Franklin County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Franklin County: 9.
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.

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. Nov 7, 1996Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado destroyed one home and six mobile homes, damaged close to a dozen other homes and mobile homes, and heavily damaged numerous farm buildings and storage sheds during its trek through Franklin county. Storm damage was estimated to be about 1/2 million dollars. The tornado stayed generally south of U.S. Route 64. The tornado first touched down west of Huntland on McClure Cemetery Road where it destroyed a mobile home and damaged two other homes. The tornado continued east and destroyed 2 mobile homes and a storage building on Indian Creek Road. The tornado continued east and crossed Main Street in Huntland and destroyed a large hay barn. The tornado treked northeast to…

2. May 2, 1997Tornado$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A half dozen farm related buildings sustained damage. About 100 big trees were blown down in an apple orchard on White Gap Road. The trees were lying in different directions.

3. Apr 29, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winchester Utility said four 80-foot high electric poles were dropped into Tims Ford Lake near Winchester City Park due to thunderstorm winds. The winds caused 5 to 6 foot waves on the lake according to witnesses. The whole county was blacked out for about 20-30 minutes from these storms.

4. Aug 21, 2006Lightning$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a mobile home on Holt Road engulfing the structure in flames. Damage is estimated.

5. Feb 28, 2011Tornado$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The worst damage occurred in western portions of Franklin county. In these locations mobile homes were destroyed, multiple power poles and trees were snapped, and homes sustained significant roof damage. A 79 year old man was killed near Estill Springs, along UT Farm road, when the mobile home he occupied was picked up and thrown 70 yards.

6. Dec 24, 2009High Wind, Franklin$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees and power lines were blown down across the county.

7. Mar 28, 2009Tornado$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado snapped numerous trees and uprooted several cedar tree trunks along a 1.5 mile path north of U.S. highway 64 between Huntland and Maxwell. Shingles and roof panels of a home and a barn were peeled back along Stratton Road and Pleasant Ridge Road near Branchville.

8. Mar 6, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A Chevrolet dealership had a pavillion set up with a tent and several poles. The strong thunderstorm winds blew down the tent and its poles. The poles landed on several vehicles. The tent alone was worth $12,000.

9. Feb 11, 2009High Wind, Franklin$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A sustained period of high winds, including gusts of 60 mph, knocked down several trees and a few power lines. The most severe damage was at the Huntland High School where a gymnasium was partially torn off. Power outages were reported in northern Franklin County.

10. Apr 4, 2011Lightning$25,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lightning struck a home at the 100 block of Tanglewood Trail in Estill Springs. The lightning penetrated the roof and ceiling of the home in multiple locations and caused significant damage. 911 call at 649 pm CST, but CG lightning data from NCDC/Severe Weather Data Inventory at this location was at 642 pm CST.

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

106°FJul 28, 1952

All-time low

−22°FFeb 14, 1905

Warmest night

82°FSep 13, 1989

Coldest day

8°FFeb 12, 1899

Wettest day

8.25 inJul 3, 1936

Snowiest day

10.0 in2 times, most recently Dec 23, 1963

Hottest year

1927mean 61.7°F

Coldest year

1917mean 54.5°F

Wettest year

197376.79 in

Driest year

200733.89 in

Snowiest season

26.0 in1967-68

Station Tullahoma (USC00409155), 1,022 ft elevation, 10.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1895 to October 20, 2026; 99.2% 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 USC00409155.
• 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.