How Likely Is a Tornado in Monroe County, KY?
How likely is a tornado in Monroe County, KY?
Monroe County has recorded 10 tornado touches in NOAA's 76-year database, a rate of roughly one every 7.6 years - our Low band. Put another way: Monroe County sees more tornado activity than 28% of US counties. Kentucky has 120 counties in this dataset; Monroe County ranks 61 of them by frequency.
Beyond the frequency band: violent history
7 weak and 3 significant tornadoes make up Monroe County's 10-track record - none violent. NOAA has never logged an EF4 or EF5 crossing this county.
The dollar figure Monroe County's rating leads to
Cost nationally: $2,890-$13,280, about $7,645 typical. Kentucky 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 Kentucky this pass.
What a direct hit isn't required for
The storm that misses Monroe County outright can still take its power out - outbreak-scale outages across Kentucky 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 Monroe County's number: it is county-wide, and it covers about 329 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. Monroe County has about 11,163 residents.