Tornado Risk in Morgan County, TN
Morgan County's tornado history, by the numbers
9 tornado tracks have crossed Morgan County since 1965 by NOAA's count, roughly one every 8.5 years - the Low band on this site's scale. That is the 26th percentile nationally for tornado frequency. Among 95 Tennessee counties in this dataset, Morgan County ranks 72 for how often a tornado touches down.
The number that matters more than frequency
No violent (EF4-5) tornado has been recorded in Morgan County in NOAA's 76-year database. Of its 9 recorded tracks, 6 were weak (EF0-1) and 3 significant (EF2-3).
Shelter and safe-room economics
Tennessee does not currently have a confirmed state rebate layered on top of FEMA's 75% Hazard Mitigation cost-share, so a Morgan County homeowner should expect the full national range: $2,890-$13,280, $7,645 typical.
Power after the storm, not just shelter during it
Power loss after a tornado outbreak in Tennessee often reaches homes the storm itself never touched. A battery-backup unit covers the outage without the fuel and venting a generator needs.
What Morgan County's figure does not tell you
Morgan County's figure is county-wide, not address-specific. Morgan County covers about 522 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. Morgan County has about 21,954 residents.