As long as you mention the New Madrid fault, you might as well mention volcanoes (Mt. St. Helens) as well as earthquakes (potential for a 9+ and associated tsunami) in the northwest. Then there’s the supervolcano in Yellowstone. Really, it’s a matter of choosing your poison. Do you want to face drought and wildfires, or baseball-sized hail, or hurricanes, or -40 weeks, or earthquakes and/or tsunamis, or periodic torrential rainfall and flooding (Fargo, ND)? Not to mention the people who live in various places.
Fargo, ND, Morehead, MN, Grand Forks,ND, and a host of smaller towns lie on what was the bottom of Glacial Lake Agassiz.
The problem isn't one of torrential rains so much as the incredibly flat landscape and the spring thaw.
After the Red River of the North gets out of its banks a couple feet of rise translates into a couple of miles coverage on either side of the river.
It is a seasonal thing, and it has been going on for a long time.
In general, North Dakota has a climate far colder than most of the Lower 48 (Except parts of Minnesota and some mountainous areas). We just got our power back on after 60+hours due to a spring blizard (I'm in the Northwest part of the state). While people much further south are starting to pick some of their early crops in their gardens. We still have six weeks before our last frost is history.
Spoken like a true Geographer! I moved to Michigan from Florida to be closer to family. Housing is very affordable due to all the foreclosures and lack of jobs. That all said, if you are employable, and like four seasons, southwest Michigan is pretty darn nice...and then you can go on weekend outings up north where it is even prettier.