How Likely Is a Tornado in Essex County, MA?
How likely is a tornado in Essex County, MA?
Essex County has recorded 14 tornado touches in NOAA's 76-year database, a rate of roughly one every 5.4 years - our Low band. Put another way: Essex County sees more tornado activity than 40% of US counties. Massachusetts has 14 counties in this dataset; Essex County ranks 7 of them by frequency.
Beyond the frequency band: violent history
11 weak and 3 significant tornadoes make up Essex County's 14-track record - none violent. NOAA has never logged an EF4 or EF5 crossing this county.
The dollar figure Essex County's rating leads to
Cost nationally: $2,890-$13,280, about $7,645 typical. Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts this pass.
What a direct hit isn't required for
823,938 people live in Essex County, and a tornado outbreak's power loss usually reaches far more of Massachusetts 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 Essex County's number: it is county-wide, and it covers about 493 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. Essex County has about 823,938 residents.