111
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$704K
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Carter County, Tennessee: 111 recorded events between 1958 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 74. That places the county #2,069 nationally and #80 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Carter County, Tennessee: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Carter County is the 2000s, when 48 of the county's 111 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Carter County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 60.7% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,069 for this hazard and #80 within Tennessee, putting it in the 34.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Carter County with 31 recorded events, while Dec is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 8, 2016 | DENNIS COVE | 65 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 6, 2025 | ELIZABETHTON | 52 | $0 |
| Sep 12, 2023 | VALLEY FORGE | 52 | $0 |
| Aug 15, 2023 | DENNIS COVE | 74 | $0 |
| Aug 15, 2023 | DENNIS COVE | 74 | $0 |
| Aug 15, 2023 | ELIZABETHTON | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 29, 2023 | VALLEY FORGE | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 2022 | BILTMORE | 52 | $0 |
| May 28, 2021 | HAMPTON | 52 | $0 |
| Aug 1, 2020 | HAMPTON | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 17, 2019 | LITTLE MILLIGAN | 50 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A married couple was killed by a falling tree at their campsite near the south shore of Watauga Lake. They were beside their tent under an awning they had arranged. Numerous trees were downed in the area. Victims included a male aged 60 and a female aged 47.
A severe thunderstorm produced a swath of intermittent thunderstorm wind damage due to a severe convective downdraft. Wind damage began in portions of Elizabethton, mainly confined to trees and powerlines being blown down, and continued parallel to SR-91 to the county line with Johnson County. A trampoline from an unknown address was lofted and eventually deposited outside of a small grocer on the east side of Elizabethton. SR-91 was blocked in multiple locations by fallen trees, including near the Stoney Creek VFD Station Number 1.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Carter County, Tennessee?
111 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Carter County between 1958 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Carter County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Carter County measured 74.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Carter County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Carter County, Tennessee.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/tennessee/carter-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.