How Likely Is a Tornado in Nez Perce County, ID?
Nez Perce County's tornado history, by the numbers
Nez Perce County has recorded 3 tornado touches in NOAA's 76-year database, a rate of roughly one every 25.6 years - our Minimal band. Put another way: Nez Perce County sees more tornado activity than 12% of US counties. Within Idaho alone, Nez Perce County ranks 25 of 44 counties for tornado frequency.
Beyond the frequency band: violent history
2 weak and 1 significant tornadoes make up Nez Perce County's 3-track record - none violent. NOAA has never logged an EF4 or EF5 crossing this county.
The dollar figure Nez Perce County's rating leads to
Cost nationally: $2,890-$13,280, about $7,645 typical. Idaho 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 Idaho this pass.
What a direct hit isn't required for
The storm that misses Nez Perce County outright can still take its power out - outbreak-scale outages across Idaho 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 Nez Perce County's number: it is county-wide, and it covers about 848 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. Nez Perce County has about 42,847 residents.