Tornado Risk in Caribou County, ID
Caribou County's tornado history, by the numbers
4 tornado tracks have crossed Caribou County since 1962 by NOAA's count, roughly one every 18.9 years - the Minimal band on this site's scale. That is the 13th percentile nationally for tornado frequency. Within Idaho alone, Caribou County ranks 22 of 44 counties for tornado frequency.
The number that matters more than frequency
No violent (EF4-5) tornado has been recorded in Caribou County in NOAA's 76-year database. Of its 4 recorded tracks, 4 were weak (EF0-1) and 0 significant (EF2-3).
Shelter and safe-room economics
Idaho does not currently have a confirmed state rebate layered on top of FEMA's 75% Hazard Mitigation cost-share, so a Caribou County homeowner should expect the full national range: $2,890-$13,280, $7,645 typical.
Power after the storm, not just shelter during it
The storm that misses Caribou County outright can still take its power out - outbreak-scale outages across Idaho are common well beyond the tracked path. A battery-backup unit handles that without a generator's setup or fuel.
What Caribou County's figure does not tell you
Caribou County's figure is county-wide, not address-specific. Caribou County covers about 1,764 square miles, so a single touch here counts the same as a single touch in a county a fraction of that size. NOAA also documents that older records undercount weaker tornadoes from before Doppler radar became standard. Caribou County has about 7,239 residents.