Claiborne County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Claiborne County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by KY GS (3).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 3, 2007Tornado$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado rated EF1 started five miles northwest of New Tazewell and ended five miles south of Tazewell. The length was approximately 12 miles long and 150 yards wide. The greatest damage occurred across New Tazewell where several trailers were blown off their foundations. Also, trees were blown down county-wide.

2. Mar 28, 2021Flash Flood$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous roadways were flooded and many were impassable across the county. Total damages across the county reached $1.2 million for this flood event, mostly for roads and bridges.

3. Feb 14, 2003Flood, Claiborne$866,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Four day rainfall totals of two to eight inches fell across east Tennessee, with the highest amounts occurring across the Cumberland Plateau and adjacent valleys areas. This rainfall combined with a melting snowpack (reports of up to a foot in the higher elevations) to produce widespread flooding of rivers and streams with numerous mudslides also reported (one notable mudslide pushed an apartment complex off its foundation in Knox County). The Powell, Clinch and Holston rivers measured the most significant rises with Claiborne, Rhea and Knox counties reporting the most significant damage.

4. Mar 2, 2012Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-2 tornado with a maximum wind speed of 120 mph created a damage path 2.6 miles in length and 250 yards wide across the northern part of Harrogate. Along the tornado track, 5 homes were destroyed, 7 suffered major damage, and 17 had minor damage. Also, four residents were injured in the storm.

5. Apr 26, 2007Tornado$425,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF1 tornado touched down on Fords Chapel Road between New Hope Road and Barren Creek Road. A few trees were snapped in this area. The tornado tracked northeast along Barren Creek Road where multiple mobile homes were damaged, one blown over and destroyed. Tree damage was extensive along Barren Creek Road, with large trees both snapped and uprooted. Some homes were also damaged, with a patio roof blown back and shingles and siding blown off. The tornado tracked parallel to Highway 33, snapping trees and causing minor damage to homes in subdivisions on Mountain Road, Rutherford Drive, Harmon Road, and Rowe Street. The tornado crossed Highway 33 near the city limits of New…

6. May 22, 2026Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down in New Tazewell the evening of May 22nd,|2026, the first tornado for East Tennessee in 2026. The tornado first |developed along Coffey Road where several hardwood trees were damaged|and one home had minor siding damage. The tornado intensified as it|approached downtown New Tazewell. Here, several buildings sustained|significant damage with one sustaining major roof uplift and subsequent|wall collapse. Another smaller wooden structure also completely collapsed.|Other businesses in this area also sustained minor damage. Here the|tornado was at its widest point of approximately 75 yards. Several power|poles were snapped in this area as well. The tornado then…

7. Apr 15, 1998Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   More than two dozen houses damaged by mudslides and flooding. 40 mobile homes damaged by flooding. Widespread mudslides, flash flooding, trees and power lines down. Some damage caused to fences when a herd of cattle stampeded when their corral was destroyed by flooding.

8. Jun 20, 2011Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency management personnel reported heavy rain from thunderstorms produced flooding to at least 20 homes from Harrogate to Tazewell. One person drowned in Harrogate.

9. Mar 2, 2012Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado formed in Claiborne County, TN, then moved northeast into Lee County, VA. In Claiborne County, the tornado was rated as EF1 with maximum winds of 90 mph. It damaged 5 homes, with one home receiving major damage. It also downed numerous trees. ||The combined tornado path for Claiborne and Lee Counties extended 4.9 miles.

10. May 7, 1998Funnel Cloud$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Three funnel clouds spotted. Damage to a church reported by the fire department.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

103°F2 times, most recently Jul 1, 2012

All-time low

−24°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

73°F4 times, most recently Jul 20, 2025

Coldest day

−2°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

6.32 inApr 17, 1998

Snowiest day

10.0 in2 times, most recently Feb 12, 1985

Hottest year

2024mean 57.6°F

Coldest year

1976mean 50.9°F

Wettest year

201172.14 in

Driest year

198837.04 in

Snowiest season

40.2 in1977-78

Station Tazewell (USC00408868), 1,365 ft elevation, 4.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1966 to October 22, 2026; 99.4% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00408868.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.