How Likely Is a Tornado in Ouray County, CO?
Ouray County, CO: what NOAA's tornado record says
In 76 years of NOAA/SPC tracking, Ouray County has no recorded tornado track. Zero is the honest answer here, not missing data. Put another way: Ouray County sees more tornado activity than 1% of US counties. Among 64 Colorado counties in this dataset, Ouray County ranks 61 for how often a tornado touches down.
Beyond the frequency band: violent history
0 weak and 0 significant tornadoes make up Ouray County's 0-track record - none violent. NOAA has never logged an EF4 or EF5 crossing this county.
The dollar figure Ouray County's rating leads to
Cost nationally: $2,890-$13,280, about $7,645 typical. Colorado 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 Colorado this pass.
What a direct hit isn't required for
The storm that misses Ouray County outright can still take its power out - outbreak-scale outages across Colorado 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 Ouray County's number: it is county-wide, and it covers about 541 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. Ouray County has about 5,197 residents.