Anderson County, Tennessee

What hazards hit Anderson County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 238 since 1956. 47% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1956 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among Tennessee's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Anderson County had?

NOAA records 4 tornadoes in Anderson County from 1953 to 2011, the strongest rated F2, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 5 tornadoes whose track touched Anderson County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 4: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Tennessee.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Anderson County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the January 14, 2024 heavy snow (1 death).

Heavy snowfall fell across Anderson County, with a maximum of 11 inches reported in Oak Ridge. Other reports include: 10 inches reported by the public in Clinton, 8.5 inches from a CoCoRaHS observer in Norris, 8 inches in Heiskell from a public report, 8 inches in Andersonville from a public report, amongst others.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1158345)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Anderson County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

47% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1956 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Anderson County

FEMA's register lists 22 declarations that include Anderson County: 16 major disasters, 5 emergencies and one fire management assistance declaration. Most were for severe storm (10) and flood (4).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Anderson County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 40 flood or flash flood records for Anderson County from 1996 to 2026, on 34 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Anderson County ranks 1624th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $262,000 on 55 claims filed in Anderson County; the most in one year was 20 in 1998. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Anderson County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Anderson County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $29.5 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Anderson County

1. Knox County 867
2. Roane County 443
3. Anderson County 414
4. Morgan County 385
5. Campbell County 356
6. Scott County 334
7. Union County 260

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in TennesseeEvery Tennessee tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in TennesseeThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The Tennessee recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Anderson CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Anderson County's FEMA declarations (CSV)22 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis