Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Clay; Greene; Craighead; Poinsett; Mississippi; Cross; Crittenden; St. Francis; Lee; Phillips; Dunklin; Pemiscot; DeSoto; Marshall; Benton; Tippah; Alcorn; Tishomingo; Tunica; Tate; Prentiss; Coahoma; Quitman; Panola; Lafayette; Union; Pontotoc; Lee; Itawamba; Tallahatchie; Yalobusha; Calhoun; Chickasaw; Monroe; Lake; Obion; Weakley; Henry; Dyer; Gibson; Carroll; Benton; Lauderdale; Tipton; Haywood; Crockett; Madison; Chester; Henderson; Decatur; Shelby; Fayette; Hardeman; McNairy; Hardin
Madison County, Tennessee severe weather history spans 493 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 43.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #900 nationally and #15 in Tennessee.
493
Recorded events
21
Direct deaths
281
Direct injuries
$200.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Madison County, Tennessee severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Madison County, Tennessee severe weather history averages 6.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 135 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 71 events fall before 1990 and 422 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Madison County, Tennessee record is tornado, responsible for 20 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $183.8M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Madison County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 212 | 0 | $2.6M | 70 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 156 | 0 | $205K | 4 | 1967–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 67 | 0 | $11.9M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 35 | 20 | $183.8M | F4 | 1953–2025 |
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 1997–2021 |
| Lightning | 9 | 1 | $391K | 0 | 1998–2012 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2018 |
Decade by decade
Madison County, Tennessee severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
37 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 32 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-05-04 | EF4 | 11 | 86 | 39.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-01-17 | EF4 | 6 | 106 | 16.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-02-05 | EF4 | 0 | 51 | 7.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-02-05 | EF3 | 3 | 14 | 31.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1988-01-19 | EF3 | 3 | 24 | 22.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2003-05-04 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 21.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-01-17 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 22.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-03-14 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 24.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-02-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-11-19 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 12.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Madison County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 2003 | Tornado | DENMARK | 11 | 66 | $30.0M |
| Jan 18, 1999 | Tornado | BEMIS | 6 | 106 | $10.0M |
| Feb 6, 2008 | Tornado | LEIGHTON | 2 | 14 | $10.0M |
| Apr 19, 1975 | Tornado | 1 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| Jul 29, 2006 | Lightning | JACKSON | 1 | 0 | $75K |
| Feb 6, 2008 | Tornado | GILMORE | 0 | 51 | $100.0M |
| Mar 22, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 18 | $250K | |
| May 25, 1971 | Tornado | 0 | 8 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado developed just east of Bemis and tracked northeast across the southern part of the city of Jackson. A shopping center suffered severe damage while a nearby funeral home was demolished except for the interior rooms. More than 200 homes were obliterated or heavily damaged while 300 other homes sustained lesser damage. The building housing the school buses for the county was destroyed and 55 school buses were damaged. A high-school baseball stadium was destroyed and the football stadium was damaged.
A tornado crossed into Madison County from Haywood County, Tennessee. The tornado struck the town of Huntersville and produced EF-3 damage. One home was totally destroyed on Huntersville-Denmark Road. One person was killed inside the home. Another home was destroyed in Huntersville. One person was killed in this home as well. Numerous homes were destroyed or damaged along the path in Huntersville area. The St. John No. 2 Baptist Church was severely damaged and the church bus was flipped upside down and tossed several hundred feet. The tornado lifted northeast of Huntersville near Interstate 40. A rest area along Interstate 40 was severely damaged. Thirteen tractor-trailers and several cars were also blown off of the Interstate due to the tornado. One car was tossed 75 yards from Interstate 40 into a farm field. Along the track of this tornado over 50 structures were destroyed and over 80 more were damaged.
The tornado started southeast of Eurekaton in Haywood County and travelled northeast crossing into Madison County eventually reaching the north part of the city of Jackson. In Haywood county, seven houses, five mobile homes, five barns and seven sheds were destroyed. In Madison county, the tornado damaged or destroyed several homes in Mercer and Denmark. While moving toward Jackson, the tornado struck the south side of McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport damaging the ASOS equipment located at the airport. The new Tennessee National Guard armory and a hangar were flattened. Two UH-60 helicopters and two other helicopters were destroyed with four additional helicopters damaged. In Jackson, a total of 38 apartments were destroyed.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
99,295
Population (ACS)
$212K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 6, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Jun 19, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 2, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | EM |
| May 17, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADO | DR |
| May 8, 2021 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Jackson 182
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Madison County, Tennessee?
493 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 21 direct deaths and $200.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Madison County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 212 recorded events — 43.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Madison County?
37 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 32 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Madison County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Madison County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Madison County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Madison County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 92 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Madison 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
- Macon County 241
- Marion County 383
- McNairy County 235
- Marshall County 265
- McMinn County 484
- Maury County 523
Cite this page
“Madison County, Tennessee.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/tennessee/madison-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.