Tornado Risk in Monroe County, IA
Monroe County's tornado history, by the numbers
14 tornado tracks have crossed Monroe County since 1964 by NOAA's count, roughly one every 5.4 years - the Low band on this site's scale. That is the 38th percentile nationally for tornado frequency. Within Iowa alone, Monroe County ranks 96 of 99 counties for tornado frequency.
The number that matters more than frequency
No violent (EF4-5) tornado has been recorded in Monroe County in NOAA's 76-year database. Of its 14 recorded tracks, 10 were weak (EF0-1) and 4 significant (EF2-3).
Shelter and safe-room economics
Iowa does not currently have a confirmed state rebate layered on top of FEMA's 75% Hazard Mitigation cost-share, so a Monroe County homeowner should expect the full national range: $2,890-$13,280, $7,645 typical.
Power after the storm, not just shelter during it
The storm that misses Monroe 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 Monroe County's figure does not tell you
Monroe County's figure is county-wide, not address-specific. Monroe County covers about 434 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. Monroe County has about 7,373 residents.