Tennessee natural disasters

The state's storm and disaster record · population 6,904,150 · 95 counties and county equivalents

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 46,286 storm events in Tennessee since 1950, 42,153 of them since 1996 when every event type began to be recorded, and the Storm Prediction Center counts 1,479 tornadoes in the state since 1950. The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events (20,119). In NOAA's storm record since 1950, the deadliest tornado day in Tennessee was April 3, 1974: tornadoes and the storms that came with them killed 45 people in the state; the deadliest of them in Tennessee, the Estill Springs tornado, killed 11 (SPC). FEMA has made 97 declarations for Tennessee since 1963, 94 for natural hazards; 78 were major disasters.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm events recorded in Tennessee 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 $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 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 events recorded: 46,2861950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 8045,964 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $13.0Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes (SPC): 1,4791950 to 2025
FEMA declarations: 9778 major disasters

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); tornado count: NOAA Storm Prediction Center, 1950-2025; damage in 2025 dollars (BLS CPI-U). Search the record at NCEI.

What natural disasters happen in Tennessee?

By NOAA's records, Tennessee's most frequent hazards are severe thunderstorm wind events (20,119), hail reports (7,175), winter storm records (5,914); the deadliest are tornadoes (408 deaths). Each hazard is counted over the years NOAA has recorded it everywhere: tornadoes since 1950, hail and thunderstorm wind since 1955, everything else since 1996. Open a hazard for its years, months, counties and worst events.

Tennessee: records by hazard to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Last 10 years	Killed	Injured	Damage	Counties
Severe thunderstorm wind	20,119	5,537	42	334	$460M	95 of 95
Hail	7,175	1,489	0	15	$55M	95 of 95
Winter storms	5,914	1,817	60	161	$106M	95 of 95
Floods	4,414	1,601	121	52	$6.9B	95 of 95
Heat	2,227	1,818	82	233	$135K	56 of 95
Drought	1,967	847	0	0	$22M	92 of 95
Tornadoes	1,704	391	408	5,018	$5.4B	95 of 95
High wind and dust storms	1,244	486	15	21	$88M	93 of 95
Extreme cold	586	452	42	1	–	67 of 95
Lightning	489	104	24	106	$51M	82 of 95
Heavy rain	190	93	6	6	$484K	57 of 95
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds	188	48	3	17	$774K	56 of 95
Hurricanes and tropical storms	52	0	0	0	$1.8M	36 of 95
Landslides and avalanches	9	9	1	0	$30M	5 of 95
Wildfires	5	3	0	0	$2.6M	5 of 95
Rip currents and high surf	3	2	0	0	–	2 of 95

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: every record counted once in the state; "last 10 years" is 2017-2026 (2026 to June 30, 2026).

What were the deadliest disasters in Tennessee?

The storms with the most deaths since 1950, from the National Weather Service's own entries. NOAA files one storm as several records when it crosses forecast zones and counties or changes type, and groups them under one episode; each row here is an episode, with its totals and the narrative of its deadliest record. Before 1996 tornado records carry no episode and stand alone. The narrative says what happened: some deaths the National Weather Service files under a weather type had another cause beside the weather.

Tennessee: the 10 storm episodes with the most deaths
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
1974-04-03	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Estill Springs, killed 11 (SPC) · TornadoPutnam County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (47, in 32 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F4 13.1 mi x 700 yd	45	747	$129M
1952-03-22	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Hickman County, killed 3 (SPC) · TornadoChester County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (4, in 4 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F4 19.8 mi x 177 yd	37	154	$2.5M step
2011-04-27	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Cleveland, killed 12 in the state (20 on its whole track, SPC) · TornadoApison, Hamilton County One storm episode: 82 records in 21 places; the totals are the episode's. Favorable atmospheric conditions resulted in a deadly tornado outbreak across east Tennessee on the 27th. The thunderstorms produced more than 50 tornadoes across the east Tennessee area with 32 deaths and more than 200 injured. The tornadoes produced from light to heavy damage to hundreds of homes and businesses. ...	EF4 4.9 mi x 800 yd	33	423	$109M
2008-02-05	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Hartsville, killed 22 (SPC) · TornadoGreen Grove, Macon County One named storm filed by several offices: 49 records in 2 episodes, 2008-02-05 to 2008-02-06; the totals are the storm's. The Super Severe Weather Outbreak on Feb. 5, 2008 produced supercelluar thunderstorms, well in advance of a multicell line of thunderstorms. The whole episode lasted about 6 hours. This occurred ironically while many states, including Tennessee, were participating in the Super Tuesday Primary Election. Fortunately, ...	EF3 19.34 mi x 880 yd	33	160	$367M
1952-03-21	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Bolivar to Henderson, killed 38 by SPC's count (NOAA's record holds 30) · TornadoDyer County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (10, in 6 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F3 18.1 mi x 1,000 yd	30	141	$250K step
2020-03-03	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Cookeville, killed 19 (SPC) · TornadoEnsor, Putnam County One named storm filed by several offices: 15 records in 2 episodes; the totals are the storm's. From the late evening hours on March 2 into the early morning hours on March 3, supercell thunderstorms developed and spawned tornadoes across southeast Missouri, southern Kentucky, Tennessee, and central Alabama. One of these supercells formed near the Mississippi River in west Tennessee, then tracked eastward across ...	EF4 8.39 mi x 900 yd	25	309	$1.8B
2006-04-02	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Newbern, killed 16 (SPC) · TornadoNewbern, Dyer County One storm episode: 8 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. 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	24	122	$91M
2021-08-21	Dickson County · Flash FloodPigeon Roost, Humphreys County One storm episode: 5 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. The deadliest flash flood to ever affect Middle Tennessee, and one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the state, struck the region on Saturday, August 21, 2021. Occurring only a few months after another deadly and disastrous flash flood impacted the Nashville metro area on March 27-28, 2021 and killed 7 ...		20	0	$110M
2024-09-27	Tropical Storm Helene · Flash FloodErwin, Unicoi County One storm episode: 10 records in 9 places, 2024-09-27 to 2024-09-28; the totals are the episode's. Tropical Storm Helene caps off a several day heavy rainfall event in association with a stalled closed upper low that drew a stream of tropical moisture into the area on the 25th and 26th. The arrival of Helene on the 27th yielded catastrophic flash flooding and river flooding, as well as significant wind damage as ...		18	1	$147M
2010-05-01	Hickman County · FloodRural Hill, Davidson County One storm episode: 28 records in 20 places, 2010-05-01 to 2010-05-02; the totals are the episode's. A frontal boundary setup across Western and Middle Tennessee late Friday night (April 30), and remained through the weekend. A persistent southerly flow fed moisture into the area and precipitable water values rose to almost 2 inches, based on data from KOHX upper air soundings. As a series of shortwaves moved ...		18	1	$2.1B

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 direct and indirect, as filed in this state, summed over the records of each episode (EPISODE_ID); a forecast-zone record counts the zone's deaths once. A tornado's whole-track deaths (SPC), on the state's tornado page, can be higher when the track crossed a state line. Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest records in Tennessee

Tennessee: the 8 records with the most damage since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2011-05-01	FloodDarwin, Shelby County		0	0	$2.6B
2010-05-01	FloodRural Hill, Davidson County		10	0	$2.0B
2020-03-03	TornadoScottsboro, Davidson County	EF3 21.49 mi x 1,150 yd	2	170	$1.2B
2010-05-01	FloodNeboville, Gibson County		0	0	$677M
2020-03-03	TornadoMt Juliet, Wilson County	EF3 26.65 mi x 1,600 yd	3	50	$466M
1998-04-16	TornadoNashville, Davidson County	F3 14.7 mi x 1,320 yd	1	60	$181M
2009-04-10	TornadoAllisona, Rutherford County	EF4 23.25 mi x 750 yd	2	58	$138M
2008-02-05	TornadoGilmore, Madison County	EF4 7.61 mi x 125 yd	0	51	$137M

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 $25M, in the dollars of the day) holds: March 22, 1991 (tornado, McNairy County, 4 killed); March 22, 1991 (tornado, Lewis County, 1 killed); December 24, 1988 (tornado, Williamson County, 1 killed).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. BLS consumer price index.

Which counties in Tennessee have the most records?

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950 attributed to each county (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

Every county in Tennessee

Billion-dollar disasters in Tennessee

NOAA counted 116 weather or climate disasters from 1980-2024 that cost at least $1 billion (adjusted for inflation) and affected Tennessee, led by severe storm (68). The most recent: Hurricane Helene (2024); Central Tornado Outbreak (2024); Central, Southern, Eastern Severe Weather (2024).

Tennessee: billion-dollar disasters by type, 1980-2024
Type	Events	Total cost (NOAA's range)
Severe Storm	68	$20.0B-$50.0B
Drought	16	$5.0B-$10.0B
Winter Storm	15	$2.0B-$5.0B
Tropical Cyclone	9	$2.0B-$5.0B
Flooding	4	$2.0B-$5.0B
Freeze	3	$100M-$250M
Wildfire	1	$1.0B-$2.0B

Every one of the 116, newest first

Hurricane Helene2024
Central Tornado Outbreak2024
Central, Southern, Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central, Southern, Southeastern Tornado Outbreak2024
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central, Southern, Northeastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2024
Southern Tornado Outbreak and East Coast Storm2024
Southern/Eastern/Northwestern Drought and Heat Wave2024
Northeastern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
North Central and Southeastern Severe Weather2023
Central Severe Weather2023
Rockies Hail Storms and Central and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Southern Severe Weather2023
Central Severe Weather2023
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Southern/Midwestern Drought and Heatwave2023
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central and Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2022
Southern Severe Weather2022
Southern Tornado Outbreak2022
Western/Central Drought and Heat Wave2022
Southeast, Central Tornado Outbreak2021
Hurricane Ida2021
Tropical Storm Fred2021
Southern Tornadoes and Southeast Severe Weather2021
Eastern Severe Weather2021
Southeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2021
Northwest, Central, Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2021
Hurricane Laura2020
South, Central and Eastern Severe Weather2020
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2020
Southeast and Eastern Tornado Outbreak2020
North Central and Ohio Valley Hail Storms and Severe Weather2020
Midwest and Ohio Valley Severe Weather2020
Tennessee Tornadoes and Southeast Severe Weather2020
South, East and Northeast Severe Weather2020
Southeast Tornadoes and Northern Storms and Flooding2020
Texas Tornadoes and Central Severe Weather2019
Mississippi River, Midwest and Southern Flooding2019
Southeast, Ohio Valley and Northeast Severe Weather2019
Central and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2018
Central and Eastern Winter Storm2018
Hurricane Harvey2017
Missouri and Arkansas Flooding and Central Severe Weather2017
South and Southeast Severe Weather2017
Southeast Severe Weather and Tornadoes2017
South/Southeast Severe Weather2017
Southeast Freeze2017
Central/Southeast Tornado Outbreak2017
Western/Southeast Wildfires2016
Plains Tornadoes and Central Severe Weather2016
Texas Tornadoes and Midwest Flooding2015
South/Southeast Severe Weather2015
Midwest/Ohio Valley Severe Weather2015
Central and Eastern Winter storm, Cold Wave2015
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Tornadoes and Flooding2014
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm2014
Southeast Severe Weather2013
Southeast/Ohio Valley Tornadoes2012
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave2012
Tropical Storm Lee2011
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2011
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes2011
Southeast/Ohio Valley/Midwest Tornadoes2011
Ohio Valley Derecho and Southern Tornadoes2011
Southeast/Midwest Tornadoes2011
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes and Derecho2011
Mississippi River flooding2011
Southern Plains/Southwest Drought and Heat Wave2011
East/South Flooding and Severe Weather2010
Midwest, South and East Severe Weather2009
Central Derecho and Tornadoes2009
South/Southeast Severe Weather and Tornadoes2009
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes2009
Southeast/Ohio Valley Severe Weather2009
Southeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2008
U.S. Drought2008
Western/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave2007
Spring Freeze2007
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes2006
Severe Storms and Tornadoes2006
Hurricane Katrina2005
Hurricane Ivan2004
Southern Derecho and Eastern Severe Weather2003
Severe Storms/Tornadoes2003
Severe Storms/Hail2003
Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Storms2002
Severe Storms and Tornadoes2002
U.S. Drought2002
Western/Central/Southeast Drought/Heat Wave2000
Southeast Winter Storm2000
Eastern Drought/Heat Wave1999
Oklahoma and Kansas Tornadoes1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Southern Drought and Heat Wave1998
Northern Plains and Great Lakes Derecho, Tornadoes1998
Mississippi and Ohio Valley Severe Weather and Flooding1997
Blizzard/Floods1996
Hurricane Opal1995
Southeast Ice Storm1994
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1994
Southeast Drought and Heat Wave1993
East Coast Blizzard and Severe Weather1993
Southeast Severe Weather1992
Severe Storms, Tornadoes1991
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1989
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave1988
Southeast Drought/Heat Wave1986
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1985
Freeze/Cold Wave1983
Southeast Drought1983
Midwest/Plains/Southeast Tornadoes1982
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm, Cold Wave1982
Central/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave1980

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, state summary for Tennessee, 1980-2024 (NCEI's last update; the product is archived). A disaster that affected several states counts in each. NCEI billion-dollar disasters.

Federal disaster declarations in Tennessee

FEMA has made 97 declarations for Tennessee since 1963: 78 major disasters, 9 emergencies and 10 fire management assistance declarations. The most common incident types are severe storm (45), flood (19), fire (11).

1960s 2
1970s 10
1980s 3
1990s 16
2000s 20
2010s 20
2020s 26

The 15 most recent declarations in Tennessee
Declared	Number	Type	Title	Areas named
2026-02-06	DR-4898	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	95
2026-01-24	EM-3635	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	95
2025-06-19	DR-4878	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding	30
2025-04-02	EM-3625	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding	95
2024-10-02	DR-4832	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Helene	14
2024-09-27	EM-3620	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Helene	8
2024-06-17	DR-4792	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding	12
2023-12-13	DR-4751	Severe Storm	Severe Storms and Tornadoes	9
2023-09-27	DR-4742	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornado	10
2023-09-04	DR-4735	Severe Storm	Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds	4
2023-08-17	DR-4729	Severe Storm	Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds	3
2023-05-17	DR-4712	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornado	45
2023-04-07	DR-4701	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes	13
2023-03-08	DR-4691	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	11
2022-03-11	DR-4645	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	7

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Flood insurance claims in Tennessee

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $480 million on 17,624 claims in 92 Tennessee counties. Claims count insured losses only.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk across Tennessee's counties

How FEMA's National Risk Index rates Tennessee's counties overall: a model of expected future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of events.

Relatively High 2
Relatively Moderate 12
Relatively Low 50
Very Low 31

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