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Nassau County is the fifth-most vulnerable out of over 400 counties across the US when it comes to blizzards, ice storms, and the financial tolls associated with those events, according to a report by HVAC Gnome released on Tuesday, Jan. 30.
Aimed at determining which places may benefit most from a reliable heating system or furnace, the study first used a list from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to separate the 447 counties whose risk of extreme winter weather was labeled as “Relatively High” or “Extremely High.”
From there, the home services site determined what sorts of risk factors should be taken into account to determine a place's vulnerability, ultimately landing on the following three categories:
- Winter Climate (a county’s average historical winter temperature)
- Extreme Weather Risk (including a county’s risk for winter weather, ice storms, and cold waves)
- Financial Risk (which lists a county’s expected annual financial loss from winter weather, ice storms, and cold waves)
Using data from FEMA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, each high-risk place was given a score out of 100 for each category, with an average of all of these equaling the county’s Overall Score.
Nassau County earned an overall score of 58.99, coming in behind its most vulnerable counterparts in Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
Though it was deemed the New York county most at risk by the wintry weather in store for 2024, Nassau was not the only part of the state that made the cut. It was joined by Erie (spot 31), Jefferson (spot 127), Monroe (spot 239), Suffolk (spot 319), and Queens Counties (spot 381).
For the full list, click here.
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