How Likely Is a Tornado in Montgomery County, IN?
Montgomery County, IN: what NOAA's tornado record says
Montgomery County has recorded 29 tornado touches in NOAA's 76-year database, a rate of roughly one every 2.6 years - our Elevated band. Put another way: Montgomery County sees more tornado activity than 68% of US counties. Among 92 Indiana counties in this dataset, Montgomery County ranks 18 for how often a tornado touches down.
Beyond the frequency band: violent history
1 tornado touching Montgomery County reached violent (EF4-5) strength since 1950. That single fact carries more weight for the shelter decision than the county's overall frequency band.
The dollar figure Montgomery County's rating leads to
Nationally, storm shelters and safe rooms run $2,890-$13,280. Because Montgomery County is in Indiana, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security's Residential Safe Room Program can cut that by 75% (capped at $5,000), to about $722.5-$8,280 net - check current funding status before counting on it.
What a direct hit isn't required for
The storm that misses Montgomery County outright can still take its power out - outbreak-scale outages across Indiana 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 Montgomery County's number: it is county-wide, and it covers about 505 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. Montgomery County has about 38,633 residents.