Tornadoes in Tennessee
1,447 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 19.0 a year, 21st of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 432 people and injured 5,124. 29 were rated F4 or EF4 and above, 1 of them F5 or EF5.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The deadliest in Tennessee
- EF4, Fulton, Obion, Hickman, Graves and Marshall counties, Tennessee and KentuckyDecember 10, 2021
- F4, Hardeman, Chester and Henderson counties, TennesseeMarch 21, 1952
- EF3, Sumner, Trousdale, Macon, Monroe and Cumberland counties, Tennessee and KentuckyFebruary 5, 2008
- EF4, Putnam County, TennesseeMarch 3, 2020
- F3, Dyer County, TennesseeApril 2, 2006
- F4, Madison and Henderson counties, TennesseeMay 4, 2003
- F4, Lincoln and Franklin counties, TennesseeApril 3, 1974
- F4, Putnam, White and Overton counties, TennesseeApril 3, 1974
- F3, Dyer County, TennesseeMarch 21, 1952
- EF3, Hardeman, McNairy, Hardin and Wayne counties, TennesseeMarch 31, 2023
- F2, Lauderdale County, TennesseeFebruary 13, 1950
- F3, Davidson and Sumner counties, TennesseeApril 7, 2006
The strongest
- F5, Wayne, Lawrence, Giles and Maury counties, TennesseeApril 16, 1998
- EF4, Fulton, Obion, Hickman, Graves and Marshall counties, Tennessee and KentuckyDecember 10, 2021
- F4, Gibson, Carroll, Benton and Humphreys counties, TennesseeMay 7, 1971
- F4, Hardeman, Chester and Henderson counties, TennesseeMarch 21, 1952
- F4, Cheatham, Montgomery, Robertson and Sumner counties, TennesseeApril 27, 1970
- EF4, Sequatchie, Bledsoe and Rhea counties, TennesseeApril 27, 2011
- F4, Madison and Henderson counties, TennesseeMay 4, 2003
- F4, Lawrence and Giles counties, TennesseeMay 18, 1995
- F4, Putnam, White and Overton counties, TennesseeApril 3, 1974
- F4, Lincoln and Franklin counties, TennesseeApril 3, 1974
- EF4, Rutherford County, TennesseeApril 10, 2009
- F4, Fentress County, TennesseeApril 3, 1974
The longest paths
- EF4, Fulton, Obion, Hickman, Graves and Marshall counties, Tennessee and KentuckyDecember 10, 2021
- EF3, Dyer, Obion, Gibson, Calloway, Christian and Todd counties, Tennessee and KentuckyDecember 10, 2021
- EF3, Hardeman, McNairy, Hardin and Wayne counties, TennesseeMarch 31, 2023
- F5, Wayne, Lawrence, Giles and Maury counties, TennesseeApril 16, 1998
- EF3, Davidson, Wilson and Smith counties, TennesseeMarch 3, 2020
- F4, Gibson, Carroll, Benton and Humphreys counties, TennesseeMay 7, 1971
- F2, Tipton, Mississippi, Crittenden and Cross counties, Tennessee and ArkansasNovember 9, 2002
- EF3, Sumner, Trousdale, Macon, Monroe and Cumberland counties, Tennessee and KentuckyFebruary 5, 2008
- EF3, Wayne, Lawrence, Lewis and Maury counties, TennesseeDecember 23, 2015
- EF3, Montgomery, Todd, Logan and Simpson counties, Tennessee and KentuckyDecember 9, 2023
- F4, Hardeman, Chester and Henderson counties, TennesseeMarch 21, 1952
- F4, Cheatham, Montgomery, Robertson and Sumner counties, TennesseeApril 27, 1970
The costliest
- EF3, Davidson, Wilson and Smith counties, TennesseeMarch 3, 2020
- F3, Davidson, Wilson and Trousdale counties, TennesseeApril 16, 1998
- EF4, Putnam County, TennesseeMarch 3, 2020
- EF4, Rutherford County, TennesseeApril 10, 2009
- EF4, Madison County, TennesseeFebruary 5, 2008
- EF3, Tipton and Haywood counties, TennesseeMarch 31, 2023
- F3, Davidson and Sumner counties, TennesseeApril 7, 2006
- F3, Montgomery County, TennesseeJanuary 22, 1999
- F2, Dyer County, TennesseeMay 4, 2003
- F3, Hamilton County, TennesseeMarch 29, 1997
- F4, Madison and Henderson counties, TennesseeMay 4, 2003
- EF3, Hamilton, Bradley, Polk and McMinn counties, TennesseeMarch 2, 2012
The biggest days in Tennessee
Every year
Every year of the published record, and above it the 10 tornado tracks surveyed in Tennessee so far in 2026. This year's figures are preliminary and are not in the totals above, which are SPC's published database.
| Year | Tornadoes | Deaths | Injuries | F4 and above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 preliminary | 10 | |||
| 2025 | 48 | 7 | 24 | |
| 2024 | 19 | 1 | 13 | |
| 2023 | 38 | 17 | 149 | |
| 2022 | 4 | |||
| 2021 | 65 | 57 | 562 | 1 |
| 2020 | 34 | 25 | 319 | 1 |
| 2019 | 19 | |||
| 2018 | 25 | 2 | 9 | |
| 2017 | 33 | 1 | ||
| 2016 | 10 | 2 | 24 | |
| 2015 | 17 | 2 | 7 | |
| 2014 | 16 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 43 | 4 | ||
| 2012 | 28 | 3 | 85 | |
| 2011 | 98 | 20 | 131 | 2 |
| 2010 | 33 | 19 | ||
| 2009 | 45 | 2 | 62 | 1 |
| 2008 | 42 | 28 | 139 | 2 |
| 2007 | 10 | 23 | ||
| 2006 | 25 | 34 | 259 | |
| 2005 | 23 | 14 | ||
| 2004 | 15 | 2 | ||
| 2003 | 45 | 12 | 105 | 1 |
| 2002 | 30 | 17 | 117 | |
| 2001 | 14 | 3 | 14 | |
| 2000 | 27 | 1 | 5 | |
| 1999 | 23 | 12 | 156 | 2 |
| 1998 | 32 | 7 | 116 | 1 |
| 1997 | 36 | 1 | 145 | 3 |
| 1996 | 17 | 15 | ||
| 1995 | 39 | 3 | 88 | 1 |
| 1994 | 28 | 5 | 67 | |
| 1993 | 10 | 1 | 82 | |
| 1992 | 8 | 1 | 7 | |
| 1991 | 9 | 5 | 59 | |
| 1990 | 10 | |||
| 1989 | 13 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1988 | 11 | 6 | 38 | 1 |
| 1986 | 5 | 11 | ||
| 1985 | 10 | 1 | ||
| 1984 | 33 | 1 | 46 | |
| 1983 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 1982 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 1981 | 8 | |||
| 1980 | 18 | 19 | ||
| 1979 | 6 | 2 | 9 | |
| 1978 | 9 | 27 | ||
| 1977 | 15 | 20 | ||
| 1976 | 8 | 12 | ||
| 1975 | 13 | 3 | 44 | |
| 1974 | 43 | 47 | 785 | 4 |
| 1973 | 24 | 1 | 9 | |
| 1972 | 10 | 36 | ||
| 1971 | 16 | 3 | 223 | 1 |
| 1970 | 13 | 3 | 101 | 1 |
| 1969 | 2 | |||
| 1968 | 13 | 4 | 33 | |
| 1967 | 15 | 2 | 12 | |
| 1966 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 1965 | 12 | 1 | 59 | |
| 1964 | 6 | 19 | ||
| 1963 | 12 | 4 | 27 | |
| 1962 | 1 | |||
| 1961 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1960 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 1959 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 1958 | 2 | |||
| 1957 | 18 | 19 | ||
| 1956 | 9 | 3 | 66 | 1 |
| 1955 | 15 | 16 | ||
| 1954 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1953 | 15 | 4 | 34 | 1 |
| 1952 | 22 | 68 | 609 | 5 |
| 1951 | 1 | |||
| 1950 | 3 | 9 | 9 |
Every county in Tennessee
A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 1,447. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.
Nearby
Warnings in force in TennesseeForecast for your townThe live radar over Tennessee
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.