How Likely Is a Tornado in Bayfield County, WI?
How likely is a tornado in Bayfield County, WI?
Bayfield County has recorded 5 tornado touches in NOAA's 76-year database, a rate of roughly one every 15.2 years - our Minimal band. Put another way: Bayfield County sees more tornado activity than 16% of US counties. Wisconsin has 72 counties in this dataset; Bayfield County ranks 69 of them by frequency.
Beyond the frequency band: violent history
4 weak and 1 significant tornadoes make up Bayfield County's 5-track record - none violent. NOAA has never logged an EF4 or EF5 crossing this county.
The dollar figure Bayfield County's rating leads to
Cost nationally: $2,890-$13,280, about $7,645 typical. Wisconsin has no state rebate program confirmed here; FEMA's underlying 75% cost-share exists nationwide, but applying through a state program is what usually makes it real, and none was found for Wisconsin this pass.
What a direct hit isn't required for
The storm that misses Bayfield County outright can still take its power out - outbreak-scale outages across Wisconsin are common well beyond the tracked path. A battery-backup unit handles that without a generator's setup or fuel.
What this number is, and is not
One caveat before relying on Bayfield County's number: it is county-wide, and it covers about 1,478 square miles, so a single touch counts the same as one in a county a fraction of that size. Weaker pre-1990s tornadoes are also documented as undercounted in NOAA's own record. Bayfield County has about 16,838 residents.