Fayette County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Fayette County: 13.
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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jul 22, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several businesses and homes were damaged. One person was injured when a tree fell on their car. Numerous trees, power poles and power lines were blown down across the county resulting in some homes losing power for several hours.

2. Jun 14, 2009Flash Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain produced flash flooding in the North Woods Subidivison off of Highway 194 in Oakland. Numerous homes had standing water inside. Streets were flooded as well.

3. May 1, 2010Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very heavy rain, up to 10 inches, fell across Fayette County. Small streams and creeks quickly overflowed causing numerous roads to be flooded or washed out. In total, about 20 homes and three businesses received flood damage across the county. The hardest hit area was the North Woods Subdivision in Oakland. However, the cities of Rossville, Hickory Withe, and Somerville also had homes or businesses flooded. Several vehicles were stranded in flood waters as well.

4. May 1, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Straight line winds produced roof and structural damage to about seven homes near the Fair Oaks Golf Course just north of Oakland. Large trees were uprooted as well.

5. Nov 10, 1998Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down twice. The first touchdown occurred about .5 miles northeast of the town of Liberty Hill and was on the ground for about 100 yards. The tornado touched down again about 2 miles northeast and stayed on the ground for a little over 3 miles. Two conventional homes and three mobile homes were demolished. Twenty-five other homes were damaged. Several barns were demolished and other farm structures were damaged. Numerous trees were knocked down as well.

6. Apr 27, 2011Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain caused the Wolf River at Rossville to go above flood stage. Numeous roads were flooded and a few bridges were washed out in Southern Fayette County from Piperton to LaGrange including portions of Highway 194, Laconia Road, Highway 196, LaGrange Road and Highway 220. Two houses in Rossville were flooded as well.

7. Apr 2, 2006Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado briefly touched down near the town of Longtown and moved east. Ten homes and two businesses were damaged, along with many barns and outbuildings. Numerous trees and power lines were downed.

8. Jun 25, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees uprooted and snapped throughout southern Fayette County.

9. Apr 2, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two homes were destroyed and one home was blown off of its foundation in Braden. A mobile home was overturned and a grain silo was destroyed in Braden. Gas station pumps were damaged near Exit 35 on Interstate 40. Shingles were ripped off of roofs and large trees were downed in Somerville.

10. Apr 27, 2013Tornado$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The tornado touched down just northeast of Exit 35 on Interstate 40 near Belmont. A large barn and several outbuildings were destroyed. The tornado tracked northeast producing damage to a rural church by pushing it 15 feet from its foundation. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted along the damage path. The tornado lifted in a wooded area just to the north of Old 59 Drive. One minor injury occurred at a residence just before the tornado lifted.

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

108°FJul 13, 1980

All-time low

−13°FDec 24, 1963

Warmest night

84°F4 times, most recently Aug 3, 2010

Coldest day

6°FJan 10, 1962

Wettest day

5.88 inNov 28, 2001

Snowiest day

14.3 inDec 22, 1963

Hottest year

2012mean 65.9°F

Coldest year

1958mean 59.8°F

Wettest year

195776.85 in

Driest year

200734.81 in

Snowiest season

23.8 in1967-68

Station Memphis International Airport (USW00013893), 251 ft elevation, 30.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00013893.
• 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.
• 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.