Tornado Risk in Sussex County, VA
Sussex County, VA: what NOAA's tornado record says
10 tornado tracks have crossed Sussex County since 1975 by NOAA's count, roughly one every 7.6 years - the Low band on this site's scale. That is the 28th percentile nationally for tornado frequency. Among 133 Virginia counties in this dataset, Sussex County ranks 43 for how often a tornado touches down.
The number that matters more than frequency
No violent (EF4-5) tornado has been recorded in Sussex County in NOAA's 76-year database. Of its 10 recorded tracks, 8 were weak (EF0-1) and 2 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 Sussex 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 Sussex 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 Sussex County's figure does not tell you
Sussex County's figure is county-wide, not address-specific. Sussex County covers about 490 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. Sussex County has about 10,753 residents.