Tennessee, 1979

Tornado and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, April 11, 1979

April 11, 1979 · NWS ATA · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

4 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
0
Property damage
$3,000
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

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

Thunderstorm Wind, Shelby

When
April 11, 5:55 PM CST
Where
Shelby County
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Coordinates
35.130, -89.970

Thunderstorm Wind, Dyer

When
April 11, 6:34 PM CST
Where
Dyer County
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates
36.020, -89.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Shelby

When
April 11, 6:47 PM CST
Where
Shelby County
Coordinates
35.050, -90.000

Thunderstorm Wind, Obion

When
April 11, 7:30 PM CST
Where
Obion County
Coordinates
36.420, -89.050

Tornado, Dickson

When
April 11, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Dickson County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.3 mi
Path width
33 yd
Property damage
$3,000
Coordinates
36.070, -87.370

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

More

Every storm in Tennessee in 1979Every state in 1979This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Tennessee, 1979

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: 10126657, 10126658, 10126659, 10126660, 10126661.