Storms, floods and disasters in Snow Lake Shores
Snow Lake Shores isn’t graded for hazard risk: Snow Lake Shores has 384 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Snow Lake Shores faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Earthquakes
Tornadoes
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
Does Snow Lake Shores flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Snow Lake Shores. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Snow Lake Shores isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Benton County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Snow Lake Shores
Disasters that paid out in Snow Lake Shores itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Snow Lake Shores), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2026Severe Winter Storm$27K to the Town of Snow Lake Shores for repairs
- 2001Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding$15K to the Town of Snow Lake Shores for repairs
Benton County has had 13 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms.
Old photos of Snow Lake Shores after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Snow Lake Shores archive →Get ready for what Snow Lake Shores faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Snow Lake Shores
Is Snow Lake Shores in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Benton County, 9% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Snow Lake Shores?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Snow Lake Shores’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Snow Lake Shores?
By FEMA money that reached Snow Lake Shores, Severe Winter Storm (2026): $27K to the Town of Snow Lake Shores for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Snow Lake Shores.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Snow Lake Shores’ residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.