Norman County, Minnesota

What hazards hit Norman County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 171 since 1996. 50% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The rank column places the county among Minnesota's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Norman County had?

NOAA records 30 tornadoes in Norman County from 1956 to 2025, the strongest rated EF2, with 3 deaths and 35 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 31 tornadoes whose track touched Norman County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 30: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 4 people, 3 of them in Norman County.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Minnesota.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Norman County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the September 19, 2017 tornado ($4,816 in damage in 2025 dollars).

This tornado began in Norman County, Minnesota, about three miles north-northeast of Lockhart. It tracked about a mile in Norman County, before it crossed into Polk County, where it continued about another three miles. The tornado ended at 701 PM CST, just past the community of Beltrami, Polk County. Peak winds were estimated at 105 mph.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 715989)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Norman County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

50% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Norman County

FEMA's register lists 32 declarations that include Norman County: 27 major disasters, 5 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (18) and severe storm (10).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Norman County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 31 flood or flash flood records for Norman County from 1996 to 2023, on 27 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Norman County ranks 832nd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $2.5 million on 247 claims filed in Norman County; the most in one year was 108 in 1997. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Norman County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Norman County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $5.5 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Norman County

1. Cass County, ND 1,498
2. Polk County 1,469
3. Becker County 951
4. Clay County 823
5. Traill County, ND 708
6. Norman County 640
7. Mahnomen County 451

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in MinnesotaEvery Minnesota tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Winter storms in MinnesotaThe state's winter storm records, by county, year and month
• The Minnesota recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Norman CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Norman County's FEMA declarations (CSV)32 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis