Anderson County, Tennessee severe weather history spans 360 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 66.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,429 nationally and #31 in Tennessee.
360
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$2.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Anderson County, Tennessee severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Anderson County, Tennessee severe weather history averages 5.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 156 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 33 events fall before 1990 and 327 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Anderson County, Tennessee record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $1.5M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Anderson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 238 | 0 | $1.5M | 100 | 1956–2024 |
| Hail | 86 | 0 | $523K | 3.5 | 1959–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 22 | 1 | $22K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $601K | 0 | 1998–2022 |
| Tornado | 4 | 0 | $268K | F2 | 1953–2011 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Anderson County, Tennessee severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
7 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 6 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993-02-21 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 16.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-11-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-03-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 16.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-05-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-06-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-05-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-04 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 8.7 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Anderson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 1998 | Flash Flood | LAKE CITY | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 18, 1995 | Hail | Clinton | 0 | 9 | $500K |
| Apr 14, 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | BATLEY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Several vehicles were badly damaged by hail. Nine persons were treated for bruises after being hit in the head by hail. A local newspaper had a skylight broken in the press room. A few auto dealerships had about 400 cars damaged. Other cars were damaged as well.
An NWS storm survey reported an EF-1 tornado touched down 6 miles east of Oak Ridge. It formed near the Bull Run Fossil Fuel Plant then traveled northeast toward near Etmore Road just east of Oak Ridge. It had a path length of 1.5 miles and a path width of 80 yards. The max winds of 90 mph downed numerous trees and produced slight roof damage on 3 homes.
Isolated flash flooding occurred with a foot of water over area roads in the Clinton, Tennessee area. A mud slide occurred due to the flash flooding on Spring Street in Clinton, Tennessee and Johnson Gap and Granite roads were also closed due to flash flooding.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
79,153
Population (ACS)
$239K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 6, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Apr 2, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | EM |
| Apr 2, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Apr 17, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Anderson County, Tennessee?
360 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $2.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Anderson County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 238 recorded events — 66.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Anderson County?
7 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 6 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Anderson County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Anderson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Anderson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Anderson County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 73 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Anderson County, Tennessee severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Bedford County 378
- Benton County 287
- Bledsoe County 287
- Blount County 533
- Bradley County 438
- Campbell County 279
Cite this page
“Anderson County, Tennessee.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/tennessee/anderson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.