layering and info. Thanks for the hydroplaning story  and advice HH.  MFV, I can definitely find flood zones (in general) on-line, however I wished to get some "first-hand knowledge" (and may personal experiences) from members of the forum.

[Crappiewy]

The FEMA FIRM maps is what most insurance companies use.

http://www.msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/FemaWelcomeView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

[MANUMIT]

Downtown Saratoga was flooded for several weeks this past summer as the reservoir their river flows into, Pathfinder, was overflowing....folks just did their thing, dried out & moved on.

One of the plus sides to living in "high" desert, dry-land country...is the lack of flooding.  With the vast majority of stream/river flow coming from snow melt, it is very much spread out over the spring and summer...to early August and then starts rebuilding in mid-September.

MANUMIT

[FDNYLiberty]

Thanks for that info Manumit. I was actually through Saratoga, nice little town, and it was on my "possibilities list." Knowing what you tell me about it now, its has been marked off. This is exactly the kind of (specific town or city) information I'm looking for.

[MamaLiberty]

Is flooding somehow worse than forest fires, blizzards, tornadoes or other natural disasters?  None of those things happen often, and most can occur just about anywhere if the conditions are right. I'd think finding some higher ground to build on would be better than avoiding a whole town just because it experienced some flooding at one time.

But then, that's just me. I bought a house on top of a tall hill. The basement still gets water in it sometimes. No guarantees much of anywhere.

[FDNYLiberty]

MamaL. I agree, however I have had VAST experiences with flooding (I'm talking 5 feet around your house) and it's not fun. I wil definitely buy a "house on the hill" wherever I go. 

[MamaLiberty]

MamaL. I agree, however I have had VAST experiences with flooding (I'm talking 5 feet around your house) and it's not fun. I wil definitely buy a "house on the hill" wherever I go. 

Sounds good. I once lived in a long, deep canyon that had at least one, often up to ten brush fires a year. I will never, ever live in a canyon again... at least not in Southern California.