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Polk County, Tennessee severe weather history spans 270 recorded events between 1966 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 73.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,965 nationally and #59 in Tennessee.
270
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
11
Direct injuries
$10.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Polk County, Tennessee severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Polk County, Tennessee severe weather history averages 4.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 103 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 18 events fall before 1990 and 252 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Polk County, Tennessee record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $5.0M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Polk County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 197 | 1 | $988K | 70 | 1966–2025 |
| Hail | 46 | 0 | $100 | 2.75 | 1970–2021 |
| Tornado | 14 | 3 | $5.0M | F3 | 1973–2020 |
| Flash Flood | 5 | 0 | $4.2M | 0 | 2003–2021 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2009–2015 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2011 |
Decade by decade
Polk County, Tennessee severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
12 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-11-30 | EF3 | 2 | 0 | 4.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-03 | EF3 | 1 | 100 | 18.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2012-03-02 | EF3 | 0 | 44 | 41.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1986-02-06 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 10.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-27 | EF2 | 4 | 0 | 28.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-03-21 | EF2 | 0 | 7 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-12-13 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-04-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-05-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-03-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Polk County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 30, 2016 | Tornado | OCOEE | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 28, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | BENTON | 1 | 1 | $15K |
| Apr 3, 1974 | Tornado | 1 | 0 | $250K | |
| Mar 21, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 7 | $250K | |
| Dec 13, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado formed south of Ocoee with several large trees snapped. It strengthened to an EF-2 and moved north northeast and collapsed a cell phone tower. It quickly increased to an EF-3 and heavily damaged a post office. Several more buildings were heavily damaged along with some manufactured homes. Two fatalities occurred in the manufactured housing. Twenty other people were injured in this area. The tornado weakened to an EF-0 as it moved northeast towards Benton. It snapped off the tops of a few pine trees.
Harrison Tornado – Segment #3. The Harrison Tornado struggled as it crossed the Hiwassee River from Bradley County as an EF0. It remained an EF0 for about the next 6 miles as it only downed a few sporatic trees and larger limbs. The tornado started to intensify again near Dentville Rd. and reached it's maximum strength of EF1 at 100 mph as it damaged a couple of single family houses on Columbus Rd., just north of Lindale Rd.||Along its path, 10 homes were damaged with a total estimate of $600K, 5 barns were destroyed with the total agricultural property losses totaling $800K. Total infrastructure damages were $50K. Grand total damages were nearly $1.5 Million. There were no injuries.||Note: This tornado took the following turns: entering the county moving almost due east along the Hiwassee River, then turning to the left near 35.2289/-84.6988, then turning to the right as it intensified near 35.2596/-84.6246. It continued on this track to the McMinn County line.
Cleveland-to-Etowah Tornado. This tornado entered the northwest part of Polk County from Bradley County after already traveling over 15 miles. In Polk County, the tornado had weakened somewhat to 100 mph max winds that downed trees and caused some roof damage to homes. It then continued into McMinn County.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
17,898
Population (ACS)
$170K
Median home value
23
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 24, 2020 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Polk County, Tennessee?
270 events are on record between 1966 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths and $10.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Polk County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 197 recorded events — 73.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Polk County?
12 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 7 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Polk County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Polk County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Polk County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Polk County as very low risk, placing it in the 31 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Polk 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
- Pickett County 99
- Putnam County 478
- Perry County 222
- Rhea County 333
- Overton County 290
- Roane County 383
Cite this page
“Polk County, Tennessee.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/tennessee/polk-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.