Tornado Risk in Rockingham County, VA
Rockingham County, VA: what NOAA's tornado record says
10 tornado tracks have crossed Rockingham County since 1952 by NOAA's count, roughly one every 7.6 years - the Low band on this site's scale. That is the 29th percentile nationally for tornado frequency. Within Virginia alone, Rockingham County ranks 37 of 133 counties for tornado frequency.
The number that matters more than frequency
No violent (EF4-5) tornado has been recorded in Rockingham County in NOAA's 76-year database. Of its 10 recorded tracks, 7 were weak (EF0-1) and 3 significant (EF2-3).
Shelter and safe-room economics
Virginia does not currently have a confirmed state rebate layered on top of FEMA's 75% Hazard Mitigation cost-share, so a Rockingham County homeowner should expect the full national range: $2,890-$13,280, $7,645 typical.
Power after the storm, not just shelter during it
The storm that misses Rockingham County outright can still take its power out - outbreak-scale outages across Virginia are common well beyond the tracked path. A battery-backup unit handles that without a generator's setup or fuel.
What Rockingham County's figure does not tell you
Rockingham County's figure is county-wide, not address-specific. Rockingham County covers about 850 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. Rockingham County has about 87,674 residents.