Tornadoes in Tennessee, March 22, 1952

Name: Tornadoes in Tennessee, March 22, 1952
Start: 1952-03-22T00:01
End: 1952-03-22T11:15
Location: Tennessee

March 22, 1952 · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

4 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 37
Injuries: 154
Property damage: $5.0 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

4 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Chester

When: March 22, 12:01 AM CST
Where: Chester County
Rating: F4
Path length: 19.8 mi
Path width: 177 yd
Deaths: 23 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 100 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 35.350, -88.820

Tornado, Hickman

When: March 22, 12:20 AM CST
Where: Hickman County
Rating: F2
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 40 yd
Deaths: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 10 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 35.870, -87.580

Tornado, Henderson

When: March 22, 1:00 AM CST
Where: Henderson County
Rating: F4
Path length: 15.9 mi
Path width: 177 yd
Deaths: 11 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 43 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 35.500, -88.520

Tornado, Smith

When: March 22, 11:15 AM CST
Where: Smith County
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.3 mi
Path width: 7 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 36.250, -85.930

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Tennessee in 1952 Every state in 1952 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Tennessee, 1952

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10126264, 10126265, 10126266, 10126267.