Lightning Risk in Tennessee

All Tennessee counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index lightning score

Lightning risk — electrical discharges from storms that ignite fires and cause casualties — is rated for 95 of 95 Tennessee counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Knox County carries the state's highest lightning score at 98.1, with $4M in expected annual lightning losses.

19 Tennessee counties are rated High or Very High for lightning, and expected annual losses from lightning total roughly $44M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Lightning

#CountyLightning ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Knox County
98.1
Very High 54.23 / yr $4M
2 Shelby County
96.2
High 59.86 / yr $2M
3 Hamilton County
94.8
High 61.37 / yr $2M
4 Fentress County
94.7
High 57.43 / yr $1M
5 Weakley County
92.7
High 57.27 / yr $2M
6 Gibson County
91.3
High 57.85 / yr $1M
7 Montgomery County
91.1
High 56.80 / yr $1M
8 Lawrence County
91.0
High 61.94 / yr $997K
9 Overton County
90.7
High 57.22 / yr $1M
10 Rutherford County
90.5
High 59.95 / yr $2M
11 Madison County
90.2
High 57.90 / yr $962K
12 Blount County
90.1
High 56.65 / yr $1M
13 Putnam County
88.3
High 58.30 / yr $1M
14 Washington County
87.2
High 51.21 / yr $1M
15 Sullivan County
85.6
High 50.28 / yr $911K
16 Greene County
84.4
High 51.55 / yr $664K
17 Sevier County
84.3
High 55.12 / yr $767K
18 Cumberland County
83.7
High 59.97 / yr $614K
19 Sumner County
82.4
High 57.51 / yr $1M
20 Stewart County
81.2
Medium 56.58 / yr $541K
21 Bradley County
80.1
Medium 60.72 / yr $806K
22 Dyer County
79.9
Medium 58.11 / yr $552K
23 Roane County
78.8
Medium 59.27 / yr $534K
24 Hamblen County
78.6
Medium 51.54 / yr $547K
25 Tipton County
78.2
Medium 58.16 / yr $517K
26 Anderson County
78.1
Medium 56.99 / yr $613K
27 Henry County
77.0
Medium 57.50 / yr $453K
28 Carroll County
76.6
Medium 57.97 / yr $496K
29 Hawkins County
75.9
Medium 50.91 / yr $455K
30 Fayette County
75.2
Medium 59.18 / yr $505K
31 Wilson County
74.7
Medium 58.90 / yr $847K
32 Loudon County
73.9
Medium 58.49 / yr $462K
33 Obion County
72.5
Medium 57.70 / yr $422K
34 Cocke County
72.5
Medium 52.95 / yr $353K
35 Jefferson County
71.9
Medium 51.91 / yr $463K
36 Monroe County
71.1
Medium 58.12 / yr $373K
37 Carter County
70.9
Medium 50.58 / yr $352K
38 McMinn County
68.4
Medium 58.81 / yr $395K
39 Lauderdale County
64.4
Medium 57.90 / yr $271K
40 Campbell County
63.6
Medium 55.55 / yr $266K
41 Scott County
62.7
Medium 56.56 / yr $276K
42 Warren County
61.5
Medium 60.32 / yr $279K
43 Robertson County
60.1
Medium 56.65 / yr $377K
44 Rhea County
59.9
Medium 60.66 / yr $286K
45 Henderson County
59.7
Medium 58.83 / yr $279K
46 Giles County
59.3
Medium 61.65 / yr $260K
47 White County
58.5
Medium 59.39 / yr $261K
48 Hardin County
58.0
Medium 60.85 / yr $208K
49 Maury County
57.3
Medium 61.15 / yr $344K
50 Claiborne County
56.6
Low 53.10 / yr $223K
51 Lincoln County
56.4
Low 60.76 / yr $230K
52 Hardeman County
55.2
Low 58.88 / yr $180K
53 Davidson County
54.5
Low 58.62 / yr $271K
54 Dickson County
54.5
Low 57.76 / yr $294K
55 Williamson County
53.7
Low 60.55 / yr $468K
56 Haywood County
53.2
Low 58.11 / yr $175K
57 Bedford County
53.1
Low 60.67 / yr $238K
58 Coffee County
51.0
Low 60.27 / yr $236K
59 Polk County
50.9
Low 60.80 / yr $161K
60 Jackson County
49.7
Low 57.12 / yr $137K
61 Johnson County
48.0
Low 49.39 / yr $137K
62 McNairy County
47.5
Low 59.80 / yr $188K
63 Benton County
47.4
Low 57.95 / yr $169K
64 Crockett County
47.2
Low 58.00 / yr $152K
65 Humphreys County
47.1
Low 57.98 / yr $172K
66 Macon County
47.1
Low 56.13 / yr $164K
67 Unicoi County
47.0
Low 51.47 / yr $183K
68 Cheatham County
45.3
Low 58.11 / yr $232K
69 Wayne County
44.8
Low 61.37 / yr $135K
70 Franklin County
44.6
Low 61.26 / yr $192K
71 Grainger County
43.9
Low 52.04 / yr $141K
72 DeKalb County
43.6
Low 59.28 / yr $164K
73 Morgan County
40.8
Low 59.33 / yr $151K
74 Bledsoe County
40.1
Low 60.84 / yr $117K
75 Decatur County
38.0
Low 58.65 / yr $104K
76 Hickman County
37.3
Low 58.81 / yr $124K
77 Chester County
37.3
Low 58.66 / yr $132K
78 Union County
37.3
Low 53.96 / yr $134K
79 Marshall County
36.6
Low 60.99 / yr $195K
80 Lake County
34.4
Low 57.81 / yr $82K
81 Meigs County
34.4
Low 60.10 / yr $95K
82 Marion County
34.1
Low 61.62 / yr $105K
83 Pickett County
32.8
Low 56.06 / yr $88K
84 Sequatchie County
31.8
Low 61.57 / yr $102K
85 Cannon County
31.6
Low 59.66 / yr $104K
86 Perry County
31.2
Low 58.66 / yr $73K
87 Lewis County
28.3
Low 60.42 / yr $96K
88 Houston County
27.7
Low 57.48 / yr $95K
89 Grundy County
26.0
Low 61.16 / yr $54K
90 Smith County
25.7
Low 58.38 / yr $126K
91 Hancock County
22.2
Very Low 51.94 / yr $44K
92 Clay County
20.5
Very Low 56.21 / yr $54K
93 Van Buren County
14.3
Very Low 60.07 / yr $54K
94 Trousdale County
12.6
Very Low 57.11 / yr $59K
95 Moore County
11.3
Very Low 60.87 / yr $33K

95 Tennessee counties with measurable lightning risk. See the national lightning ranking or all Tennessee counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Tennessee county has the highest lightning risk?

Knox County has the highest FEMA lightning risk score in Tennessee at 98.1 (Very High), with $4M in expected annual losses and about 54.23 events per year.

How many Tennessee counties face significant lightning risk?

95 Tennessee counties record measurable lightning risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 19 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in Tennessee

Cold Wave Drought Earthquake Hail Heat Wave Hurricane Ice Storm Riverine Flood Landslide Strong Wind Tornado Wildfire Winter Weather