45
Recorded events
15
Direct deaths
211
Direct injuries
$100.2M
Property damage
Tornado in Sumner County, Tennessee: 45 recorded events between 1955 and 2023. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #479 nationally and #4 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Sumner County, Tennessee: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Sumner County is the 2000s, when 9 of the county's 45 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 Sumner County archive, tornado makes up 6.1% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #479 for this hazard and #4 within Tennessee, putting it in the 83.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Sumner County with 15 recorded events, while Aug 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.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970-04-27 | EF4 | 42.6 mi | 250 yd | Crossed in |
| 2008-02-05 | EF3 | 50.3 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 2006-04-07 | EF3 | 22.7 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 1956-02-27 | EF3 | 15.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2023-12-09 | EF2 | 34.8 mi | 400 yd | Crossed in |
| 2002-11-10 | EF2 | 2.6 mi | 900 yd | Touched down here |
| 1999-05-05 | EF2 | 0.7 mi | 220 yd | Touched down here |
| 1998-04-03 | EF2 | 15.8 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-18 | EF2 | 15.0 mi | 73 yd | Crossed in |
| 1984-05-06 | EF2 | 1.0 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2006 | GALLATIN | F3 | 7 | 121 | $69.0M |
| Feb 6, 2008 | CASTALIAN SPGS | EF3 | 7 | 14 | $10.0M |
| Apr 27, 1970 | F4 | 1 | 10 | $2.5M | |
| May 18, 1995 | F2 | 0 | 28 | $3.0M | |
| May 6, 1999 | GALLATIN | F2 | 0 | 17 | $1.0M |
| Nov 10, 2002 | PORTLAND | F2 | 0 | 6 | $500K |
| Feb 27, 1956 | F3 | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| Mar 5, 1955 | F2 | 0 | 4 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 9, 2023 | ROCKLAND | EF2 | $10.0M |
| Dec 11, 2021 | HUNTERS PT | EF0 | $10K |
| Dec 11, 2021 | GRABALL | EF0 | $25K |
| Dec 11, 2021 | OLD HICKORY | EF1 | $1.5M |
| May 4, 2021 | CASTALIAN SPGS | EF0 | $10K |
| May 4, 2021 | GALLATIN MUNI ARPT | EF0 | $15K |
| May 4, 2021 | SAUNDERSVILLE | EF0 | $25K |
| May 4, 2021 | CLEARVIEW | EF0 | $5K |
| May 4, 2021 | WHITE HOUSE | EF0 | $5K |
| Nov 18, 2013 | PORTLAND | EF0 | $200K |
Other hazards here
More from Sumner County
- Thunderstorm Wind 425
- Hail 163
- Flash Flood 72
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Castalian Springs Post Office was completely destroyed. There were 85 homes destroyed in Sumner County. ||Also in Castalian Springs, a 180 year-old structure called Wynnewood, lost the top of its structure due to the tornado. The historic log structure served as a stagecoach stop. The structure had 3 chimneys and was 142 feet long, making it the longest log structure in Tennessee.||Officials say it would take 2 years and $6 million to restore Wynnewood. It is Sumner County's sole historic landmark.||Also, 102 trees were lost in the area by the tornado.||The 11-month-old son of Kerri Stowell survived the storm and was found miraculously unharmed in a field across the street from their home in Castalian Springs. Unfortunately, Kerri Stowell was killed in the tornado. ||The tornado directly killed 7 people in Sumner County, and there was one indirect fatality when Mr. Lampkin, age 63, died of a heart attack while seeking shelter in his home. There were 14 people injured in Sumner County. ||This tornado continued into Trousdale and Macon Counties, and also into Kentucky.
The tornado first touched down near Goodlettsville and moved northeast. The tornado struck near the Rivergate Mall. At least two dozen business were damaged. Nearly 500 cars were damaged beyond repair at a nearby auto dealership. In Sumner County, 35 apartments were destroyed along with three mobile homes. Several business were damaged. An elementary school in Westmoreland lost a large area of roofing above the gymnasium. The Gallatin Civic Center suffered major damage to its swimming pool. Several high tension towers were bent. Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down.
An EF-1 tornado touched down in Old Hickory on Martingale Drive and moved northeast across Fowler Street, Orchard Drive, Wilmington Street, Richmond Street, 4th Street, and Jones Circle, uprooting several large trees, causing roof damage to multiple homes, and damaging outbuildings. The tornado then moved across Old Hickory Lake and downed power lines and trees from Walton Ferry to Sanders Ferry Road in Hendersonville. The heaviest damage occurred on Private Drive, Cumberland Hills Drive and Lake Valley Road where numerous trees were snapped or uprooted and homes received significant roof damage. The tornado continued east, crossing Old Hickory Lake once again and downing trees and power lines on Carter Lane in north Mt. Juliet. The storm weakened and lifted on Saundersville Ferry Road near Crosswinds Drive. Total path length of this tornado was 6.82 miles.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Sumner County, Tennessee?
45 tornado events are recorded in Sumner County between 1955 and 2023, causing 15 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Sumner County?
The strongest tornado on record in Sumner County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Sumner 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
“Tornado in Sumner County, Tennessee.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/tennessee/sumner-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.