Tennessee, 1971

Tornadoes and Hail in Tennessee, May 24, 1971

May 24, 1971 · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

3 tornado, 2 hail, 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
33
Property damage
$525,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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

3 tornado, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Fayette

When
May 24, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Fayette County
Rating
F2
Path length
10.9 mi
Path width
100 yd
Injuries
22 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
35.280, -89.620

Hail, Shelby

When
May 24, 5:15 PM CST
Where
Shelby County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.280, -89.780

Tornado, Madison

When
May 24, 6:35 PM CST
Where
Madison County
Rating
F1
Path length
7.9 mi
Path width
100 yd
Injuries
8 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
35.580, -88.870

Hail, Robertson

When
May 24, 8:10 PM CST
Where
Robertson County
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
36.580, -86.900

Tornado, Davidson

When
May 24, 8:55 PM CST
Where
Davidson County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
7 yd
Injuries
3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
36.300, -86.620

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.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Tennessee in 1971Every state in 1971This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Tennessee, 1971

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: 10110955, 10110956, 10110957, 10110958, 10110959.