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Smith County, Tennessee severe weather history spans 266 recorded events between 1952 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 64.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,997 nationally and #61 in Tennessee.
266
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
23
Direct injuries
$13.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Smith County, Tennessee severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Smith County, Tennessee severe weather history averages 3.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 125 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 16 events fall before 1990 and 250 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $6.6M 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 Smith County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 172 | 0 | $1.9M | 74 | 1959–2026 |
| Hail | 43 | 0 | $10K | 2.75 | 1961–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 25 | 0 | $3.2M | 0 | 1998–2021 |
| Tornado | 15 | 0 | $6.6M | F2 | 1952–2021 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $1.7M | 0 | 2009–2020 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2010–2019 |
Decade by decade
Smith County, Tennessee severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
19 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-03-03 | EF3 | 5 | 220 | 60.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1959-03-26 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 19.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-12-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1997-01-24 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1997-01-24 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 14.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 15.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2020-04-25 | EF1 | 0 | 3 | 3.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-03-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-03-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-10-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Smith County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 6, 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | FLAT ROCK | 0 | 11 | $5K |
| Jan 24, 1997 | Tornado | BRUSH CREEK | 0 | 6 | $1.0M |
| Mar 5, 1955 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| Apr 2, 1970 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Mar 22, 1952 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Major flash flooding affected northern Smith County, especially the Dixon Springs and Riddleton areas. Numerous primary and secondary roads along with private driveways and bridges were flooded and closed or even washed out, including Highway 25, Bowmans Branch Lane, Wilburn Hollow Road, and Young Branch Road. One car reportedly was washed away into a creek off Highway 25 in Riddleton. Several homes were also flooded in these same areas. The Smith County Highway Superintendent stated that it would take at least 8 weeks to repair all the flood damage to the road network across the county. At least 2 water rescues from homes were conducted on Wilburn Hollow Road.
On State Highway 53 near Chesnut Mound, hillside gave way due to the heavy rain and blocked off one half of the highway. Details on amount of damage to this highway were unkown. Also, numerous homes, numerous businesses, numerous non comercial buildings, along with several county, state, and federal roads across the county received damage due to the flood.
Sherriff���s office reported several roads in the northeast portion of Smith County with water over the roads, resulting in them being closed.| |Newspapers reported that a section of the roadway was washed out on Dog Branch Road. A large crack on Hartsville Pike developed in the Halls Hill community resulting in closure of the road. Heavy rainfall washed rocks onto State Highway 25 near the Carthage city limits which county's department of transportation had to clear off the road to make it passible again.||Newspapers also reported that Defeated Creek rose to within inches of flooding three mobile homes in the Difficult community. The water rose to the back of the mobile homes which sit along Difficult Road. One family in the 400 block of Difficult Road had to be removed from their home by rescue personnel. Water got inside the Pleasant Shade Grocery and Restaurant. On S.P. McClanahan Road, a PT Cruiser was washed downstream by the heavy rainfall.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
20,389
Population (ACS)
$244K
Median home value
22
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 8, 2021 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 21, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Smith County, Tennessee?
266 events are on record between 1952 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $13.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Smith County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 172 recorded events — 64.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Smith County?
19 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 12 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Smith County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Smith County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Smith County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Smith County as very low risk, placing it in the 19 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Smith 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
- Shelby County 1,180
- Stewart County 299
- Sevier County 411
- Sullivan County 421
- Sequatchie County 231
- Sumner County 738
Cite this page
“Smith County, Tennessee.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/tennessee/smith-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.