Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee

1995 tornadoes in Tennessee

39 tornadoes touched down in Tennessee in 1995, 102 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 3 people and injured 88. 1 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

1994 1996 The whole country in 1995

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    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.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    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.

  7. 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.

Every tornado in Tennessee in 1995

January 28 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 283:55 PM CSTF1Rutherford3.050$5,000 to $50,000

March 6 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 68:30 PM CSTF0Henderson0.550$50,000 to $500,000

March 7 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 71:26 PM CSTF0Sumner0.210$5,000 to $50,000
March 77:30 PM CSTF0Marion0.210$5,000 to $50,000

April 19 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 1910:45 PM CDTF0Lake0.110$500 to $5,000

April 20 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 2011:55 PM CDTF1Franklin3.030$50,000 to $500,000

April 21 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 211:18 AM CDTF1Marion5.0231$5,000 to $50,000
April 212:20 AM EDTF0Hamilton0.130$50,000 to $500,000
April 212:25 AM EDTF2Hamilton5.0330$50,000 to $500,000
April 212:30 AM EDTF1Hamilton1.0300$50,000 to $500,000

May 10 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 105:00 PM CDTF0Marion1.0201$50,000 to $500,000
May 1011:25 PM EDTF1McMinn3.0200

May 14 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 144:55 AM CDTF0Putnam0.520$5,000 to $50,000

May 15 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 1510:45 AM CDTF0Shelby0.523$500 to $5,000

May 18 23 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 1811:58 AM CDTF1Dickson1.050
May 1812:30 PM CDTF2Davidson15.07328$500,000 to $5 million
May 181:15 PM CDTF1Macon1.023$50,000 to $500,000
May 181:55 PM CDTF2Lake to KY24.0150$50,000 to $500,000
May 181:55 PM CDTF0Fayette1.010$500 to $5,000
May 181:55 PM CDTF0Hardeman8.050$500 to $5,000
May 182:55 PM CDTF0Henderson0.510$500 to $5,000
May 184:30 PM CDTF0Wayne0.510$500 to $5,000
May 184:52 PM CDTF4Lawrence29.01,000332$500,000 to $5 million
May 184:55 PM CDTF0Rutherford8.0734$5,000 to $50,000
May 185:30 PM CDTF0DeKalb2.023$500 to $5,000
May 185:47 PM CDTF0Giles3.0501$50,000 to $500,000
May 185:50 PM CDTF0Cheatham0.510$500 to $5,000
May 185:52 PM CDTF1Sumner3.023$500 to $5,000
May 186:00 PM CDTF1Bedford16.0501$50,000 to $500,000
May 186:15 PM CDTF0Robertson0.510$500 to $5,000
May 186:21 PM CDTF3Cumberland9.010020$500,000 to $5 million
May 186:30 PM CDTF0Coffee1.020$5,000 to $50,000
May 187:50 PM EDTF0Morgan0.523
May 187:45 PM CDTF0Van Buren0.110$500 to $5,000
May 188:30 PM CDTF1Cumberland2.023$5,000 to $50,000
May 1810:00 PM EDTF1Knox2.023$5,000 to $50,000
May 1811:00 PM EDTF0Loudon1.020$5,000 to $50,000

June 6 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 62:45 PM CDTF0Gibson0.510$5,000 to $50,000

October 27 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 274:15 AM CDTF0Fayette8.050$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Every tornado in Tennessee since 1950Warnings in force in TennesseeThe 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.