Tornado Risk in Marquette County, WI
Marquette County's tornado history, by the numbers
27 tornado tracks have crossed Marquette County since 1955 by NOAA's count, roughly one every 2.8 years - the Elevated band on this site's scale. That is the 64th percentile nationally for tornado frequency. Within Wisconsin alone, Marquette County ranks 26 of 72 counties for tornado frequency.
The number that matters more than frequency
No violent (EF4-5) tornado has been recorded in Marquette County in NOAA's 76-year database. Of its 27 recorded tracks, 23 were weak (EF0-1) and 4 significant (EF2-3).
Shelter and safe-room economics
Wisconsin does not currently have a confirmed state rebate layered on top of FEMA's 75% Hazard Mitigation cost-share, so a Marquette County homeowner should expect the full national range: $2,890-$13,280, $7,645 typical.
Power after the storm, not just shelter during it
15,743 people live in Marquette County, and a tornado outbreak's power loss usually reaches far more of Wisconsin than the tracks themselves touch. A portable battery unit is the faster, no-fuel way to bridge that outage.
What Marquette County's figure does not tell you
Marquette County's figure is county-wide, not address-specific. Marquette County covers about 456 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. Marquette County has about 15,743 residents.