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Giles County, Tennessee severe weather history spans 327 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 59.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,625 nationally and #37 in Tennessee.
327
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
12
Direct injuries
$9.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Giles County, Tennessee severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Giles County, Tennessee severe weather history averages 4.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 90 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 33 events fall before 1990 and 294 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Giles County, Tennessee record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $7.2M 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 Giles County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 193 | 2 | $1.4M | 104 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 56 | 0 | $35K | 4.5 | 1993–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 43 | 0 | $305K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 20 | 1 | $7.2M | F4 | 1951–2026 |
| Lightning | 7 | 0 | $482K | 0 | 1998–2017 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2021–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2017 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2011 |
Decade by decade
Giles County, Tennessee severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
24 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 17 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-05-18 | EF4 | 3 | 32 | 29.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-04-11 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-08-16 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 45.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1985-08-16 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-04-21 | EF3 | 0 | 10 | 32.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-02-17 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 10.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1989-05-22 | EF2 | 1 | 2 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-04-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1985-08-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Giles County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 1989 | Tornado | 1 | 2 | $250K | |
| Jul 2, 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | BODENHAM | 1 | 0 | $1K |
| May 31, 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | MINOR HILL | 1 | 0 | $20K |
| Apr 22, 1972 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $0 | |
| Apr 5, 1985 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| May 9, 2024 | Tornado | BETHEL | 0 | 1 | $4.0M |
| Apr 16, 1998 | Tornado | YOKLEY | 0 | 1 | $1.0M |
| May 18, 1995 | Tornado | Liberty Hill to | 0 | 1 | $7 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Straight line winds were estimated to be 115 to 120 mph. The path length of destruction was 1/2 mile wide and 3/4 of a mile long. A house was severely damaged with a roof blown off and a wall blown down. It was a brick frame house built in 1980. A 7 year-old girl was killed inside her grandparent's home, at 520 Tacketts Branch Road, when a wall collapsed on her. Several outbuildings were damaged. Numerous trees were uprooted and blown down.
This EF-2 tornado touched down along Case Road southwest of Prospect where some trees were damaged. As the tornado continued east, a home sustained roof damage, and a tied-down manufactured home was completely removed from its base and destroyed. One person was critically injured in the manufactured home. As the tornado continued east, major tree damage occurred along Bethel Prospect Road, a metal shop building was destroyed, and another tied-down mobile was completely lifted off its base and wrapped around a tree with the remaining debris blown down a hillside. More trees continued to be blown down with roof damage to some homes and outbuildings as the tornado passed across the south edge of the town of Prospect and crossed Veto Road. The tornado continued to snap and uproot hundreds of trees as it moved up and down hills along El Reed Road before crossing the Elk River and dissipating. Damages are a rough estimate.
A low end EF3 tornado hit northwest Giles County near Liberty Hill. This was part of the same storm complex that hit Lawrence County. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted. Many homes had roof damage. The hardest hit area was along Rhea Branch Rd. One residential home was completely leveled. Major damage occurred to the back of the Liberty Hill Baptist Church.||A newspaper article stated that 8 homes were completely destroyed, and 30 other homes had serious damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
30,620
Population (ACS)
$234K
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 |
| Apr 2, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | EM |
| Jun 17, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 17, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADO | DR |
| Apr 7, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Pulaski 106
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Giles County, Tennessee?
327 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $9.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Giles County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 193 recorded events — 59.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Giles County?
24 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 17 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Giles County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Giles County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Giles County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Giles County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 61 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Giles 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
- Gibson County 399
- Grainger County 232
- Franklin County 449
- Greene County 399
- Fentress County 298
- Grundy County 186
Cite this page
“Giles County, Tennessee.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/tennessee/giles-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.