Putnam County, Tennessee

What hazards hit Putnam County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 245 since 1959. 46% 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 Putnam County had?

NOAA records 20 tornadoes in Putnam County from 1955 to 2025, the strongest rated EF4, with 30 deaths and 146 injuries recorded in the county. That is 30th 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 20 tornadoes whose track touched Putnam County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 20, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 30 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 Putnam County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the January 15, 2026 winter weather (3 injuries and $250,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

A quick burst of snow resulted in slick roads and poor visibility on Interstate 40 near Cookeville. Near mile marker 285, these poor conditions caused an eleven chain-reaction crash that forced the closure of the Interstate for several hours. Three injuries were reported in the accident. Damages are a rough estimate.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1300599)

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 Putnam 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).

Winter storms in the 2010s: 63 records against 18 in the decade before, 63 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Putnam County days with a record above.

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

What time of year?

46% 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 Putnam County

FEMA's register lists 19 declarations that include Putnam County: 14 major disasters, 5 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (6) and winter storm (3).

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 Putnam County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 75 flood or flash flood records for Putnam County from 1996 to 2024, on 63 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Putnam County ranks 1838th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.2 million on 35 claims filed in Putnam County; the most in one year was 8 in 2010. 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 Putnam County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Putnam County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $24.4 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 Putnam County

1. Putnam County 640
2. Fentress County 506
3. Overton County 498
4. Cumberland County 474
5. White County 381
6. Smith County 360
7. DeKalb County 318
8. Jackson County 287

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 Putnam CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Putnam County's FEMA declarations (CSV)19 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis