Grainger County, Tennessee

What hazards hit Grainger County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 180 since 1959. 47% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1959 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 Grainger County had?

NOAA records 4 tornadoes in Grainger County from 1973 to 2025, the strongest rated EF1, with 0 deaths and 2 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 4 tornadoes whose track touched Grainger County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 4, the same count); 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 Grainger County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the February 6, 2025 tornado ($100,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The tornado began near McAnally Rd and Campground Rd before moving east along Highway 131. Tree damage began sporadically at first, with a few cedar trees split or blown over, tree damage then began to intensify towards the heart of the damage path. There were several barns and outbuildings with roof damage along 131, and numerous snapped trees. A small chicken coop was lofted up and over the pen around the coop, and left upside down in a ditch but with no scratches or visible damage to the coop. The most significant damage was to a large barn on Highway 131 that was completely destroyed. The tornado continued to Clinch River Hardwoods and Thorn Hill Church. At that location a large tanker trailer was overturned, and the church had some light damage to siding and windows. The tornado lifted where trees were snapped on the side of Clinch Mountain near US Highway 25E.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1237396)

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

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: 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 Grainger 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 1959 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 Grainger County

FEMA's register lists 20 declarations that include Grainger County: 14 major disasters, 5 emergencies and one fire management assistance declaration. Most were for severe storm (6) 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 Grainger County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 15 flood or flash flood records for Grainger County from 1997 to 2023, on 15 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Grainger County ranks 2685th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $41,000 on 3 claims filed in Grainger County; the most in one year was 1 in 2019. 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 Grainger County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Grainger County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $5.2 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 Grainger County

1. Knox County 867
2. Hawkins County 384
3. Jefferson County 376
4. Claiborne County 358
5. Hamblen County 340
6. Grainger County 281
7. Union County 260
8. Hancock County 190

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 Grainger CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Grainger County's FEMA declarations (CSV)20 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis