Tornado Risk in Howard County, MD
Howard County, MD: what NOAA's tornado record says
19 tornado tracks have crossed Howard County since 1975 by NOAA's count, roughly one every 4 years - the Moderate band on this site's scale. That is the 50th percentile nationally for tornado frequency. Within Maryland alone, Howard County ranks 10 of 24 counties for tornado frequency.
The number that matters more than frequency
No violent (EF4-5) tornado has been recorded in Howard County in NOAA's 76-year database. Of its 19 recorded tracks, 16 were weak (EF0-1) and 3 significant (EF2-3).
Shelter and safe-room economics
Maryland does not currently have a confirmed state rebate layered on top of FEMA's 75% Hazard Mitigation cost-share, so a Howard County homeowner should expect the full national range: $2,890-$13,280, $7,645 typical.
Power after the storm, not just shelter during it
The storm that misses Howard County outright can still take its power out - outbreak-scale outages across Maryland are common well beyond the tracked path. A battery-backup unit handles that without a generator's setup or fuel.
What Howard County's figure does not tell you
Howard County's figure is county-wide, not address-specific. Howard County covers about 251 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. Howard County has about 339,668 residents.