PlainHazard

Tennessee drought

Every recorded drought record since 1996 · 92 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,967 drought records in Tennessee from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 158 a year since 2000. The costliest was the June 1, 2007 drought ($14.7 million in 2025 dollars). Tennessee ranks 12th of 51 states and territories by count and 9th of 50 per square mile.

Drought in Tennessee, 1996 to 2026

Drought records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • 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
Records
1,9671996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
158average
Deaths
00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$22Mas filed
Busiest year
2007415 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are drought records common in Tennessee?

Tennessee averages about 158 drought records a year since 2000, 12th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2007 (415). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Tennessee records 477 drought records since 1996, 9th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 2624
  2. 2. New Jersey 1205
  3. 3. Delaware 1062
  4. 4. Oklahoma 971
  5. 5. Georgia 900
  6. 6. Texas 711
  7. 7. New Mexico 528
  8. 8. Alabama 527
  9. 9. Tennessee 477
  10. 10. Iowa 466

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Tennessee have the most drought records?

Per square mile, Moore County leads Tennessee: 36 days with a drought record since 1996, 278.6 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Warren County has the most drought records (63 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Moore County 278.6 (39)
  2. Trousdale County 201.2 (23)
  3. Houston County 159.8 (32)
  4. Van Buren County 153.6 (42)
  5. Lake County 150.8 (25)
  6. Cannon County 150.6 (40)
  7. Pickett County 128.9 (21)
  8. DeKalb County 128.1 (39)
  9. Grundy County 124.8 (45)
  10. Crockett County 116.7 (31)
  11. White County 111.5 (42)
  12. Coffee County 102.6 (44)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is drought season in Tennessee?

Tennessee's drought records by month. The busiest month is October (267 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 133 · Feb 96 · Mar 61 · Apr 85 · May 127 · Jun 148 · Jul 186 · Aug 142 · Sep 236 · Oct 267 · Nov 255 · Dec 231 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The costliest drought records in Tennessee

Tennessee: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2007-06-01 DroughtCoffee County · forecast zone Coffee One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $15M
2007-10-01 DroughtMacon County · forecast zone Macon 0 0 $7.1M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are drought records becoming more frequent in Tennessee?

Tennessee's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Drought: Tennessee and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeTennesseeUnited StatesTennessee's share
1996-99395,6000.7%
2000s63018,5713.4%
2010s48631,4411.5%
2020-2681230,1472.7%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent drought records in Tennessee

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-01 DroughtWeakley County · forecast zone Weakley 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtObion County · forecast zone Obion 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtLauderdale County · forecast zone Lauderdale 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtLake County · forecast zone Lake 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtHenry County · forecast zone Henry 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtHaywood County · forecast zone Haywood 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtGibson County · forecast zone Gibson 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtDyer County · forecast zone Dyer 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtCrockett County · forecast zone Crockett 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtCarroll County · forecast zone Carroll 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtBenton County · forecast zone Benton 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtFentress County · forecast zone Fentress 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

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