Dyer County, Tennessee
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 47045 · population 36,762 · 512 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 490 records for Dyer County, Tennessee from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 416 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (140 records). The deadliest single record is the April 2, 2006 tornado: 16 deaths, 70 injuries and $29.3 million in damage in 2025 dollars. FEMA has issued 24 declarations naming the county since 1973, 22 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storm” on February 6, 2026.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 490on 416 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 37148 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $167Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 33strongest F4
- FEMA declarations
- 24latest 2026
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Dyer County most?
The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 140 since 1956. 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.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 140 | 125 | 1956-2026 | 0 | 0 | $8.1M | 78 of 95 |
| Heat | 106 | 103 | 2007-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 7 of 95 |
| Winter storms | 65 | 65 | 1996-2025 | 1 | 1 | $52K | 49 of 95 |
| Hail | 55 | 45 | 1967-2026 | 0 | 0 | $405K | 77 of 95 |
| Floods | 36 | 32 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 0 | $20M | 69 of 95 |
| Tornadoes | 33 | 27 | 1952-2026 | 35 | 146 | $138M | 13 of 95 |
| Drought | 30 | 30 | 2007-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 39 of 95 |
| Extreme cold | 12 | 12 | 2007-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 of 95 |
| Lightning | 6 | 6 | 1996-2007 | 1 | 1 | $221K | 29 of 95 |
| High wind and dust storms | 5 | 5 | 1996-2023 | 0 | 0 | $66K | 78 of 95 |
| Hurricanes and tropical storms | 2 | 2 | 2005-2008 | 0 | 0 | $152K | 8 of 95 |
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 Dyer County had?
NOAA records 33 tornadoes in Dyer County from 1952 to 2026, the strongest rated F4, with 35 deaths and 146 injuries recorded in the county. That is 13th of 95 Tennessee counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. 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 32 tornadoes whose track touched Dyer County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 33: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 35 people.
| Date | Tornado | Rating | Path | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-04-02 18:32, as SPC files it | Newbern | F3 | 18 mi | 16 |
| 1952-03-21 20:30, as SPC files it | Dyersburg | F3 | 18.1 mi | 10 |
| 1952-03-21 20:30, as SPC files it | Newbern | F4 | 2 mi | 4 |
| 1952-03-21 18:00, as SPC files it | Yorkville | F4 | 4.7 mi | 2 |
| 1998-04-16 03:00, as SPC files it | Dyersburg | F3 | 4 mi | 2 |
| 1997-03-01 19:00, as SPC files it | Dyersburg | F4 | 15 mi | 1 |
| 2021-12-10 22:32, as SPC files it | Newbern to DresdenCrossed KY, TN | EF3 | 122.62 mi | 0 |
| 1982-04-02 19:20, as SPC files it | Dyersburg | F3 | 8 mi | 0 |
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Tennessee.
Every tornado record filed for Dyer County (33)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-27 | Dyersburg, Dyer County | EF0 0.98 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K |
| 2025-04-02 | Jenkinsville, Dyer County | EF1 4.7 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $1.9M |
| 2021-12-10 | Newbern, Dyer County | EF2 6.16 mi x 1,000 yd | 0 | 0 | $708K |
| 2017-07-03 | Newbern, Dyer County | EF0 0.31 mi x 75 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2017-03-01 | Dyersburg, Dyer County | EF0 3.71 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $60K |
| 2009-05-24 | Midway, Dyer County | EF0 3.88 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2008-05-02 | Chic, Dyer County | EF2 1.37 mi x 40 yd | 0 | 0 | $55K |
| 2008-01-08 | South Fork, Dyer County | EF1 3.46 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | $27K |
| 2006-04-02 | Newbern, Dyer County | F3 18 mi x 880 yd | 16 | 70 | $29M |
| 2004-10-18 | Evansville, Dyer County | F1 0.5 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 1 | $1.6M |
| 2003-05-04 | Dyersburg, Dyer County | F0 1 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $16K |
| 2003-05-04 | Newbern, Dyer County | F1 2 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | $40K |
| 2003-05-04 | Finley, Dyer County | F1 4 mi x 150 yd | 0 | 0 | $321K |
| 2003-05-04 | Dyersburg, Dyer County | F2 15 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 10 | $80M |
| 2001-06-27 | Unionville, Dyer County | F0 0.3 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 2001-06-27 | Dyersburg, Dyer County | F0 0.3 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 1998-04-16 | Ro Ellen, Dyer County | F3 4 mi x 100 yd | 2 | 3 | $453K |
| 1997-03-01 | Chic, Dyer County | F4 15 mi x 200 yd | 1 | 15 | $3.7M |
| 1996-01-18 | Miston, Dyer County | F0 0.3 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | $19K |
| 1991-06-15 | Dyer County | F0 0.2 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1989-06-11 | Dyer County | F0 0.9 mi x 17 yd | 0 | 0 | $250 step |
| 1982-04-02 | Dyer County | F3 8 mi x 77 yd | 0 | 1 | $2.5M step |
| 1979-05-03 | Dyer County | F1 0.5 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1978-04-17 | Dyer County | F0 0.2 mi x 220 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1975-11-10 | Dyer County | F1 0.1 mi x 23 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1973-04-19 | Dyer County | F1 | 0 | 1 | $25K step |
| 1968-04-03 | Dyer County | F1 0.1 mi x 3 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1957-06-27 | Dyer County | F1 2 mi x 13 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1953-03-22 | Dyer County | F2 30.1 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1953-03-14 | Dyer County | F1 0.2 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1952-03-21 | Dyer County | F4 2 mi x 200 yd | 4 | 5 | $250K step |
| 1952-03-21 | Dyer County | F3 18.1 mi x 1,000 yd | 10 | 30 | $250K step |
| 1952-03-21 | Dyer County | F4 4.7 mi x 200 yd | 2 | 10 | $250K step |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
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 Dyer County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 13, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($5,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-30 | HeatDyer County · forecast zone Dyer | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-29 | HeatDyer County · forecast zone Dyer | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-13 | Thunderstorm WindNewbern, Dyer County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $5K |
| 2026-06-13 | Thunderstorm WindTrimble, Dyer County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $5K |
| 2026-06-01 | DroughtDyer County · forecast zone Dyer | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-01 | DroughtDyer County · forecast zone Dyer | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-27 | HailDyersburg, Dyer County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-27 | TornadoDyersburg, Dyer County | EF0 0.98 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K |
| 2026-04-01 | DroughtDyer County · forecast zone Dyer | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-24 | DroughtDyer County · forecast zone Dyer | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillDyer County · forecast zone Dyer | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | DroughtDyer County · forecast zone Dyer | 0 | 0 | – |
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
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-04-02 | TornadoNewbern, Dyer County A tornado spawned from the same parent supercell that produced damaging tornadoes west of the Mississippi River moved across Dyer County during the evening of April 2nd. The most affected areas were Millsfield, Maxey, and Newbern. The F3 tornado resulted in sixteen fatalities and 70 injuries. Seventy-one homes were ... | F3 18 mi x 880 yd | 16 | 70 | $29M |
| 1952-03-21 | TornadoDyer County | F3 18.1 mi x 1,000 yd | 10 | 30 | $250K step |
| 1952-03-21 | TornadoDyer County | F4 2 mi x 200 yd | 4 | 5 | $250K step |
| 1952-03-21 | TornadoDyer County | F4 4.7 mi x 200 yd | 2 | 10 | $250K step |
| 1998-04-16 | TornadoRo Ellen, Dyer County The tornado started west of Ro Ellen and moved east. One mobile home with two persons inside was destroyed. The two persons in the mobile home were killed. Two other mobile homes were destroyed. A brick home was destroyed with a truck thrown on top of the house. Several other homes were damaged. Numerous trees and ... | F3 4 mi x 100 yd | 2 | 3 | $453K |
| 1997-03-01 | TornadoChic, Dyer County A tornado developed in Mississippi county Arkansas near the town of Lennie. Three mobile homes were damaged or destroyed and a cotton trailer was over turned. The tornado touched down again in Dyer county in Tennessee. The most severe damage with the tornado occurred in Dyer county. A thirteen-year-old girl was killed ... | F4 15 mi x 200 yd | 1 | 15 | $3.7M |
| 2006-05-30 | LightningNewbern, Dyer County A 37 year old man was killed when lightning struck a tree he was using for a shelter at the Oakview Links Golf Course. A 33 year old man was injured in the same strike and was transported to a hospital in Memphis. | 1 | 1 | $15 | |
| 2012-12-25 | Winter StormDyer County · forecast zone Dyer Snow accumulations of three inches fell across Dyer County. One fatality occurred from a car accident. | 1 | 0 | – |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-05-04 | TornadoDyersburg, Dyer County | F2 15 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 10 | $80M |
| 2006-04-02 | TornadoNewbern, Dyer County | F3 18 mi x 880 yd | 16 | 70 | $29M |
| 2010-05-02 | FloodDyersburg, Dyer County | 0 | 0 | $13M | |
| 2011-04-19 | Thunderstorm WindChic, Dyer County | 65 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $6.5M |
| 1997-03-01 | FloodDyer County · forecast zone Dyer | 0 | 0 | $3.7M | |
| 2025-04-02 | TornadoJenkinsville, Dyer County | EF1 4.7 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $1.9M |
| 2004-10-18 | TornadoEvansville, Dyer County | F1 0.5 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 1 | $1.6M |
| 2025-04-06 | FloodCalvary, Dyer County | 0 | 0 | $1.3M |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $2.5M, in the dollars of the day) holds: April 2, 1982 (tornado, Dyer County).
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 Dyer 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).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 5 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 25 | 27 | 30 | 20 |
| Heat | – | – | – | – | 0 | 1 | 32 | 73 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 3 | 17 | 30 | 15 |
| Hail | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 20 | 6 | 12 |
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 7 | 8 | 13 | 8 |
| Tornadoes | 6 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 3 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
Records by month in Dyer County. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 40 · Feb 47 · Mar 38 · Apr 53 · May 56 · Jun 58 · Jul 94 · Aug 44 · Sep 7 · Oct 11 · Nov 16 · Dec 26 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Dyer County
FEMA's register lists 24 declarations that include Dyer County: 18 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (10) and flood (5).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-06 | DR-4898 | Winter Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2026-01-24 | EM-3635 | Winter Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2025-06-19 | DR-4878 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2025-04-02 | EM-3625 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2022-01-14 | DR-4637 | Tornado | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes |
| 2021-12-13 | EM-3576 | Tornado | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes |
| 2020-07-09 | DR-4550 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding |
| 2020-04-02 | DR-4514 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3473 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2019-04-17 | DR-4427 | Flood | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides |
| 2011-05-09 | DR-1979 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2011-05-04 | EM-3321 | Flood | Flooding |
| 2010-05-04 | DR-1909 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes |
| 2009-02-17 | DR-1821 | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storm and Flooding |
| 2006-04-05 | DR-1634 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Tornadoes |
| 2005-09-05 | EM-3217 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2003-05-08 | DR-1464 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 1998-04-20 | DR-1215 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding |
| 1997-03-07 | DR-1167 | Tornado | Heavy Rains, Tornadoes, Flooding, Hail, High Winds |
| 1994-02-28 | DR-1010 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Ice Storm,Flash Flooding |
| 1991-01-04 | DR-889 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1979-05-07 | DR-585 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding |
| 1975-03-22 | DR-459 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1973-05-11 | DR-382 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
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 Dyer County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 36 flood or flash flood records for Dyer County from 1996 to 2025, on 32 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Dyer County ranks 750th of 2,942 U.S. counties.
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $7.3 million on 297 claims filed in Dyer County; the most in one year was 86 in 2011. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1978: 4 · 1979: 1 · 1981: 3 · 1990: 2 · 1992: 1 · 1997: 34 · 1998: 6 · 2001: 13 · 2002: 2 · 2003: 5 · 2009: 1 · 2010: 79 · 2011: 86 · 2012: 1 · 2016: 9 · 2017: 1 · 2019: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2025: 45; the other years: 0.
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 Dyer County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Dyer County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $47.3 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.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | $574K | 1.3 a year (modeled) |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | $31M | once in about 62 years (modeled) |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | $4.9M | once in about 2 years (modeled) |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | $1.4M | 17 modeled event-days a year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | $186K | 7.2 a year (modeled) |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | $3.2M | 2.6 a year (modeled) |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | $786K | 13 modeled event-days a year |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | $552K | 58 a year (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Dyer County
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 Dyer CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Dyer County's FEMA declarations (CSV)24 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis