Tornado Risk in Daviess County, IN
Daviess County's tornado history, by the numbers
24 tornado tracks have crossed Daviess County since 1956 by NOAA's count, roughly one every 3.2 years - the Moderate band on this site's scale. That is the 59th percentile nationally for tornado frequency. Within Indiana alone, Daviess County ranks 35 of 92 counties for tornado frequency.
The number that matters more than frequency
No violent (EF4-5) tornado has been recorded in Daviess County in NOAA's 76-year database. Of its 24 recorded tracks, 14 were weak (EF0-1) and 10 significant (EF2-3).
Shelter and safe-room economics
A storm shelter or in-residence safe room typically runs $2,890-$13,280 nationally (around $7,645 typical). Indiana's Indiana Department of Homeland Security's Residential Safe Room Program covers 75% of an approved project, up to $5,000 - bringing a typical job down to roughly $722.5-$8,280 out of pocket, when the program is currently funded.
Power after the storm, not just shelter during it
Tornado outbreaks routinely knock out power across Indiana for days, separately from any single house getting hit. A portable battery bank keeps a fridge, phone chargers and a radio running through that gap - cheaper and faster to set up than a generator.
What Daviess County's figure does not tell you
Daviess County's figure is county-wide, not address-specific. Daviess County covers about 430 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. Daviess County has about 34,097 residents.