Tornado Risk in McHenry County, ND
McHenry County, ND: what NOAA's tornado record says
37 tornado tracks have crossed McHenry County since 1965 by NOAA's count, roughly one every 2.1 years - the Elevated band on this site's scale. That is the 77th percentile nationally for tornado frequency. North Dakota has 53 counties in this dataset; McHenry County ranks 20 of them by frequency.
The number that matters more than frequency
No violent (EF4-5) tornado has been recorded in McHenry County in NOAA's 76-year database. Of its 37 recorded tracks, 29 were weak (EF0-1) and 1 significant (EF2-3).
Shelter and safe-room economics
North Dakota does not currently have a confirmed state rebate layered on top of FEMA's 75% Hazard Mitigation cost-share, so a McHenry County homeowner should expect the full national range: $2,890-$13,280, $7,645 typical.
Power after the storm, not just shelter during it
Tornado outbreaks routinely knock out power across North Dakota for days, separately from any single house getting hit. A portable battery bank keeps a fridge, phone chargers and a radio running through that gap - cheaper and faster to set up than a generator.
What McHenry County's figure does not tell you
McHenry County's figure is county-wide, not address-specific. McHenry County covers about 1,874 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. McHenry County has about 5,135 residents.