How Likely Is a Tornado in Rush County, KS?
How likely is a tornado in Rush County, KS?
Rush County has recorded 55 tornado touches in NOAA's 76-year database, a rate of roughly one every 1.4 years - our High band. Put another way: Rush County sees more tornado activity than 90% of US counties. Within Kansas alone, Rush County ranks 28 of 105 counties for tornado frequency.
Beyond the frequency band: violent history
46 weak and 9 significant tornadoes make up Rush County's 55-track record - none violent. NOAA has never logged an EF4 or EF5 crossing this county.
The dollar figure Rush County's rating leads to
Cost nationally: $2,890-$13,280, about $7,645 typical. Kansas 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 Kansas this pass.
What a direct hit isn't required for
2,810 people live in Rush County, and a tornado outbreak's power loss usually reaches far more of Kansas than the tracks themselves touch. A portable battery unit is the faster, no-fuel way to bridge that outage.
What this number is, and is not
One caveat before relying on Rush County's number: it is county-wide, and it covers about 718 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. Rush County has about 2,810 residents.