Tornado Risk in Phillips County, MT
Phillips County's tornado history, by the numbers
15 tornado tracks have crossed Phillips County since 1971 by NOAA's count, roughly one every 5.1 years - the Low band on this site's scale. That is the 40th percentile nationally for tornado frequency. Montana has 56 counties in this dataset; Phillips County ranks 10 of them by frequency.
The number that matters more than frequency
No violent (EF4-5) tornado has been recorded in Phillips County in NOAA's 76-year database. Of its 15 recorded tracks, 14 were weak (EF0-1) and 0 significant (EF2-3).
Shelter and safe-room economics
Montana does not currently have a confirmed state rebate layered on top of FEMA's 75% Hazard Mitigation cost-share, so a Phillips County homeowner should expect the full national range: $2,890-$13,280, $7,645 typical.
Power after the storm, not just shelter during it
A direct hit is not required for Phillips County to lose power - outbreak-wide outages across Montana regularly reach homes and businesses well outside the actual tracks. A battery bank covers that gap without a generator's fuel and venting needs.
What Phillips County's figure does not tell you
Phillips County's figure is county-wide, not address-specific. Phillips County covers about 5,140 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. Phillips County has about 4,214 residents.