Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee

Tornadoes in Lewis County, Tennessee

15 tornadoes have crossed Lewis County since 1950, 51st of the 95 counties in Tennessee with a tornado on record, an average of one every 5.1 years. They have killed 1 person and injured 26. None was rated F4 or above.

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  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.

Now

Tornadoes
15
Deaths
1
Injuries
26
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF3, December 23, 2015

The deadliest in Lewis County

  1. F2, Lewis County, TennesseeMarch 22, 19911 killed, 14 injured

The strongest

  1. EF3, Wayne, Lawrence, Lewis and Maury counties, TennesseeDecember 23, 2015EF3, 48.4 mi (78 km)
  2. EF2, Wayne, Lewis and Lawrence counties, TennesseeMarch 25, 2021EF2, 22.1 mi (36 km)
  3. F2, Wayne, Lewis and Lawrence counties, TennesseeMarch 1, 1997F2, 7.8 mi (13 km)
  4. F2, Lewis County, TennesseeMarch 22, 1991F2, 5.0 mi (8 km)
  5. F2, Lewis County, TennesseeMarch 1, 1997F2, 3.9 mi (6 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 12 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Lewis County. Each year links to every tornado in Tennessee that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20251EF0
202111EF2
20171EF1
20162EF0
201517EF3
20132EF1
200912EF1
20081EF1
20061F0
199722F2
19921F0
19911114F2

Every tornado that crossed Lewis County

15 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 20, 20253:59 PM CDTEF0Lewis2.750
March 25, 20217:30 PM CDTEF2Wayne22.13501$350,000
March 27, 20176:12 PM CDTEF1Lewis9.8500$110,000
March 31, 20164:45 PM CDTEF0Lewis0.750$5,000
March 31, 20164:31 PM CDTEF0Perry3.5350$20,000
December 23, 20156:55 PM CSTEF3Wayne48.48007$4.1 million
January 30, 20132:46 AM CSTEF1Lewis3.7200$250,000
January 30, 20132:32 AM CSTEF1Wayne9.1100$35,000
May 1, 20092:20 PM CDTEF1Lewis5.31502$200,000
February 5, 20088:10 PM CSTEF1Lewis22.9200$900,000
April 7, 20062:43 PM CDTF0Lewis0.3100
March 1, 19971:32 AM CSTF2Wayne7.84402$200,000
March 1, 19971:25 AM CSTF2Lewis3.9440$100,000
May 12, 19929:19 PM CDTF0Lewis0.510$50 to $500
March 22, 19916:05 PM CSTF2Lewis5.050114$5 million to $50 million

Nearby

Warnings in force in Lewis CountyThe forecast for Lewis CountyThe live radar over Lewis CountyEvery county in 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.