Hurricane History Map

Hurricanes that hit Tennessee: hurricane history

77 storms have passed within 50 km of Tennessee from 1853 to 2024, drawn on the map and coloured by intensity.

Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near Tennessee

The record holds 77 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Tennessee between 1853 and 2024. The busiest month is September, with 27 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 2 strength. 5 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 77storms within 50 km
  • 0major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 1at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near Tennessee?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression4761%
Tropical storm2431%
Category 100%
Category 211%
Category 300%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity56%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

Tennessee storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 10 in 2000s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1970s1990s2010s

The 2020s only run to 2024, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1853, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s1
1860s2
1870s3
1880s3
1890s6
1900s4
1910s5
1920s3
1930s4
1940s4
1950s5
1960s5
1970s5
1980s3
1990s4
2000s10
2010s5
2020s5

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 27 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May2Jun9Jul11Aug17Sep27Oct9Nov2Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May2
Jun9
Jul11
Aug17
Sep27
Oct9
Nov2
Dec0

Strongest storms near Tennessee

  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, Category 2 (85 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • Eloise (1975)13 September 1975 to 24 September 1975, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 950 hPa
  • Zeta (2020)24 October 2020 to 30 October 2020, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 973 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1888 (North Atlantic)14 August 1888 to 24 August 1888, Tropical storm (55 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (110 kt)
  • Camille (1969)14 August 1969 to 22 August 1969, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 905 hPa
  • Opal (1995)27 September 1995 to 6 October 1995, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 919 hPa

Most recent storms near Tennessee

  • Helene (2024)23 September 2024 to 28 September 2024, Tropical storm (45 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 941 hPa
  • Nicole (2022)6 November 2022 to 11 November 2022, Tropical depression (25 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (65 kt), 980 hPa
  • Ida (2021)26 August 2021 to 4 September 2021, Tropical depression (25 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 929 hPa
  • Fred (2021)9 August 2021 to 20 August 2021, Tropical depression (25 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (55 kt), 991 hPa
  • Zeta (2020)24 October 2020 to 30 October 2020, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 973 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

Tennessee ranks number 13 among US states and territories for the number of storms.

Notable storms near Tennessee with their own pages

  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • Eloise (1975)13 September 1975 to 24 September 1975, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 950 hPa
  • Camille (1969)14 August 1969 to 22 August 1969, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 905 hPa
  • Opal (1995)27 September 1995 to 6 October 1995, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 919 hPa
  • Gracie (1959)20 September 1959 to 2 October 1959, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 951 hPa
  • Frederic (1979)29 August 1979 to 15 September 1979, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 943 hPa
  • Helene (2024)23 September 2024 to 28 September 2024, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 941 hPa
  • Audrey (1957)24 June 1957 to 29 June 1957, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 946 hPa
  • Katrina (2005)23 August 2005 to 31 August 2005, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 902 hPa
  • Betsy (1965)27 August 1965 to 13 September 1965, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 942 hPa
  • Lili (2002)21 September 2002 to 4 October 2002, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 940 hPa
  • Ivan (2004)2 September 2004 to 24 September 2004, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 910 hPa

Tennessee counties

Every county that a storm has come near is listed, most storms first. 95 of them have at least 3 storms and their own page.

CountyStormsStrongest near the county
Franklin County23Tropical storm
McNairy County23Tropical storm
Hardin County22Tropical storm
Giles County21Tropical storm
Hardeman County21Tropical storm
Lawrence County21Tropical storm
Coffee County20Tropical storm
Henderson County20Tropical storm
Lincoln County20Tropical storm
Bedford County19Tropical storm
Fayette County19Tropical storm
Moore County19Tropical storm
Shelby County19Tropical storm
Wayne County19Tropical storm
Benton County18Tropical storm
Carroll County18Tropical storm
Chester County18Tropical storm
Decatur County18Tropical storm
Henry County18Tropical storm
Marshall County18Tropical storm
Maury County18Tropical storm
Polk County18Tropical storm
Stewart County18Tropical storm
Williamson County18Tropical storm
Haywood County17Tropical storm
Houston County17Tropical storm
Perry County17Tropical storm
Rutherford County17Tropical storm
Blount County16Tropical storm
Cannon County16Tropical storm
Hamilton County16Tropical storm
Knox County16Tropical storm
Lauderdale County16Tropical storm
Lewis County16Tropical storm
Monroe County16Tropical storm
Sequatchie County16Tropical storm
Sevier County16Tropical storm
Tipton County16Tropical storm
Bradley County15Tropical storm
Cheatham County15Tropical storm
Crockett County15Tropical storm
Davidson County15Tropical storm
Dyer County15Tropical storm
Gibson County15Tropical storm
Grundy County15Tropical storm
Hickman County15Tropical storm
Humphreys County15Tropical storm
Loudon County15Tropical storm
Madison County15Tropical storm
Marion County15Tropical storm
Montgomery County15Tropical storm
Weakley County15Tropical storm
Wilson County15Tropical storm
Bledsoe County14Tropical storm
Cumberland County14Tropical storm
Dickson County14Tropical storm
McMinn County14Tropical storm
Meigs County14Tropical storm
Putnam County14Tropical storm
Rhea County14Tropical storm
Sullivan County14Tropical storm
Warren County14Tropical storm
Cocke County13Tropical storm
DeKalb County13Tropical storm
Greene County13Tropical storm
Macon County13Tropical storm
Obion County13Tropical storm
Overton County13Tropical storm
Roane County13Tropical storm
Van Buren County13Tropical storm
White County13Tropical storm
Carter County12Category 2
Johnson County12Category 2
Smith County12Tropical storm
Clay County11Tropical storm
Fentress County11Tropical storm
Hawkins County11Tropical storm
Jackson County11Tropical storm
Jefferson County11Tropical storm
Morgan County11Tropical storm
Robertson County11Tropical storm
Sumner County11Tropical storm
Unicoi County11Tropical storm
Washington County11Tropical storm
Campbell County10Tropical storm
Hamblen County10Tropical storm
Lake County10Tropical storm
Union County10Tropical storm
Claiborne County9Tropical storm
Grainger County9Tropical storm
Pickett County9Tropical storm
Scott County9Tropical storm
Trousdale County9Tropical storm
Anderson County8Tropical storm
Hancock County8Tropical storm

Other states

Embed this map

Copy this code into your web page. It is free to use. Please keep the link under the map, as it is how people find where the map comes from.