Grainger County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Feb 23, 2019Flood$700,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding at Little Valley Rd and Smith Hollow Rd. All told, there was about 700 thousand dollars in flood damages across Grainger County during the overall event.

2. Feb 14, 2003Flood, Grainger$536,000
   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.

3. Jul 31, 1997Lightning$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A shop near the home of Judy R. Mayes on Spoon Hollow Road and Kidwell Road was set ablaze when struck by lightning and was reported as a total loss. A barn at the intersection of Helton and Lakshore Roads burned to the ground after it was struck by lightning. The storm also knocked down numerous trees.

4. Feb 6, 2025Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado began near McAnally Rd and Campground Rd before moving east along Highway 131. Tree damage began sporadically at first, with a few cedar trees split or blown over, tree damage then began to intensify towards the heart of the damage path. There were several barns and outbuildings with roof damage along 131, and numerous snapped trees. A small chicken coop was lofted up and over the pen around the coop, and left upside down in a ditch but with no scratches or visible damage to the coop. The most significant damage was to a large barn on Highway 131 that was completely destroyed. The tornado continued to Clinch River Hardwoods and Thorn Hill Church. At that location a…

5. May 8, 2024Hail$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several reports of tennis ball sized hail from both broadcast media and public reports were received. Significant damage was inflicted in Grainger County, with farmers reporting their tomato greenhouses were significantly damaged by the hail.

6. Feb 28, 2011Flood$80,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trainer spotter reported 1.81 of rain fell from a thunderstorm producing flooding across many streams in the Rutledge area.

7. May 20, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$35,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several trees and power lines were reported down across the county.

8. Jul 1, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were reported down along Lake Shore Drive.

9. May 18, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were reported down across the county.

10. May 13, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A roof was blown off a gas station near Washburn and also a tree was downed in the vicinity.

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, 14.3 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.
• 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.