How Likely Is a Tornado in Wapello County, IA?
Wapello County, IA: what NOAA's tornado record says
Wapello County has recorded 28 tornado touches in NOAA's 76-year database, a rate of roughly one every 2.7 years - our Elevated band. Put another way: Wapello County sees more tornado activity than 66% of US counties. Within Iowa alone, Wapello County ranks 67 of 99 counties for tornado frequency.
Beyond the frequency band: violent history
19 weak and 9 significant tornadoes make up Wapello County's 28-track record - none violent. NOAA has never logged an EF4 or EF5 crossing this county.
The dollar figure Wapello County's rating leads to
Cost nationally: $2,890-$13,280, about $7,645 typical. Iowa 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 Iowa this pass.
What a direct hit isn't required for
The storm that misses Wapello County outright can still take its power out - outbreak-scale outages across Iowa 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 Wapello County's number: it is county-wide, and it covers about 432 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. Wapello County has about 35,681 residents.