How Likely Is a Tornado in Jo Daviess County, IL?
How likely is a tornado in Jo Daviess County, IL?
Jo Daviess County has recorded 17 tornado touches in NOAA's 76-year database, a rate of roughly one every 4.5 years - our Moderate band. Put another way: Jo Daviess County sees more tornado activity than 45% of US counties. Within Illinois alone, Jo Daviess County ranks 80 of 102 counties for tornado frequency.
Beyond the frequency band: violent history
14 weak and 2 significant tornadoes make up Jo Daviess County's 17-track record - none violent. NOAA has never logged an EF4 or EF5 crossing this county.
The dollar figure Jo Daviess County's rating leads to
Cost nationally: $2,890-$13,280, about $7,645 typical. Illinois 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 Illinois this pass.
What a direct hit isn't required for
The storm that misses Jo Daviess County outright can still take its power out - outbreak-scale outages across Illinois 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 Jo Daviess County's number: it is county-wide, and it covers about 601 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. Jo Daviess County has about 21,528 residents.