488
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$3.0M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Knox County, Tennessee: 488 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 76. That places the county #122 nationally and #5 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Knox County, Tennessee: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Knox County is the 2000s, when 146 of the county's 488 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 Knox County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 63.0% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #122 for this hazard and #5 within Tennessee, putting it in the 96.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Knox County with 110 recorded events, while Jan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 9, 2000 | KNOXVILLE | 0 | 2 | 0 | $3K |
| Jul 8, 2016 | ROCKY HILL | 60 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 29, 1991 | 0 | 0 | 3 | $0 | |
| Dec 11, 2021 | BYRDS CHAPEL | 60 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 7, 1986 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 20, 2026 | SOUTH KNOXVILLE | 52 | $15K |
| Feb 20, 2026 | KNOXVILLE DOWNTOWN I | 52 | $100K |
| Dec 19, 2025 | KNOXVILLE | 52 | $0 |
| Dec 19, 2025 | SEQUOYAH HILLS | 61 | $100K |
| Dec 19, 2025 | POWELL | 56 | $2K |
| Sep 4, 2025 | SUBURBAN HILLS | 52 | $0 |
| May 21, 2025 | NORWOOD | 61 | $0 |
| May 21, 2025 | LOVELL | 63 | $0 |
| Apr 25, 2025 | FOUNTAIN CITY | 52 | $0 |
| Apr 25, 2025 | LYONS VIEW | 52 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Knox County
- Hail 169
- Flash Flood 68
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 36 inch diameter oak tree was felled by severe thunderstorm winds and sliced through the side of a home, requiring the fire department to extricate 1 person. No confirmed injuries. Fire department reported another tree falling on a separate house in Knoxville as well as several other incidents of tree damage across the city.
Storm blew the cover off a roof-top air conditioner unit of a grocery store in Knoxville, as well as destroying an awning at a gas station. Numerous trees and powerlines downed in Knoxville and across the eastern half of the county. Local newspaper reported nearly 18,000 people in the county lost power.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Knox County, Tennessee?
488 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Knox County between 1955 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Knox County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Knox County measured 76.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Knox 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 Knox County, Tennessee.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/tennessee/knox-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.