What is flash flood risk?

Don't want to wake up in the middle of an unexpected river? This map layer will help you avoid camp sites that are potentially prone to flash floods.

When you enable this layer, your map will be colored based on flash flood risk likeliness within the next 1 hour (provided it's raining).

The more red/orange the color, the higher the risk of flash flooding when it's raining. The more blue the color, the lower the risk. The color is based on how many inches of rain it would take to produce a flash flood in that area.

We get this layer's information from NOAA Flash Flood Guidance using 1 hour forecast data.

Legend

Here's a more detailed legend of how the map is colored:

Camp smart

If the area you want to camp is in a zone that's a higher risk for flash flooding, you should probably avoid camping there when rain is expected.

Use good judgement when picking your camp site, and avoid camping too close to water during rainy season or directly in a dry river bed or lake.