Tennessee hurricanes and tropical storms

Are hurricane and tropical storm records common in Tennessee?

Tennessee averages about 17 hurricane and tropical storm records a year since 2000, 21st of 34 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2004 (22). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Tennessee records 13 hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996, 23rd of 33 states and territories by that measure.

1. 1. New Jersey 537
2. 2. Puerto Rico 520
3. 3. Florida 419
4. 4. Georgia 409
5. 5. Delaware 334
6. 6. Rhode Island 280
7. 7. Louisiana 277
8. 8. North Carolina 232
9. 9. South Carolina 178
10. 10. Massachusetts 177
11. 23. Tennessee 13

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 hurricane and tropical storm records?

Per square mile, Moore County leads Tennessee: 2 days with a hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996, 15.5 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Henry County has the most tropical records (3 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 15.5 (2)
2. Lake County 12.1 (2)
3. Jefferson County 7.3 (3)
4. Hamblen County 6.2 (1)
5. Henry County 5.3 (3)
6. Meigs County 5.1 (2)
7. Union County 4.5 (1)
8. Dyer County 3.9 (2)
9. Sequatchie County 3.8 (1)
10. Obion County 3.7 (2)
11. Franklin County 3.6 (2)
12. Grainger County 3.6 (1)

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 hurricane season in Tennessee?

92% of its hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996 fell in August and September. The busiest month is September (30 records).

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

Are hurricane and tropical storm 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.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent hurricane and tropical storm records in Tennessee

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.

Federal disaster declarations for hurricane and tropical storm records in Tennessee

FEMA has declared 3 disasters in Tennessee for hurricane and tropical storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name hurricane or tropical storm or typhoon in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); one was a major disaster, the latest on October 2, 2024.

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

Next

• Moore County: the county's whole recordThe Tennessee county with the most hurricane and tropical storm records per square mile
• Hurricanes and tropical storms across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
• Every natural hazard in TennesseeTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
• Severe thunderstorm wind in Tennessee20,119 records
• Hail in Tennessee7,175 records
• Winter storms in Tennessee5,914 records