Claiborne County, Tennessee severe weather history spans 289 recorded events between 1967 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 70.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,844 nationally and #50 in Tennessee.
289
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
18
Direct injuries
$5.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Claiborne County, Tennessee severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Claiborne County, Tennessee severe weather history averages 5.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 111 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 8 events fall before 1990 and 281 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Claiborne County, Tennessee record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $2.2M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Claiborne County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 203 | 1 | $1.0M | 70 | 1967–2025 |
| Hail | 46 | 0 | $5K | 1.75 | 1972–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 18 | 1 | $1.6M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 10 | 0 | $2.2M | F0 | 2000–2020 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $24K | 0 | 2010–2010 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 1998–1998 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2023–2023 |
Decade by decade
Claiborne County, Tennessee severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
12 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 10 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988-05-09 | EF3 | 1 | 15 | 5.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-07-27 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2012-03-02 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-03-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-03-02 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-03-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-04-03 | EF1 | 0 | 7 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-04-26 | EF1 | 0 | 7 | 4.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-01-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Claiborne County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | LONE MTN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 20, 2011 | Flash Flood | TAZEWELL | 1 | 0 | $100K |
| Apr 26, 2007 | Tornado | TAZEWELL | 0 | 7 | $425K |
| Apr 4, 2007 | Tornado | NEW TAZEWELL | 0 | 7 | $1.2M |
| Mar 3, 2012 | Tornado | FIBRE | 0 | 4 | $500K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Several trees were blown down across the county by thunderstorm wind gusts, with one tree falling through a home. A separate tree fell on a car killing the occupant at the intersection of Lone Mountain Rd and Jennings Lane.
A tornado rated EF1 started five miles northwest of New Tazewell and ended five miles south of Tazewell. The length was approximately 12 miles long and 150 yards wide. The greatest damage occurred across New Tazewell where several trailers were blown off their foundations. Also, trees were blown down county-wide.
An EF-2 tornado with a maximum wind speed of 120 mph created a damage path 2.6 miles in length and 250 yards wide across the northern part of Harrogate. Along the tornado track, 5 homes were destroyed, 7 suffered major damage, and 17 had minor damage. Also, four residents were injured in the storm.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
32,466
Population (ACS)
$160K
Median home value
21
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 |
| Oct 2, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | DR |
| May 8, 2021 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 2, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Claiborne County, Tennessee?
289 events are on record between 1967 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $5.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Claiborne County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 203 recorded events — 70.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Claiborne County?
12 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 10 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Claiborne County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Claiborne County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Claiborne County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Claiborne County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 43 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Claiborne 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
- Chester County 189
- Clay County 187
- Cheatham County 299
- Cocke County 264
- Carter County 183
- Coffee County 406
Cite this page
“Claiborne County, Tennessee.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/tennessee/claiborne-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.