230
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$2.1M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Rhea County, Tennessee: 230 recorded events between 1960 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 70. That places the county #809 nationally and #29 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Rhea County, Tennessee: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Rhea County is the 2000s, when 87 of the county's 230 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 Rhea County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 69.1% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #809 for this hazard and #29 within Tennessee, putting it in the 74.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Rhea County with 52 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 1998 | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 0 | 4 | $25K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 2026 | WASHINGTON | 52 | $0 |
| May 2, 2025 | MORGAN SPGS | 52 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2025 | SPRING CITY | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 2024 | MORGANTOWN | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 2024 | LORRAINE | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 17, 2024 | DAYTON ARPT | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 17, 2024 | MONTAGUE | 52 | $0 |
| Aug 12, 2023 | MONTAGUE | 52 | $0 |
| Aug 7, 2023 | MORGANTOWN | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 20, 2023 | IDEAL VLY | 52 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Rhea County
- Hail 65
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
High wind flipped a boat dock at the Arrowhead Marina onto an adjacent boat dock.|Twenty five boats were damaged during the event and a HAZMAT team arrived at the scene to contain gasoline and oil leaks from the damaged boats.
Several large trees near Frazier Park were blown over by severe thunderstorm wind gusts. At least one large tree caused structural damage to a manufactured home when it fell. Couple of old sheds received structural damage as well during this storm.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Rhea County, Tennessee?
230 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Rhea County between 1960 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Rhea County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Rhea County measured 70.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Rhea 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 Rhea County, Tennessee.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/tennessee/rhea-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.