How Likely Is a Tornado in Curry County, NM?
Curry County, NM: what NOAA's tornado record says
Curry County has recorded 56 tornado touches in NOAA's 76-year database, a rate of roughly one every 1.4 years - our High band. Put another way: Curry County sees more tornado activity than 91% of US counties. New Mexico has 33 counties in this dataset; Curry County ranks 4 of them by frequency.
Beyond the frequency band: violent history
49 weak and 2 significant tornadoes make up Curry County's 56-track record - none violent. NOAA has never logged an EF4 or EF5 crossing this county.
The dollar figure Curry County's rating leads to
Cost nationally: $2,890-$13,280, about $7,645 typical. New Mexico 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 New Mexico this pass.
What a direct hit isn't required for
47,156 people live in Curry County, and a tornado outbreak's power loss usually reaches far more of New Mexico than the tracks themselves touch. A portable battery unit is the faster, no-fuel way to bridge that outage.
What this number is, and is not
One caveat before relying on Curry County's number: it is county-wide, and it covers about 1,406 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. Curry County has about 47,156 residents.