Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee
Tornadoes in Lincoln County, Tennessee
45 tornadoes have crossed Lincoln County since 1950, 6th of the 95 counties in Tennessee with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.7 years. They have killed 104 people and injured 615. 4 were rated F4 or EF4 and above, 2 at the top of the scale. Before 1950, Grazulis's record of significant tornadoes has 10 more crossing the county, back to 1890.
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.
Now
- Tornadoes
- 45
- Deaths
- 104
- Injuries
- 615
- F4 and above
- 4
- Worst on record
- EF5, April 27, 2011
The deadliest in Lincoln County
- EF5 Hackleburg–Phil Campbell tornado, Alabama and TennesseeApril 27, 2011
- F5 Second Tanner tornado, Alabama and TennesseeApril 3, 1974
- F4 Huntland tornado, TennesseeApril 3, 1974
- F4, Lincoln County, TennesseeFebruary 29, 1952
- EF3, Lincoln and Moore counties, TennesseeApril 28, 2014
- EF3, Lincoln and Madison counties, Alabama and TennesseeApril 1, 2023
The strongest
- EF5 Hackleburg–Phil Campbell tornado, Alabama and TennesseeApril 27, 2011
- F5 Second Tanner tornado, Alabama and TennesseeApril 3, 1974
- F4 Huntland tornado, TennesseeApril 3, 1974
- F4, Lincoln County, TennesseeFebruary 29, 1952
- EF3, Lincoln and Moore counties, TennesseeApril 28, 2014
- EF3, Lincoln and Madison counties, Alabama and TennesseeApril 1, 2023
- F3, Lincoln County, TennesseeFebruary 13, 1952
- F3, Lincoln County, TennesseeMay 5, 2003
- EF2, Lincoln and Moore counties, TennesseeApril 27, 2011
- EF2, Lincoln County, TennesseeApril 28, 2014
Every year with a tornado
The 25 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Lincoln County. Each year links to every tornado in Tennessee that year.
Every tornado that crossed Lincoln County
45 tornadoes, newest first. 6 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Tennessee.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 2024 | 4:10 AM CDT | EF1 | Lincoln | 10.2 | 194 | |||
| May 9, 2024 | 4:06 AM CDT | EF1 | Lincoln to AL | 6.1 | 300 | |||
| May 9, 2024 | 4:01 AM CDT | EF1 | Lincoln to AL | 13.7 | 215 | |||
| May 9, 2024 | 3:44 AM CDT | EF1 | Lincoln | 4.2 | 105 | |||
| May 8, 2024 | 9:02 PM CDT | EF1 | Lincoln | 1.4 | 286 | |||
| May 8, 2024 | 8:15 PM CDT | EF1 | Lincoln | 6.2 | 160 | |||
| April 1, 2023 | 3:09 AM CDT | EF3 | Lincoln to TN | 12.0 | 215 | 1 | 5 | |
| March 24, 2023 | 11:59 PM CDT | EF2 | Lincoln | 4.0 | 300 | |||
| December 16, 2019 | 5:50 PM CST | EF0 | Lincoln | 3.2 | 50 | |||
| May 9, 2019 | 12:46 PM CDT | EF0 | Lincoln to TN | 2.6 | 75 | |||
| April 28, 2014 | 8:09 PM CDT | EF3 | Lincoln | 26.8 | 500 | 2 | ||
| April 28, 2014 | 6:09 PM CDT | EF2 | Lincoln | 9.5 | 250 | |||
| November 17, 2013 | 9:37 PM CST | EF0 | Lincoln | 0.6 | 25 | |||
| April 19, 2013 | 2:03 AM CDT | EF1 | Lincoln | 3.1 | 400 | |||
| January 30, 2013 | 4:46 AM CST | EF1 | Lincoln | 5.3 | 250 | |||
| March 2, 2012 | 2:45 PM CST | EF0 | Lincoln | 0.6 | 50 | |||
| April 27, 2011 | 3:05 PM CDT | EF5 | Hackleburg–Phil Campbell tornado | 132.0 | 2,200 | 72 | 145 | $1.3 billion |
| April 27, 2011 | 5:38 AM CDT | EF2 | Lincoln | 25.9 | 400 | |||
| October 9, 2009 | 3:57 PM CDT | EF1 | Lincoln | 3.2 | 200 | $30,000 | ||
| November 14, 2007 | 5:35 PM CST | EF1 | Lincoln | 5.3 | 75 | $5,000 | ||
| April 3, 2007 | 10:24 PM CDT | EF0 | Lincoln to AL | 9.3 | 75 | |||
| April 7, 2006 | 8:01 PM CDT | F0 | Lincoln | 0.1 | 30 | $5,000 | ||
| April 7, 2006 | 7:48 PM CDT | F0 | Lincoln to TN | 2.1 | 30 | |||
| April 7, 2006 | 6:30 PM CDT | F0 | Lincoln | 0.5 | 50 | $1,000 | ||
| April 7, 2006 | 6:17 PM CDT | F0 | Moore | 0.2 | 30 | |||
| May 30, 2004 | 12:55 AM CDT | F1 | Lincoln to TN | 23.5 | 150 | $70,000 | ||
| May 5, 2003 | 11:45 AM CDT | F3 | Lincoln | 1.6 | 700 | 2 | $50,000 | |
| December 16, 2000 | 1:08 PM CST | F1 | Lincoln | 1.5 | 50 | $50,000 | ||
| January 24, 1997 | 4:50 PM CST | F2 | Lincoln | 4.2 | 200 | $250,000 | ||
| June 18, 1988 | 5:05 PM CDT | F2 | Lincoln | 7.0 | 73 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| August 16, 1985 | 5:00 PM CDT | F2 | Lincoln | 7.0 | 70 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| May 26, 1984 | 2:15 PM CDT | F0 | Lincoln | 0.1 | 20 | |||
| April 22, 1984 | 4:00 AM CST | F1 | Lincoln | 3.0 | 50 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| June 29, 1980 | 11:00 AM CDT | F2 | Lincoln | 1.0 | 40 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| June 6, 1977 | 4:20 PM CDT | F0 | Lincoln | 9.2 | 440 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| April 3, 1974 | 7:45 PM CDT | F4 | Huntland tornado | 27.5 | 800 | 11 | 121 | $500,000 to $5 million |
| April 3, 1974 | 7:35 PM CDT | F5 | Second Tanner tornado | 83.3 | 500 | 16 | 190 | |
| May 27, 1973 | 11:00 AM CDT | F2 | Lincoln | 0.1 | 10 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| May 19, 1973 | 3:15 PM CDT | F1 | Lincoln | 3.6 | 10 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| March 6, 1971 | 2:39 PM CST | F1 | Lawrence | 39.8 | 200 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| July 12, 1967 | 6:00 PM GMT-5 | F1 | Lincoln | 0.1 | 10 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| May 14, 1953 | 1:00 PM GMT-5 | F1 | Lincoln | 0.1 | 10 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| February 29, 1952 | 4:30 PM GMT-6 | F4 | Lincoln | 2.0 | 300 | 2 | 150 | $500,000 to $5 million |
| February 13, 1952 | 10:00 PM GMT-6 | F3 | Lincoln | 7.4 | 350 | 2 | $50,000 to $500,000 | |
| February 13, 1952 | 9:00 PM GMT-6 | F1 | Lincoln | 0.2 | 400 |
Lincoln County before 1950
Before 1950 the record is Thomas P. Grazulis’s list of significant tornadoes: those rated F2 or stronger, and weaker ones that killed somebody. 10 of them crossed Lincoln County, killing 38. They are not in the figures above, which are SPC's from 1950.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 6, 1942 | 4:00 AM CST | F2 | Ardmore, TN | 6.1 | 400 | 1 | ||
| April 5, 1936 | 10:15 PM CST | F3 | E Rogersville/SE Elkmont, AL to Flintville, TN | 50.0 | 200 | 5 | 13 | |
| April 16, 1921 | 6:00 AM CST | F2 | N Coldwater, TN | 5 | ||||
| April 16, 1921 | 5:00 AM CST | F2 | Elkon/SW Dellrose, TN | 6.6 | 100 | 1 | 8 | |
| May 4, 1914 | 10:30 PM CST | F2 | E Delina, TN | 1 | 2 | |||
| October 14, 1909 | 7:15 PM CST | F2 | Mulberry, TN | 3.7 | 200 | 1 | 2 | |
| October 14, 1909 | 7:00 PM CST | F2 | Buford, TN | 5 | ||||
| April 29, 1909 | 11:00 PM CST | F4 | AL to Bee Springs, TN | 20.6 | 800 | 29 | 70 | |
| November 19, 1906 | 2:00 AM CST | F2 | Mulberry, TN | 400 | 8 | |||
| March 27, 1890 | 10:00 PM CST | F2 | Fayetteville, TN | 4.8 | 1 | 15 |
About the record before 1950
- Significant tornadoes only
- Grazulis listed tornadoes rated F2 or stronger, and weaker ones that killed somebody. Most tornadoes are weaker than F2, so the list holds a fraction of the tornadoes that happened.
- The early years are thin
- A tornado is on record only where somebody saw it and wrote it down. The count rises through the 1800s with settlement and newspapers, not with the weather.
- Rated from accounts
- Grazulis rated each tornado decades later from newspaper reports, Weather Bureau records and local histories, not from a damage survey.
- The tracks are reconstructed
- Tornado Archive drew each path through the places Grazulis names, most often as a straight line from the first to the last. A track can miss a town it hit, and a tornado with one named place is a point. The counties are today’s.
- A separate record
- SPC’s database, from 1950, counts every confirmed tornado of any strength. The two are kept apart on every page and never added together.
Nearby
Warnings in force in Lincoln CountyThe forecast for Lincoln CountyThe live radar over Lincoln 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. Before 1950: Thomas P. Grazulis, Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991 and Significant Tornadoes 1880-1989, as digitized by Tornado Archive (Maas and others, 2024). Public domain. Counties assigned by this site from today’s NWS county lines.