Jefferson County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Feb 28, 2011Flood$2.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Continuous heavy rainfall from thunderstorms caused extensive flooding countywide. 50 homes and five mobile homes in the county suffered minor to major damage due to the flooding. Two local businesses also had minor damage due to the flood waters.

2. Oct 24, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees and power lines down. A building in downtown Jefferson City, winds caused the roof of a vacant building to buckle, the upper half of the front wall falling onto Main Street.

3. May 24, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees were uprooted and power lines were knocked down. A fire caused by a lightning strike heavily damaged a victorian-style farmhouse in Dumplin Valley.

4. Aug 24, 2010Lightning$80,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An isolated thunderstorm produced a lightning strike that severely damaged a home.

5. Feb 17, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$70,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   One barn was damaged and another totally demolished. Around 2000 customers were without power following the storm.

6. Aug 5, 2006Lightning$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A two-story garage was struck by lightning on Dairy Farm Road in New Market. The building was destroyed.

7. Feb 14, 2003Flood, Jefferson$58,000
   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.

8. Jun 13, 2013Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The NWS storm survey team concluded that an EF1 tornado tracked across Jefferson County on the 13th of June. It formed 4.7 miles northwest of New Market and lifted 3.1 west-northwest of New Market. It had a path length of 2.0 miles and a path width of 120 yards. The max wind of 100 mph snapped and uprooted numerous trees along its damage path, as well as causing roof damage to a home.

9. May 13, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damage was confined to the area of Highway 113 and Nina Road. Two barns were completely destroyed. Harvest Temple Baptist Church sustained roof damage. Twelve mobile homes in the Spring Park mobile home park sustained damage to their underpinnings. Several trees were also blown down in this area. A storm survey shortly after the event estimated the winds at 80 to 100 mph.

10. Oct 4, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Widespread damage near and along Main Street. Numerous trees, powerlines and signs blown down. Minor damage to a few homes in the area and a chainlink fence blown down at a ball field. Around 800 customers were without power for about 2 1/2 hours after the storm. Industrial Carving on Zimmerman and Mill Streets had the roof blown off and a rear wall knocked down. Part of the roof at White Pine Lumber and Planing was blown off.

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 1, 2012

All-time low

−24°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

77°F2 times, most recently Jul 20, 2025

Coldest day

7°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

5.01 inMar 12, 1963

Snowiest day

15.0 inApr 3, 1987

Hottest year

2019mean 61.2°F

Coldest year

1976mean 53.1°F

Wettest year

202065.40 in

Driest year

199324.19 in

Snowiest season

25.0 in1984-85

Station Sevierville (USC00408179), 899 ft elevation, 12.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1955 to September 29, 2026; 91.7% 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 USC00408179.
• 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.