491
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$3.8M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Hamilton County, Tennessee: 491 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 78. That places the county #120 nationally and #4 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Hamilton County, Tennessee: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Hamilton County is the 2000s, when 155 of the county's 491 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 Hamilton County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 62.9% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #120 for this hazard and #4 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 Hamilton County with 116 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 5, 2012 | BARTLEBAUGH | 60 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 25, 2001 | RED BANK | 0 | 1 | 1 | $75K |
| Apr 13, 2020 | BRAINERD | 55 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | (CHA)LOVELL FLD CHAT | 60 | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| Jul 5, 2012 | APISON | 60 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2023 | RATHBURN | 52 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 7, 1986 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2026 | CHATTANOOGA | 52 | $0 |
| Aug 20, 2025 | CHICKAMAUGA | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 27, 2025 | NORTH CHATTANOOGA | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 27, 2025 | CHATTANOOGA | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 7, 2025 | WORK | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 7, 2025 | COLLEGEDALE ARPK | 70 | $500K |
| Jun 7, 2025 | OOLTEWAH | 70 | $0 |
| Jun 7, 2025 | NORTH CHATTANOOGA | 52 | $5K |
| Jun 7, 2025 | LUPTON CITY | 61 | $0 |
| Jun 7, 2025 | WHITE OAK | 78 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Hamilton County
- Hail 168
- Flash Flood 59
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 41-year-old woman was killed in her trailer by a falling tree. Reports stated that her husband and son were seeking shelter in a closet whereas she chose to stay out the closet. The room she in which was located is where the tree smashed the trailer. The husband and son were not injured.
A large, uprooted tree fell across the corner of a permanent home. The tree destroyed the underlying structure of the roof and laid across an occupied bed. This damage occurred northwest of the eastern Hamilton County tornado and was associated with the heavy precipitation and consequentially strong outflow wind gusts.
Large tree branches up to 10 inches in diameter were snapped off the trees by powerful thunderstorm wind gusts. At one location, the Chattanooga Fire Department responded to a house with a large tree branch damaging the porch roof of the home. EPB of Chattanooga reported over 400 incidents of downed power lines, snapped power poles, or other infrastructure damage across Hamilton County.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Hamilton County, Tennessee?
491 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Hamilton County between 1956 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Hamilton County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Hamilton County measured 78.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Hamilton 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 Hamilton County, Tennessee.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/tennessee/hamilton-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.