Norman County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 344 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 44.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,528 nationally and #49 in Minnesota.
344
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
35
Direct injuries
$29.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Norman County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Norman County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 5.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 124 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 51 events fall before 1990 and 293 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Norman County, Minnesota record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $26.1M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Norman County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 153 | 0 | $75K | 2.75 | 1965–2024 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 131 | 0 | $1.0M | 87 | 1958–2025 |
| Tornado | 30 | 3 | $26.1M | F2 | 1956–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 1998–2022 |
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $1.4M | 0 | 2006–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2020 |
Decade by decade
Norman County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
31 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 27 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978-07-05 | EF2 | 4 | 44 | 57.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-07-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-07-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2016-08-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-07-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-06-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-06-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-08-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 20.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-06-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-09-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Norman County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 5, 1978 | Tornado | 3 | 35 | $25.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado originated 4 miles east-northeast of Hillsboro, in Traill County, North Dakota, at 648 pm CST. It crossed the Red River about one mile west of Halstad. The tornado snapped H-pole power poles, crushed steel grain bins, snapped numerous oak and ash trees, and toppled a barn along its path. Peak winds were estimated at 130 mph.
This tornado collapsed at least one shed, snapped numerous trees, and tossed large round hay bales across a sugar beet field. It also snapped at least a half dozen wooden power poles. Peak winds were estimated at 125 mph. The tornado continued into Clay County, where it ended two miles north of Ulen, at 806 pm CST.
A persistent rotating wall cloud produced a short lived funnel and brief tornado. Some metal roofing was torn off a farm building and several 8 to 10 inch diameter trees were snapped off at one farmstead. Peak winds were estimated at 90 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
6,367
Population (ACS)
$147K
Median home value
32
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 19, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 13, 2022 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 7, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 12, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 10, 2011 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Norman County, Minnesota?
344 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $29.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Norman County?
Hail, with 153 recorded events — 44.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Norman County?
31 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 27 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Norman County?
32 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Norman County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Norman County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Norman County as very low risk, placing it in the 14 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Norman County, Minnesota severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Nobles County 451
- Olmsted County 838
- Nicollet County 269
- Otter Tail County 1,051
- Murray County 296
- Pennington County 209
Cite this page
“Norman County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/norman-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.