Tornado Risk in Crawford County, IA
Crawford County's tornado history, by the numbers
45 tornado tracks have crossed Crawford County since 1952 by NOAA's count, roughly one every 1.7 years - the High band on this site's scale. That is the 84th percentile nationally for tornado frequency. Iowa has 99 counties in this dataset; Crawford County ranks 25 of them by frequency.
The number that matters more than frequency
No violent (EF4-5) tornado has been recorded in Crawford County in NOAA's 76-year database. Of its 45 recorded tracks, 32 were weak (EF0-1) and 10 significant (EF2-3).
Shelter and safe-room economics
Iowa does not currently have a confirmed state rebate layered on top of FEMA's 75% Hazard Mitigation cost-share, so a Crawford County homeowner should expect the full national range: $2,890-$13,280, $7,645 typical.
Power after the storm, not just shelter during it
Power loss after a tornado outbreak in Iowa often reaches homes the storm itself never touched. A battery-backup unit covers the outage without the fuel and venting a generator needs.
What Crawford County's figure does not tell you
Crawford County's figure is county-wide, not address-specific. Crawford County covers about 714 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. Crawford County has about 16,378 residents.