Top counties by tornado risk
Tornado risk concentrates in the central and southern plains ("Tornado Alley") and the Southeast ("Dixie Alley"), where atmospheric conditions favor supercell thunderstorm development. The highest scores often belong to counties with significant mobile home and manufactured housing stock, which carries disproportionate tornado mortality risk.
3,144 counties scored 37 rated Very High Showing top 50
| # | County | State | NRI score | Rating | NOAA events 2016–2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cook County | IL | 100 | Very High | 33 |
| 2 | Harris County | TX | 100 | Very High | 33 |
| 3 | Bexar County | TX | 99.9 | Very High | 5 |
| 4 | Collin County | TX | 99.9 | Very High | 9 |
| 5 | Tarrant County | TX | 99.9 | Very High | 20 |
| 6 | Shelby County | TN | 99.8 | Very High | 1 |
| 7 | Dallas County | TX | 99.8 | Very High | 12 |
| 8 | Denton County | TX | 99.8 | Very High | 10 |
| 9 | Hillsborough County | FL | 99.7 | Very High | 8 |
| 10 | Jefferson County | KY | 99.7 | Very High | 11 |
| 11 | Oakland County | MI | 99.7 | Very High | 4 |
| 12 | Travis County | TX | 99.7 | Very High | 5 |
| 13 | Jefferson County | AL | 99.6 | Very High | 17 |
| 14 | East Baton Rouge Parish | LA | 99.6 | Very High | 8 |
| 15 | Hennepin County | MN | 99.6 | Very High | 3 |
| 16 | Wayne County | MI | 99.5 | Very High | 8 |
| 17 | Jackson County | MO | 99.5 | Very High | 15 |
| 18 | Oklahoma County | OK | 99.5 | Very High | 27 |
| 19 | Douglas County | NE | 99.4 | Very High | 6 |
| 20 | Hamilton County | OH | 99.4 | Very High | 4 |
| 21 | Montgomery County | TX | 99.4 | Very High | 7 |
| 22 | DuPage County | IL | 99.3 | Very High | 20 |
| 23 | Sedgwick County | KS | 99.3 | Very High | 1 |
| 24 | Macomb County | MI | 99.3 | Very High | 2 |
| 25 | Pulaski County | AR | 99.2 | Very High | 15 |
| 26 | Will County | IL | 99.2 | Very High | 33 |
| 27 | Fort Bend County | TX | 99.2 | Very High | 11 |
| 28 | Orange County | FL | 99.1 | Very High | 8 |
| 29 | Lake County | IN | 99.1 | Very High | 16 |
| 30 | Tulsa County | OK | 99.1 | Very High | 25 |
| 31 | Pinellas County | FL | 99 | Very High | 19 |
| 32 | Marion County | IN | 99 | Very High | 3 |
| 33 | Cuyahoga County | OH | 99 | Very High | 6 |
| 34 | Milwaukee County | WI | 99 | Very High | 1 |
| 35 | Lake County | IL | 98.9 | Very High | 5 |
| 36 | Johnson County | KS | 98.9 | Very High | 7 |
| 37 | St. Louis | MO | 98.9 | Very High | 1 |
| 38 | Lancaster County | NE | 98.8 | Relatively High | 12 |
| 39 | Lubbock County | TX | 98.8 | Relatively High | 4 |
| 40 | McLennan County | TX | 98.8 | Relatively High | 10 |
| 41 | Miami-Dade County | FL | 98.7 | Relatively High | 16 |
| 42 | Ramsey County | MN | 98.7 | Relatively High | 1 |
| 43 | Philadelphia County | PA | 98.7 | Relatively High | 3 |
| 44 | Kane County | IL | 98.6 | Relatively High | 23 |
| 45 | Hamilton County | TN | 98.6 | Relatively High | 2 |
| 46 | Bell County | TX | 98.6 | Relatively High | 9 |
| 47 | Madison County | AL | 98.5 | Relatively High | 23 |
| 48 | Genesee County | MI | 98.5 | Relatively High | 6 |
| 49 | Jefferson County | TX | 98.5 | Relatively High | 9 |
| 50 | Pasco County | FL | 98.4 | Relatively High | 12 |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0, December 2025. Scores are 0–100 percentile rankings among all US counties — a score of 95 means this county's expected annual loss from tornado exceeds 95% of all other counties. See the methodology page for definitions. Download the full CSV for all 3,144 scored counties.
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