Tornado Risk in Tennessee

All Tennessee counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index tornado score

Tornado risk — violently rotating columns of air capable of catastrophic local damage — is rated for 95 of 95 Tennessee counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Shelby County carries the state's highest tornado score at 99.8, with $70M in expected annual tornado losses.

12 Tennessee counties are rated High or Very High for tornado, and expected annual losses from tornado total roughly $423M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Tornado

#CountyTornado ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Shelby County
99.8
Very High 0.51 / yr $70M
2 Hamilton County
98.6
High 0.37 / yr $32M
3 Davidson County
97.9
High 0.43 / yr $24M
4 Madison County
97.2
High 0.38 / yr $15M
5 Knox County
96.7
High 0.16 / yr $20M
6 Sumner County
95.5
High 0.42 / yr $16M
7 Rutherford County
95.0
High 0.52 / yr $15M
8 Maury County
94.0
High 0.55 / yr $12M
9 Tipton County
92.8
High 0.34 / yr $7M
10 Montgomery County
91.9
High 0.48 / yr $10M
11 Gibson County
91.7
High 0.46 / yr $7M
12 Lawrence County
91.3
High 0.54 / yr $6M
13 Fayette County
89.4
Medium 0.47 / yr $6M
14 Williamson County
88.9
Medium 0.51 / yr $12M
15 Dyer County
88.4
Medium 0.43 / yr $5M
16 Bradley County
88.4
Medium 0.19 / yr $7M
17 Carroll County
87.1
Medium 0.43 / yr $5M
18 Putnam County
86.9
Medium 0.26 / yr $6M
19 Coffee County
86.3
Medium 0.36 / yr $6M
20 Cumberland County
86.1
Medium 0.35 / yr $4M
21 Wilson County
85.8
Medium 0.45 / yr $8M
22 Lincoln County
85.6
Medium 0.55 / yr $4M
23 Giles County
85.2
Medium 0.56 / yr $4M
24 Warren County
85.0
Medium 0.34 / yr $4M
25 Lauderdale County
84.4
Medium 0.39 / yr $3M
26 Henry County
83.9
Medium 0.49 / yr $3M
27 Hardeman County
83.7
Medium 0.46 / yr $3M
28 Bedford County
83.1
Medium 0.43 / yr $4M
29 Hickman County
82.2
Medium 0.48 / yr $4M
30 Marion County
81.8
Medium 0.39 / yr $4M
31 Anderson County
80.0
Medium 0.12 / yr $4M
32 Henderson County
80.0
Medium 0.36 / yr $3M
33 Weakley County
77.9
Medium 0.48 / yr $4M
34 Franklin County
77.4
Medium 0.51 / yr $3M
35 Marshall County
76.2
Medium 0.34 / yr $5M
36 Hardin County
76.0
Medium 0.44 / yr $2M
37 Dickson County
75.4
Medium 0.42 / yr $3M
38 Humphreys County
74.6
Medium 0.44 / yr $2M
39 Grundy County
74.5
Medium 0.29 / yr $2M
40 Wayne County
73.9
Medium 0.60 / yr $2M
41 Robertson County
73.2
Medium 0.39 / yr $3M
42 Roane County
71.9
Medium 0.16 / yr $2M
43 Chester County
71.8
Medium 0.19 / yr $2M
44 McMinn County
71.2
Medium 0.21 / yr $2M
45 Campbell County
71.1
Medium 0.18 / yr $2M
46 Sevier County
70.9
Medium 0.15 / yr $2M
47 Obion County
70.6
Medium 0.49 / yr $2M
48 Macon County
68.9
Medium 0.22 / yr $2M
49 Blount County
67.4
Medium 0.18 / yr $3M
50 Loudon County
67.0
Medium 0.09 / yr $2M
51 Cheatham County
67.0
Medium 0.26 / yr $3M
52 Haywood County
66.9
Medium 0.38 / yr $2M
53 Decatur County
66.7
Medium 0.24 / yr $2M
54 White County
66.0
Medium 0.23 / yr $2M
55 Stewart County
65.0
Medium 0.42 / yr $1M
56 Monroe County
63.8
Low 0.26 / yr $1M
57 Greene County
61.8
Low 0.13 / yr $1M
58 Hamblen County
61.4
Low 0.04 / yr $2M
59 McNairy County
60.3
Low 0.38 / yr $2M
60 Perry County
60.1
Low 0.30 / yr $1M
61 Jefferson County
59.6
Low 0.08 / yr $2M
62 Lewis County
59.2
Low 0.23 / yr $2M
63 Cannon County
57.6
Low 0.21 / yr $1M
64 Rhea County
56.5
Low 0.17 / yr $1M
65 Benton County
55.9
Low 0.33 / yr $1M
66 Crockett County
55.2
Low 0.20 / yr $1M
67 Bledsoe County
55.0
Low 0.26 / yr $1M
68 Lake County
53.7
Low 0.17 / yr $888K
69 Jackson County
53.1
Low 0.22 / yr $816K
70 Polk County
50.7
Low 0.22 / yr $853K
71 Moore County
50.5
Low 0.13 / yr $1M
72 Cocke County
50.2
Low 0.10 / yr $818K
73 Washington County
50.1
Low 0.06 / yr $1M
74 Hawkins County
49.9
Low 0.10 / yr $913K
75 Smith County
49.8
Low 0.23 / yr $2M
76 DeKalb County
48.9
Low 0.24 / yr $1M
77 Claiborne County
47.8
Low 0.12 / yr $869K
78 Fentress County
47.6
Low 0.24 / yr $755K
79 Sequatchie County
47.4
Low 0.18 / yr $992K
80 Sullivan County
47.2
Low 0.07 / yr $1M
81 Scott County
46.8
Low 0.22 / yr $825K
82 Houston County
45.9
Low 0.17 / yr $1M
83 Carter County
45.4
Low 0.08 / yr $735K
84 Overton County
45.2
Low 0.23 / yr $994K
85 Morgan County
39.3
Low 0.22 / yr $759K
86 Grainger County
39.2
Low 0.08 / yr $616K
87 Clay County
38.5
Low 0.16 / yr $613K
88 Meigs County
35.6
Low 0.11 / yr $509K
89 Union County
35.3
Low 0.07 / yr $628K
90 Trousdale County
32.2
Low 0.09 / yr $795K
91 Van Buren County
27.4
Low 0.18 / yr $468K
92 Pickett County
25.7
Very Low 0.09 / yr $277K
93 Johnson County
25.4
Very Low 0.05 / yr $236K
94 Hancock County
20.2
Very Low 0.05 / yr $139K
95 Unicoi County
17.5
Very Low 0.04 / yr $165K

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Tennessee county has the highest tornado risk?

Shelby County has the highest FEMA tornado risk score in Tennessee at 99.8 (Very High), with $70M in expected annual losses and about 0.51 events per year.

How many Tennessee counties face significant tornado risk?

95 Tennessee counties record measurable tornado risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 12 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in Tennessee

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