Tornado Risk in Iroquois County, IL
Iroquois County's tornado history, by the numbers
58 tornado tracks have crossed Iroquois County since 1954 by NOAA's count, roughly one every 1.3 years - the High band on this site's scale. That is the 91st percentile nationally for tornado frequency. Within Illinois alone, Iroquois County ranks 15 of 102 counties for tornado frequency.
The number that matters more than frequency
No violent (EF4-5) tornado has been recorded in Iroquois County in NOAA's 76-year database. Of its 58 recorded tracks, 40 were weak (EF0-1) and 12 significant (EF2-3).
Shelter and safe-room economics
Illinois does not currently have a confirmed state rebate layered on top of FEMA's 75% Hazard Mitigation cost-share, so a Iroquois County homeowner should expect the full national range: $2,890-$13,280, $7,645 typical.
Power after the storm, not just shelter during it
26,067 people live in Iroquois County, and a tornado outbreak's power loss usually reaches far more of Illinois than the tracks themselves touch. A portable battery unit is the faster, no-fuel way to bridge that outage.
What Iroquois County's figure does not tell you
Iroquois County's figure is county-wide, not address-specific. Iroquois County covers about 1,117 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. Iroquois County has about 26,067 residents.