Monroe County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 USGS Conterminous (2), NASA (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 6, 2003Flash Flood$11.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flooding, road closures, damage, evacuations.

2. Aug 14, 2023Flash Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple road closures due to flash flooding. Washouts occurred along the Cherohala Skyway at MM 4.5, and along Hwy 360 northeast of Tellico Plains. Other road damages in the Cherokee National Forest blocked access to homes. Floodwaters entered several buildings, and flooded the ball park to nearly a foot of depth. Rain gauge and radar estimates depicted around 5 inches of rain fell over this mountainous area. EM estimates $6 million in damages to the area, while another $4 million was requested for repairs in the National Forest. These estimates did not include apparent losses to agriculture.

3. Mar 2, 2012Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-2 tornado touched down in Tellico Plains, leaving a path of destruction 14 miles long through downtown and crossed Hwy 360 to Ballplay Road, and into the Citico Wilderness area. Property damage to residential and commercial buildings was extensive (30 buildings), but, although there were 3 injuries, miraculously, there were no fatalities. One of the TDS buildings and the police department annex were destroyed. The cabins, main lodge and pavilion at the KOA Campground were leveled. Downed, broken, and uprooted trees cover hillsides and roadsides in the tornado's path.

4. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Chapel Road Tornado. A NWS storm survey reported an EF2 tornado touched down near Tellico Plains. It started near Highway 39 and Chapel Road then moved to Ball Street Road where it ended. The 115 mph wind blew the top story of a two story building off. Several homes were either destroyed or damaged. A trailer was also destroyed. Numerous trees were also downed. One person was injured in the Mount Vernon area.

5. Feb 14, 2003Flood, Southeast Monroe$248,000
   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.

6. Feb 14, 2003Flood, Northwest Monroe$248,000
   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.

7. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dog Gap Tornado. The Cherokee National Forest reported this tornado path that was less than a mile south of the EF4 Chilhowee track from two hours earlier. Aerial photographs from this tornado showed heavy tree damage in the heart of the path. The tornado dissipated just before getting to Chilhowee Lake.

8. Apr 25, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The emergency manager reported a barn was destroyed and a roof blown off a house at the intersection of Lakeside Road and Kincaid Road southwest of Vonore. Several other homes and businesses were also damaged in the area.

9. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Englewood-S. Madisonville Tornado. A NWS storm survey indicated an EF1 tornado touched down northeast of Englewood in McMinn County and continued into Monroe County. It tracked to near Hopewell Spring Road near Madisonville before dissipating. The 100 mph wind damaged several homes and downed numerous trees and powerlines. One person was injured.

10. Apr 8, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Concrete building heavily damaged 5 miles west of Sweetwater.

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

105°F2 times, most recently Jul 18, 1980

All-time low

−16°F3 times, most recently Jan 22, 1985

Warmest night

77°FJul 23, 2017

Coldest day

8°FJan 11, 1982

Wettest day

8.89 inSep 6, 2011

Snowiest day

11.5 inMar 13, 1993

Hottest year

2019mean 61.1°F

Coldest year

1966mean 55.6°F

Wettest year

201886.56 in

Driest year

200734.85 in

Snowiest season

23.0 in1992-93

Station Athens (USC00400284), 940 ft elevation, 14.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1962 to October 23, 2026; 98.5% 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 USC00400284.
• 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.