How Likely Is a Tornado in Ida County, IA?
Ida County's tornado history, by the numbers
Ida County has recorded 16 tornado touches in NOAA's 76-year database, a rate of roughly one every 4.7 years - our Moderate band. Put another way: Ida County sees more tornado activity than 42% of US counties. Among 99 Iowa counties in this dataset, Ida County ranks 93 for how often a tornado touches down.
Beyond the frequency band: violent history
8 weak and 6 significant tornadoes make up Ida County's 16-track record - none violent. NOAA has never logged an EF4 or EF5 crossing this county.
The dollar figure Ida County's rating leads to
Cost nationally: $2,890-$13,280, about $7,645 typical. Iowa 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 Iowa this pass.
What a direct hit isn't required for
The storm that misses Ida County outright can still take its power out - outbreak-scale outages across Iowa are common well beyond the tracked path. A battery-backup unit handles that without a generator's setup or fuel.
What this number is, and is not
One caveat before relying on Ida County's number: it is county-wide, and it covers about 432 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. Ida County has about 6,810 residents.