How Likely Is a Tornado in Chautauqua County, KS?
Chautauqua County, KS: what NOAA's tornado record says
Chautauqua County has recorded 23 tornado touches in NOAA's 76-year database, a rate of roughly one every 3.3 years - our Moderate band. Put another way: Chautauqua County sees more tornado activity than 56% of US counties. Among 105 Kansas counties in this dataset, Chautauqua County ranks 95 for how often a tornado touches down.
Beyond the frequency band: violent history
20 weak and 1 significant tornadoes make up Chautauqua County's 23-track record - none violent. NOAA has never logged an EF4 or EF5 crossing this county.
The dollar figure Chautauqua County's rating leads to
Cost nationally: $2,890-$13,280, about $7,645 typical. Kansas 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 Kansas this pass.
What a direct hit isn't required for
The storm that misses Chautauqua County outright can still take its power out - outbreak-scale outages across Kansas 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 Chautauqua County's number: it is county-wide, and it covers about 639 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. Chautauqua County has about 3,339 residents.