Dyer County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Dyer County: 35.
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.

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 MO DNR (1).

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. May 4, 2003Tornado$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down just southwest of Dyersburg and tracked northeast through the middle of the city. Over 70 homes were destroyed and more than 300 were damaged. Eight commercial buildings were destroyed and nearly 20 were damaged.

2. Apr 2, 2006Tornado$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado spawned from the same parent supercell that produced damaging tornadoes west of the Mississippi River moved across Dyer County during the evening of April 2nd. The most affected areas were Millsfield, Maxey, and Newbern. The F3 tornado resulted in sixteen fatalities and 70 injuries. Seventy-one homes were destroyed and one hundred eighty-two were damaged.

3. May 2, 2010Flood$9.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain of 10 to 20 inches produced record breaking flooding along the North Fork Forked Deer River in Dyer County. South Dyersburg was hit extremely hard with numerous homes and businesses sustaining major damage. At one point portions of South Dyersburg was underneath as much as 4 feet of water. In total, at least 600 structures received damage from the flooding.

4. Apr 19, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$4.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Straight line winds caused widespread damage across Dyer County from the Mississippi River through Dyersburg and into Newbern. Forty-four houses, twenty-nine mobile homes, six businesses and nineteen farm buildings were destroyed. Thirty-eight houses, six mobile homes and eight farm buildings suffered major damage. Many trees were also knocked down.

5. Mar 1, 1997Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado developed in Mississippi county Arkansas near the town of Lennie. Three mobile homes were damaged or destroyed and a cotton trailer was over turned. The tornado touched down again in Dyer county in Tennessee. The most severe damage with the tornado occurred in Dyer county. A thirteen-year-old girl was killed at her home which was destroyed by the tornado in the town of Finley. One hundred ninety building were damaged or destroyed in Dyer county including Dyer County High School. The tornado then continued into Gibson county where eight homes were damaged or destroyed. Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down as well.

6. Mar 1, 1997Flood, Dyer$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Excessive rainfall during the first few days of March along with rivers that were already high caused prolonged flooding along the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers as well as their tributaries. Along the Mississippi, the river reached levels that had not been seen since 1937. Numerous roads were closed for days. In several counties people had to be evacuated from homes including 400 persons in the town of Rives in Obion county. In Madison county, two persons were killed when their car was swept off a flooded road. One person was killed in Shelby county when his car went over a flooded bridge. One man was also killed in Obion county when he fell out of a boat helping people out of…

7. Apr 2, 2025Tornado$1.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down near Upper Finley Road on the northwest side of Dyersburg and tracked east-northeast across the northern part of the city. The damage consisted mainly of fallen trees and power lines, minor roof damage, and minor structural damage. Sixteen houses were damaged along with one public building and seven businesses. The tornado lifted near David Road near the Highway 51 and Highway 412 junction. Peak winds were estimated at 100 mph.

8. Apr 6, 2025Flood$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain resulted in widespread flooding of the Obion River in Bogota. Nearly 100 structures were affected.

9. Oct 18, 2004Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down just west of Dyersburg and moved east into the northwest part of the city. Three mobile homes were destroyed. The roof and facade of a manufacturing plant was damaged. Seven other businesses were damaged. Twenty signal lights were destroyed. Many trees, power lines and power poles were blown down.

10. Apr 7, 2025Flood$750,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The North Fork Forked Deer River flooded across the southern part of Dyersburg. Water rescues from homes in South Dyersburg were necessary. Over 100 structures were affected.

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

111°FAug 10, 1930

All-time low

−22°FJan 9, 1942

Warmest night

84°F2 times, most recently Jul 25, 1907

Coldest day

−3°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

10.38 inAug 3, 2023

Snowiest day

12.0 inJan 6, 1910

Hottest year

1921mean 63.4°F

Coldest year

1960mean 54.6°F

Wettest year

195780.19 in

Driest year

190126.68 in

Snowiest season

34.3 in1977-78

Station Union City (USC00409219), 321 ft elevation, 29.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1895 to September 30, 2026; 97.7% 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 USC00409219.
• 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.