Natural hazards · Normal

Normal, ND natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Normal comes from wildfires, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Normal?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Normal to be higher than in 14% of U.S. communities, mostly from wildfires and cold waves.

Wildfire26%Cold waves26%Inland flooding22%Tornadoes7%Winter weather7%Ice storms5%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Normal faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Wildfire

26% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Cold waves

26% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about 22 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 2% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Winter weather

7% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 21 times a year in the area

Ice storms

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

HailHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Normal flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Normal.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Normal isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: McHenry County.

Disasters that hit Normal

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for McHenry County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Normal itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into NormalDeclared for McHenry County only

McHenry County has had 29 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Normal

Normal and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Normalmostly wildfiresVery low

Willow Creekmostly wildfiresVery low

Ostbymostly cold wavesVery low

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Normal is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Normal’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Normal. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.