Storm risk in Howard County, Indiana

FEMA's overall hazard score for Howard County is 63.68 (Relatively Low), 1,143rd of 3,144 counties. Hail scores 80.15 (Relatively Moderate), strong wind 85.21 (Relatively High) and tornado 83.68 (Relatively Moderate). Expected hail loss is $47 per $1 million of buildings a year; NOAA logged 11 hail reports in Howard County from 2014 to June 2026.

FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026. NOAA hail reports 2014 to June 2026.

Howard County: expected yearly loss per $1 million of buildings for hail, strong wind and tornado, on a log scale, against all U.S. counties and the counties of IN$0.1$1$10$100$1,000Hail: $47 per $1 million, 1,003rd of 3,126 rated counties$47Hail1,003rd of 3,126 countiesStrong wind: $23 per $1 million, 1,437th of 3,121 rated counties$23Strong wind1,437th of 3,121 countiesTornado: $260 per $1 million, 1,230th of 3,144 rated counties$260Tornado1,230th of 3,144 counties
  • Howard County, coloured by its FEMA rating
  • all U.S. counties
  • each county in the state
  • U.S. median
  • state median

Expected yearly loss per $1 million of buildings, log scale. Dot colour is FEMA’s rating band. The tornado lane counts everything exposed, not only buildings.

How FEMA rates Howard County

HazardRatingScore (0 to 100)Rank in U.S.Rank in IN
OverallRelatively Low 63.681,143 of 3,14424 of 92
HailRelatively Moderate 80.15625 of 3,12616 of 92
Strong windRelatively High 85.21466 of 3,12621 of 92
TornadoRelatively Moderate 83.68514 of 3,12620 of 92

Expected yearly loss, in dollars

HazardThis county, total a yearPer $1M of buildingsState median countyU.S. median countyRank per $1M, U.S.Rank per $1M, state
Hail$868,003$47 $40$22 1,003 of 3,12630 of 92
Strong wind$431,126$23 $25$20 1,437 of 3,12153 of 92
Tornado$4,834,802$260 $276$199 1,230 of 3,14454 of 92

Rank 1 is the highest. Overall, hail and wind losses count buildings; the tornado row counts everything FEMA exposes, so it overstates building damage. Expected annual loss is an average over many years for the whole county, not a forecast for one roof.

What stands out in Howard County

  • FEMA expects hail in Howard County to cost $47 per $1 million of buildings a year: 2.09 times the U.S. median and 1.16 times the IN county median, ranked 1,003rd of 3,126 counties nationally and 30th of 92 in Indiana.
  • FEMA expects strong wind in Howard County to cost $23 per $1 million of buildings a year: 1.14 times the U.S. median and 0.92 times the IN county median, ranked 1,437th of 3,121 counties nationally and 53rd of 92 in Indiana.
  • FEMA expects tornado in Howard County to cost $260 per $1 million of buildings a year: 1.30 times the U.S. median and 0.94 times the IN county median, ranked 1,230th of 3,144 counties nationally and 54th of 92 in Indiana.
  • NOAA has only 11 hail reports for Howard County in 12 years, too few for a trend; FEMA's 166 counted hail events cover a longer record.
  • Applying FEMA's estimate to a $151,500 home, the average yearly loss in Howard County is about $7.06 for hail and $3.51 for wind before any deductible; at the U.S. median county rates it would be $3.39 and $3.09.
  • If the next years look like 2014 to 2025, a roof kept 20 years in Howard County meets about 5.0 hail days of 1 inch or more; the median county in NOAA's file (1,275 counties) would give 35.0.
  • Built in 1968, the median home in Howard County is 58 years old, so an original roof has outlived a 3-tab shingle (15 to 20 years) and an architectural one (25 to 30 years); 86.6% of its 39,795 homes are at least 26 years old.
  • March to June holds 11 of the 11 hail reports in Howard County (100 percent); the quietest month is January, with 0 reports.

What hail and wind cost a home here in an average year

Enter a home value. The calculator applies Howard County’s own loss rate: the county’s expected yearly loss divided by the value of its buildings. It starts at the Census median home value for the county.

$7.06hail, a year; $3.39 at the U.S. median county rate
$3.51strong wind, a year; $3.09 at the U.S. median county rate
$211hail and wind together over 20 years, at today’s rate

Formula: home value × Howard County yearly loss ÷ building value. Hail: $868,003 ÷ $18,624,378,134 = 0.0000466. Wind: $431,126 ÷ $18,624,378,134 = 0.0000231. This is FEMA’s estimate of average damage to buildings and does not account for your deductible. Tornado is left out because FEMA’s tornado loss counts people and other exposure, not only buildings.

Read this as a yardstick. The rate is an average over every building in the county, from sheds to office towers, and over many years. Real losses come in rare, large storms; a roof with no damage in 19 years can need full replacement in the 20th. The figure is not a quote and not a prediction for one address.

Howard County in plain numbers

  • Howard County scores 63.68 in FEMA's overall hazard index (Relatively Low): 1,143rd of 3,144 rated counties and 24th of 92 in Indiana.
  • Hail scores 80.15 (Relatively Moderate). FEMA expects $868,003 of hail damage to buildings in Howard County a year, which is $47 per $1 million of buildings, 2.09 times the U.S. median.
  • Strong wind scores 85.21 (Relatively High) with $431,126 of expected yearly building loss in Howard County: $23 per $1 million of buildings, 1.14 times the U.S. median.
  • Tornado scores 83.68 (Relatively Moderate) and FEMA's expected yearly tornado loss is $4,834,802, counting everything exposed, or $260 per $1 million of buildings in Howard County.
  • FEMA's own event record for Howard County averages 4.37 hail events and 5.15 strong-wind events a year.
  • NOAA logged 11 hail reports in Howard County between 2014 and June 2026, on 5 days with stones of 1 inch or more; the largest was 2.85 inches.
  • In Howard County, FEMA counts buildings worth 18.62 billion dollars and 83,653 residents.
  • Social vulnerability is Relatively Moderate in Howard County.
  • Community resilience there is Very High, for 83,653 residents.
  • 1 city in Howard County is covered on this site: Kokomo. 6 Census ZIP areas have more than half of their land in the county.
  • Our guide range for a 2,000 sq ft asphalt roof in Kokomo is $6,230 to $13,795.
  • Howard County ranks 67 of the 194 counties with a page here for hail loss per $1 million of buildings, 51 for wind and 77 for tornado.
  • In Howard County, March is the busiest month with 5 of the 11 reports (45 percent), against 0 reports in September.
  • Howard County's worst year was 2026, with 2 hail days at 1 inch or more and 3 reports. At the 2014 to 2025 pace that is 0.25 such days a year, one about every 48.0 months.
  • The median home in Howard County was built in 1968; 66.5% of its 39,795 housing units date from before 1980, 86.6% from before 2000 and 5.5% from 2010 on.
  • Census puts the median home value in Howard County at $151,500, and 71.9% of homes are lived in by their owners.
  • 1,672 single-family building permits were issued in Howard County from 2014 to 2025, about 42.0 per 1,000 homes, peaking in 2018.
  • NOAA lists 9 tornado tracks in Howard County since 2014; the strongest was an EF3 on August 24, 2016 near Kokomo Ruzicka Arpt, 8.63 miles long.
  • The fastest gust in NOAA's records for Howard County is 96 mph on June 11, 2026 at Kokomo.
  • The nearest county with a page here is Madison County, 30 miles from the centre of Howard County; its hail score is 84.67.

The hail record of Howard County, year by year

NOAA logged 11 reports in Howard County; hail of 1 inch or more fell on 5 days. With so few reports the yearly bars below are small numbers, and a single storm moves them.

Howard County: NOAA hail reports per year, 2014 to June 2026, with the number of days that had hail of 1 inch or more01232014: 1 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0.75 inch142015: 0 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0 inch152016: 0 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0 inch162017: 1 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.25 inch172018: 0 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0 inch182019: 1 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0.88 inch192020: 2 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch202021: 0 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0 inch212022: 0 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0 inch222023: 0 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0 inch232024: 2 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 2.85 inch242025: 1 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0.75 inch252026: 3 reports, 2 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch26*
  • reports
  • days with hail of 1 inch or more
  • * 2026 runs to June only
Howard County: NOAA hail reports by calendar month, 2014 to June 2026January: 0 reports0JanFebruary: 0 reports0FebMarch: 5 reports5MarApril: 4 reports4AprMay: 1 reports1MayJune: 1 reports1JunJuly: 0 reports0JulAugust: 0 reports0AugSeptember: 0 reports0SepOctober: 0 reports0OctNovember: 0 reports0NovDecember: 0 reports0Dec

Reports by calendar month, all years together. Peak: March, 5 reports.

The same numbers as a table (years with at least one report)
YearReportsDays, 1 inch or moreDays, 1.75 inch or moreLargest stoneDamage reported
20141000.75 in–
20171101.25 in–
20191000.88 in–
20202101 in$500
20242112.85 in$50,000
20251000.75 in–
2026 (to June)3211.75 in–

Biggest hail days in Howard County

DateLargest stoneReports that dayDamage reportedNear
March 14, 20242.85 in2$50,000Jerome
April 14, 20261.75 in2none recordedCassville
April 26, 20171.25 in1none recordedKokomo
June 10, 20201 in1$500Greentown
March 22, 20261 in1none recorded(Okk)Kokomo Muni Arp

Where large hail was reported

FEMA scores the county as a whole. NOAA’s reports show where inside Howard County the big stones fell.

Reported hail locations, Howard County

1 in hail1 in hail1.25 in hail1.25 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail2.85 in hail Kokomo
  • 41 to 1.74 in
  • 21.75 to 2.74 in, golf ball to tennis ball
  • 12.75 in and up, baseball

Largest plotted stone: 2.85 in. Bigger dots are bigger stones.

7 reports of 1 inch or larger have coordinates. Each dot is a reported location, not a storm path.

Sources: NOAA, Census county outline

Wind and tornado records for Howard County

Fastest gusts in Howard County

DateGustNear
June 11, 202696 mphKokomo
March 31, 202383 mphRussiaville
June 22, 201682 mphRussiaville
June 23, 201681 mphRussiaville

Strongest tornado tracks in Howard County

DateScaleLengthInjured / killedNear
August 24, 2016EF38.63 mi20 / 0Kokomo Ruzicka Arpt
March 31, 2023EF16.35 mi1 / 0Hemlock
August 24, 2016EF114.06 mi0 / 0Kappa Corner
August 24, 2016EF11.5 mi0 / 0Russiaville

9 tornado tracks in all since 2014; the strongest 4 are listed.

How old the roofs are

Census counts homes by the decade they were built. Under each bar is the number of hail days of 1 inch or more that an original roof from that decade has met, at Howard County’s 2014 to 2025 pace of 0.25 such days a year. Most roofs have been replaced since; the row shows what a roof that never was would have taken.

Howard County: share of homes by decade built, with the hail days at 1 inch or more that an original roof from each decade has met at the county's 2014 to 2025 ratepre-1940: 17.9% of homes17.9%<1940231940s: 6.6% of homes6.6%1940s201950s: 13.2% of homes13.2%1950s181960s: 15.8% of homes15.8%1960s151970s: 13.1% of homes13.1%1970s131980s: 7.8% of homes7.8%1980s101990s: 12.3% of homes12.3%1990s82000s: 7.9% of homes7.9%2000s52010s: 4.8% of homes4.8%2010s32020+: 0.7% of homes0.7%2020+1

Bars: share of 39,795 housing units by decade built. Figures under the decade: hail days met by an original roof, at the county’s 2014 to 2025 pace. The pace of earlier years is unknown.

Median year built1968
Built before 198066.5%
Built before 200086.6%
Built since 20105.5%
Owner-occupied71.9%
Median home value$151,500
Single-family permits, 2014 to 20251,672
Permits per 1,000 homes42.0

Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) and 25 to 30 years (architectural). Source: Census ACS 2019 to 2023 and Building Permits Survey.

Nearby counties

The closest counties that have a risk page, by distance between county centres. Loss is per $1 million of buildings; the columns marked "times here" divide the neighbour's loss by Howard County's.

CountyMilesOverallHail lossHail, times hereWind lossWind, times hereNOAA hail reports
Madison County, IN30 Relatively Low $420.90$6.560.2843
Tippecanoe County, IN41 Relatively Moderate $561.20$4.550.2035
Delaware County, IN42 Relatively Low $461.00$9.790.4224
Allen County, IN70 Relatively Moderate $210.45$140.6273
St. Joseph County, IN78 Relatively Moderate $420.90$4.250.1861
Monroe County, IN92 Relatively Low $210.45$7.610.3344

More Indiana counties, nearest first

All 194 counties, with a filter by state and sorting

Cities and ZIP areas in Howard County

1 city in this county is on PickARoofer. ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are Census shapes that approximate ZIP codes; where we have a city’s ZIPs, the share is the part of each area’s land that lies in this county. 6 such areas have more than half their land here.

CityZIP areas (share of land in the county)Pages
Kokomo 46901 (85%), 46902 (98%) Roofers

Storm hit your roof in Howard County? A free inspection tells you if there is damage. One local roofer answers, not five.

Start an inspection request

Questions

How high is storm risk in Howard County?

FEMA's National Risk Index gives Howard County an overall score of 63.68 (Relatively Low), 1,143rd of 3,144. Hail scores 80.15 (Relatively Moderate), strong wind 85.21 (Relatively High) and tornado 83.68 (Relatively Moderate).

In Howard County, how many hail reports has NOAA logged?

A report is one entry for one storm in one county, so counts follow where people live as well as where hail fell. NOAA has 11 for Howard County between 2014 and June 2026, on 5 days with hail of 1 inch or more; the largest stone was 2.85 inches.

What do hail and wind cost a home in Howard County each year, on average?

Applying FEMA's county rates to its median home value of $151,500: FEMA's estimate is about $7.06 a year for hail and $3.51 for wind, before any deductible, against $3.39 and $3.09 at the U.S. median county rates. This is an average over many years and all buildings, not a prediction for one roof; one bad storm costs far more than the average year.

How does Howard County compare with the rest of Indiana?

Per $1 million of buildings Howard County loses $47 to hail a year, against $40 in the median county of the state. Among 92 rated counties it is 16th for hail, 21st for strong wind and 20th for tornado.

How old are the roofs in Howard County?

The median home was built in 1968, 58 years ago, and 86.6% of the 39,795 housing units in Howard County date from before 2000. Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) or 25 to 30 years (architectural), so an original roof of either kind is past its rated life. The Census does not record when a roof was replaced.

What does expected annual loss mean?

It is FEMA's estimate of the average yearly loss from a hazard, in dollars, summed over the county. It is built for comparing counties at planning level, not for pricing one house.

Does a high rating mean my roof will be damaged?

No. The index compares counties and cannot say what will happen on your street. After a storm, a roof inspection is the only way to know.

Sources for Howard County: FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026; NOAA Storm Events Database hail reports for Howard County; Census Bureau ZCTA-to-county relationship file (2020); Census ACS and Building Permits Survey, homes in Howard County. Planning-level information about Howard County, not an inspection and not insurance advice.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).