Tennessee severe thunderstorm wind
Every recorded severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955 · 95 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 20,119 severe thunderstorm wind events in Tennessee from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 593 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the March 31, 2023 thunderstorm wind: 4 deaths and $712,000 in damage in 2025 dollars across 15 records. Tennessee ranks 12th of 52 states and territories by count and 11th of 51 per square mile.
Severe thunderstorm wind in Tennessee, 1955 to 2026
Thunderstorm wind records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996.
- 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
- 1996: all 48 event types recorded from 1996
- Records
- 20,1191955 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 593average
- Deaths
- 42334 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $460Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2011840 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 severe thunderstorm wind events common in Tennessee?
Tennessee averages about 593 severe thunderstorm wind events a year since 2000, 12th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2011 (840). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Tennessee records 4880 severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955, 11th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1955, 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 severe thunderstorm wind events?
Per square mile, Hamblen County leads Tennessee: 147 days with a severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955, 912.0 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Davidson County has the most thunderstorm wind records (971 since 1955); 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).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1955 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the severe thunderstorm season in Tennessee?
Tennessee's severe thunderstorm wind events by month. The busiest month is June (3,876 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 620 · Feb 788 · Mar 1,385 · Apr 2,293 · May 3,332 · Jun 3,876 · Jul 3,811 · Aug 1,925 · Sep 476 · Oct 531 · Nov 642 · Dec 440 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.
What were the deadliest severe thunderstorm wind events in Tennessee?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-03-31 | Thunderstorm WindMemphis International Ar, Shelby County One storm episode: 15 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. A regional tornado outbreak occurred during the late afternoon of Friday, March 31, 2023, and continued into the early morning hours of Saturday, April 1, 2023. This outbreak covered portions of the Ohio Valley, and the Middle and Lower Mississippi Valleys, including a good portion of the Mid-South and stretching into ... | 74 kt wind | 4 | 0 | $712K |
| 2016-07-08 | Thunderstorm WindDennis Cove, Carter County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. The combination of summer heating and high low level moisture content provided the necessary conditions to create a highly unstable environment across the Southern Appalachian region. The instability and more than adequate upper level west to northwesterly flow allowed an mesoscale convective system to remain quite ... | 65 kt wind | 3 | 0 | – |
| 2012-07-05 | Thunderstorm WindBartlebaugh, Hamilton County One storm episode: 6 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Organized convection developed over the Southern Appalachian region in the presence of a very moist and unstable air mass. Relatively strong winds through a deep portion of the atmosphere helped to produce an extensive outflow boundary resulting in numerous downed trees and significant structural damage to homes and ... | 60 kt wind | 2 | 9 | $2.6M |
| 2014-02-20 | Thunderstorm WindSouth Pittsburg, Marion County Emergency manager reported several trees downed by thunderstorm wind across the county. In addition, one person was injured with structural damage to a mobile home. | 60 kt wind | 2 | 1 | – |
| 2000-11-09 | Thunderstorm WindKnoxville, Knox County | 2 | 0 | $5K | |
| 2020-05-03 | Thunderstorm WindHarpeth, Williamson County One storm episode: 19 records in 14 places; the totals are the episode's. A complex of severe thunderstorms called a MCS (Mesoscale Convective System) developed across southern Kansas on Saturday night, May 2, 2020, then tracked eastward across southern Missouri and western Kentucky during the morning of May 3, 2020 before reaching Middle Tennessee in the afternoon. These storms produced ... | 56 kt wind | 1 | 5 | $15M |
| 1999-01-17 | Thunderstorm WindBlue Goose, Henderson County The same thunderstorm complex that produced a tornado in Madison county continued to move northeast and produced downburst winds over parts of Henderson county. One person was killed and several buildings were destroyed south of Blue Goose. Nine houses, 26 mobile homes and 22 other structures were destroyed. Another ... | 1 | 4 | $4.6M | |
| 2003-07-22 | Thunderstorm WindCountywide, Shelby County One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. Shelby County was hit hard by a downburst wind event. Numerous trees, power lines and power poles were blown down. Some of the trees fell on houses producing some major damage. At least 20 buildings collapsed. Numerous homes and buildings were damaged and a few were destroyed. Among the damaged buildings was the ... | 95 kt wind | 1 | 4 | $66M |
| 2006-07-21 | Thunderstorm WindNashville, Davidson County Gust front ahead of an area of thunderstorms had wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph. Some of these wind gusts were measured or estimated by trained spotters in Davidson County. As this gust front entered Davidson County, a tree limb from a rotted tree fell on a vehicle, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, killing the driver and slightly ... | 43 kt wind | 1 | 3 | $15K |
| 2013-01-30 | Thunderstorm WindBordeaux, Davidson County One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. A powerful upper level trough moved across the United States from Tuesday, January 29th into Wednesday, January 30th. This system contained unusually strong winds aloft, with wind speeds of 80 mph just 2500 feet above the surface and up to 150 mph at 20,000 feet. A record warm airmass with temperatures in the 60s and ... | 52 kt wind | 1 | 1 | $1.2M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest severe thunderstorm wind events in Tennessee
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-07-22 | Thunderstorm WindCountywide, Shelby County One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. | 95 kt wind | 1 | 4 | $66M |
| 2011-04-19 | Thunderstorm WindChic, Dyer County One storm episode: 9 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. | 65 kt wind | 0 | 2 | $22M |
| 2020-05-03 | Thunderstorm WindHarpeth, Williamson County One storm episode: 19 records in 14 places; the totals are the episode's. | 56 kt wind | 1 | 5 | $15M |
| 2017-05-27 | Thunderstorm WindBerclair, Shelby County One storm episode: 9 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 70 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $12M |
| 1994-06-09 | Thunderstorm WindCollierville, Shelby County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (2; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 0 | 2 | $11M | |
| 2019-10-26 | Thunderstorm WindEastview, McNairy County One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 75 kt wind | 1 | 1 | $11M |
| 1994-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindWestern Davidson, Davidson County | 0 | 0 | $10.0M | |
| 2019-10-26 | Thunderstorm WindShiloh, Montgomery County One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 78 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $9.3M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are severe thunderstorm wind events 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.
| Decade | Tennessee | United States | Tennessee's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-59 | 117 | 3,482 | 3.4% |
| 1960s | 250 | 10,124 | 2.5% |
| 1970s | 453 | 18,714 | 2.4% |
| 1980s | 650 | 39,604 | 1.6% |
| 1990s | 3,026 | 85,554 | 3.5% |
| 2000s | 5,897 | 129,990 | 4.5% |
| 2010s | 6,053 | 161,286 | 3.8% |
| 2020-26 | 3,673 | 126,815 | 2.9% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent severe thunderstorm wind events in Tennessee
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-29 | Thunderstorm WindChestnut Ridge, Greene County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindLookout Mtn, Hamilton County | 61 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2.4M |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindPine Ridge, Polk County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindTurtletown, Polk County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindHambright, Polk County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindReliance, Polk County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindCleveland Airport, Bradley County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindGlendale, Hamilton County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindTiftona, Hamilton County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindSnow Hill, Hamilton County | 61 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindEast Lake, Hamilton County | 61 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $200K |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindSequatchie, Marion County | 52 kt wind | 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.
Federal disaster declarations for severe thunderstorm wind events in Tennessee
FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 45 declarations in Tennessee, 44 of them major disasters; the latest on June 19, 2025.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-19 | DR-4878 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 30 |
| 2025-04-02 | EM-3625 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 95 |
| 2024-06-17 | DR-4792 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 12 |
| 2023-12-13 | DR-4751 | Severe Storms and Tornadoes | 9 |
| 2023-09-27 | DR-4742 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornado | 10 |
| 2023-09-04 | DR-4735 | Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds | 4 |
| 2023-08-17 | DR-4729 | Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds | 3 |
| 2023-05-17 | DR-4712 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornado | 45 |
| 2023-04-07 | DR-4701 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes | 13 |
| 2022-03-11 | DR-4645 | Severe Winter Storm | 7 |
| 2020-07-09 | DR-4550 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 20 |
| 2020-04-24 | DR-4541 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 9 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Hamblen County: the county's whole recordThe Tennessee county with the most severe thunderstorm wind events per square mile
- Severe thunderstorm wind across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in TennesseeTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Hail in Tennessee7,175 records
- Winter storms in Tennessee5,914 records
- Floods in Tennessee4,414 records