Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee

Tornadoes in Wilson County, Tennessee

45 tornadoes have crossed Wilson County since 1950, 5th of the 95 counties in Tennessee with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.7 years. They have killed 6 people and injured 294. 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
45
Deaths
6
Injuries
294
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF3, March 3, 2020

The deadliest in Wilson County

  1. EF3 Nashville tornado, TennesseeMarch 3, 20205 killed, 220 injured
  2. F3, Davidson, Wilson and Trousdale counties, TennesseeApril 16, 19981 killed, 60 injured

The strongest

  1. EF3 Nashville tornado, TennesseeMarch 3, 2020EF3, 60.1 mi (97 km)
  2. F3, Davidson, Wilson and Trousdale counties, TennesseeApril 16, 1998F3, 42.1 mi (68 km)
  3. F3, Rutherford and Wilson counties, TennesseeApril 3, 1974F3, 15.9 mi (26 km)
  4. F3, Wilson and DeKalb counties, TennesseeApril 27, 1971F3, 15.0 mi (24 km)
  5. F2, Davidson and Wilson counties, TennesseeApril 16, 1998F2, 27.7 mi (45 km)
  6. F2, Trousdale, Wilson and Smith counties, TennesseeApril 3, 1974F2, 15.8 mi (25 km)
  7. EF2, Wilson County, TennesseeFebruary 24, 2011EF2, 8.0 mi (13 km)
  8. EF2, Davidson and Wilson counties, TennesseeFebruary 24, 2011EF2, 7.5 mi (12 km)
  9. F2, Wilson County, TennesseeJune 4, 1985F2, 5.0 mi (8 km)
  10. EF2, Wilson County, TennesseeJanuary 30, 2013EF2, 4.5 mi (7 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 27 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Wilson County. Each year links to every tornado in Tennessee that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20251EF1
20241EF0
202141EF1
202025223EF3
20191EF0
20173EF1
20154EF0
20132EF2
20121EF0
201132EF2
20031F1
20011F0
20001F0
19983160F3
19971F2
19961F1
19922F0
19851F2
198011F1
19762F1
197434F3
19731F1
197113F3
19661F1
19651F1
19571F2
19551F2

Every tornado that crossed Wilson County

45 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 3, 20259:36 AM CDTEF1Wilson11.5300$250,000
May 6, 20242:55 PM CDTEF0Wilson0.550$25,000
December 11, 20213:48 AM CSTEF0Wilson3.150$20,000
December 11, 20213:31 AM CSTEF1Davidson7.71001$1.3 million
October 3, 20214:36 PM CDTEF0Wilson2.525$5,000
March 25, 20218:25 PM CDTEF0Wilson3.275$50,000
April 25, 20204:45 PM CDTEF1Wilson3.81003$25,000
March 3, 202012:32 AM CSTEF3Nashville tornado60.11,6005220$1.5 billion
February 6, 20199:49 PM CSTEF0Wilson1.050$10,000
November 18, 20174:53 PM CSTEF1Davidson10.9100$70,000
March 1, 20177:40 AM CSTEF1Wilson7.2200$110,000
March 1, 20177:37 AM CSTEF0Wilson3.3100$15,000
July 2, 20157:36 PM CDTEF0Wilson1.1100$20,000
July 2, 20157:20 PM CDTEF0Wilson2.5100$10,000
July 2, 20156:44 PM CDTEF0Wilson2.650$10,000
July 2, 20155:22 PM CDTEF0Wilson0.350$25,000
January 30, 20133:40 AM CSTEF1Wilson10.0150$1.0 million
January 30, 20133:25 AM CSTEF2Wilson4.5150$1.0 million
October 1, 20125:07 PM CDTEF0Wilson2.0100$20,000
March 23, 20116:19 PM CDTEF1Wilson5.7100$200,000
February 24, 201110:14 PM CSTEF2Wilson8.01502$500,000
February 24, 201110:02 PM CSTEF2Davidson7.5100$550,000
May 11, 20033:20 AM CDTF1Wilson3.6200$500,000
February 25, 20011:30 AM CSTF0Wilson0.110
April 20, 20006:25 PM CDTF0Wilson0.410
April 16, 19984:20 PM CDTF2Davidson27.7880$3.0 million
April 16, 19983:30 PM CDTF3Davidson42.1880160$101 million
April 3, 19983:12 PM CSTF1Wilson4.6100$250,000
January 24, 19974:53 PM CSTF2Wilson2.8440$250,000
June 9, 19963:35 AM CDTF1Wilson2.4450$150,000
August 27, 19927:50 PM CDTF0Wilson0.213$5,000 to $50,000
August 27, 19926:50 PM CDTF0Wilson0.530$5,000 to $50,000
June 4, 19855:30 PM CDTF2Wilson5.0100$5,000 to $50,000
May 17, 19803:30 PM CDTF1Wilson0.72001$50,000 to $500,000
March 20, 197610:25 PM CSTF1Wilson7.3440$50,000 to $500,000
February 17, 197611:15 PM CSTF1Rutherford20.9440$50,000 to $500,000
April 3, 19746:10 PM CDTF3Rutherford15.9100$500 to $5,000
April 3, 19746:00 PM CDTF2Trousdale15.8300$500,000 to $5 million
April 1, 19748:45 PM CDTF1Wilson13.11004$500,000 to $5 million
April 25, 19733:25 PM CSTF1Wilson0.110$5,000 to $50,000
April 27, 19719:31 PM CDTF3Wilson15.02003$50,000 to $500,000
April 30, 19661:00 PM GMT-5F1Wilson0.110
March 17, 19659:00 AM GMT-6F1Wilson0.110$500 to $5,000
January 22, 19575:00 PM GMT-6F2Wilson0.413$5,000 to $50,000
March 5, 19557:00 PM GMT-6F2Wilson0.110$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Wilson CountyThe forecast for Wilson CountyThe live radar over Wilson 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.