Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Stewart; Montgomery; Robertson; Sumner; Macon; Clay; Houston; Humphreys; Dickson; Cheatham; Davidson; Wilson; Trousdale; Smith; Jackson; Putnam; Overton; Perry; Hickman; Lewis; Williamson; Maury; Marshall; Rutherford; Cannon; De Kalb; White; Bedford; Coffee; Warren; Wayne; Lawrence; Giles
DeKalb County, Tennessee severe weather history spans 209 recorded events between 1968 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 61.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,388 nationally and #77 in Tennessee.
209
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
22
Direct injuries
$6.3M
Property damage
The record
What the DeKalb County, Tennessee severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, DeKalb County, Tennessee severe weather history averages 3.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 76 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 13 events fall before 1990 and 196 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the DeKalb County, Tennessee record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $2.4M 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 DeKalb County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 128 | 0 | $1.5M | 82 | 1971–2025 |
| Hail | 39 | 0 | $2.3M | 1.75 | 1974–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 19 | 0 | $76K | 0 | 1997–2022 |
| Tornado | 15 | 1 | $2.4M | F3 | 1968–2024 |
| Lightning | 5 | 0 | $55K | 0 | 2002–2009 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2023–2023 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2017–2017 |
Decade by decade
DeKalb County, Tennessee severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
15 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 11 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-04-03 | EF3 | 1 | 23 | 14.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1971-04-27 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 15.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2015-12-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-01-24 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-01-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-02-29 | EF1 | 1 | 0 | 14.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-11-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-03-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1984-05-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in DeKalb County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 29, 2012 | Tornado | SMITHVILLE | 1 | 0 | $500K |
| Apr 4, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 20 | $250K | |
| Jan 24, 1997 | Tornado | ALEXANDRIA | 0 | 1 | $5K |
| Apr 23, 1968 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Newspaper related story of many trees blown down, trees on homes and cars and trees blocking roads. A half dozen or more homes were damaged. There were downed trees and power lines as well. The hardest hit area was the eastern part of the county at Ragland Bottom and Hillcrest Hills. 38 homes were damaged in Dekalb County.
An EF1 tornado touched down east of Highway 70 in northwest Smithville then moved east paralleling Allen Ferry Road. Numerous trees were broken, snapped, and uprooted along the road, and several farm buildings lost roofing. The tornado then curved southeast and caused the worst damage along Highway 56 north of Smith Road where dozens of trees were snapped and uprooted and a couple homes suffered significant roof, garage, and exterior wall damage. The tornado then lifted east of the highway. Damages are a rough estimate.
A two story barn destroyed along with roof blown of building. Type of building was unkown. Newspaper reported that barn was violently thrown, sending splintered wood piercing through the roof of a home and other debris scattered across the property. The roof of the barn was blown over a house nearby. Debris was found across Robinson Road and into an adjacent field. The flying debris and winds damaged the back corner of this home also and destroyed its carport. Two vehicles were damaged in the activity also. Type and amount of damage to vehicles was unkown.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
20,959
Population (ACS)
$236K
Median home value
20
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 21, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
| Apr 2, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in DeKalb County, Tennessee?
209 events are on record between 1968 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $6.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in DeKalb County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 128 recorded events — 61.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed DeKalb County?
15 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 11 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover DeKalb County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include DeKalb County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is DeKalb County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates DeKalb County as very low risk, placing it in the 25 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the DeKalb 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
- Decatur County 198
- Dickson County 484
- Davidson County 1,534
- Dyer County 263
- Cumberland County 304
- Fayette County 356
Cite this page
“DeKalb County, Tennessee.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/tennessee/dekalb-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.