Tornado and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, March 20, 1955

Name: Tornado and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, March 20, 1955
Start: 1955-03-20T16:00
End: 1955-03-20T19:20
Location: Tennessee

March 20, 1955 · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

2 thunderstorm wind, 1 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: 0
Injuries: 2
Property damage: $3,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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

2 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Montgomery

When: March 20, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Montgomery County
Coordinates: 36.500, -87.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Fayette

When: March 20, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Fayette County
Coordinates: 35.200, -89.400

Tornado, Lawrence

When: March 20, 7:20 PM CST
Where: Lawrence County
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 7 yd
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 35.120, -87.100

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
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 1955 Every state in 1955 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Tennessee, 1955

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: 10126297, 10126298, 10126299.