Obion County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Feb 16, 2025Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant flooding occurred in Rives, TN due to a levee overtopping. The entire town was flooded. All 105 homes suffered at least some damage with 60 homes suffering significant damage. Roads and culverts throughout town were damaged.

2. Mar 1, 1997Flood, Obion$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Excessive rainfall during the first few days of March along with rivers that were already high caused prolonged flooding along the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers as well as their tributaries. Along the Mississippi, the river reached levels that had not been seen since 1937. Numerous roads were closed for days. In several counties people had to be evacuated from homes including 400 persons in the town of Rives in Obion county. In Madison county, two persons were killed when their car was swept off a flooded road. One person was killed in Shelby county when his car went over a flooded bridge. One man was also killed in Obion county when he fell out of a boat helping people out of…

3. May 4, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Straight-line winds knocked down trees and power lines along US Highway 51. A warehouse suffered roof and wall damage.

4. Dec 10, 2021Tornado$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado crossed from Lake County to Obion County. The tornado's width was shrinking as it approached Samburg, however, it was still strong enough to damage homes, businesses, and city buildings in Samburg. Many homes suffered partial roof loss, and several mobile homes were separated from their undercarriages. A recreational vehicle in a mobile home park along Lake Drive in Samburg was destroyed, resulting in one fatality. The tornado continued northeast from Samburg, damaging several homes along Old Samburg Road. The last observed damage was west of Treece Road. Peak winds in Obion County were estimated at 130 mph.

5. Feb 24, 2018Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado occurred just east of Union City, Tennessee. The tornado's damage pattern suggested a broad, occasionally disorganized circulation with several small swaths of more intense damage. A number of homes along the path had roof damage. Several mobile homes were destroyed. The most significant damage was noted on Orchard and Jenkins Roads and also along Knox Daniel Road. Peak winds were estimated at 105-110 mph.

6. Apr 6, 2025Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The entire community of Rives was flooded due to three levee breeches caused by heavy rainfall. Nearly 100 structures were affected.

7. Aug 4, 2023Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A trained spotter in Union City measured 11.49 inches of rain overnight. Evacuations occurred at the nearby Green Acres mobile home park. Numerous roads were closed due to flooding.

8. May 2, 2010Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain fell across Obion County early Sunday morning. This caused creeks and ditches to overflow their banks. Several roads were flooded as a result. By Sunday afternoon, the flash flooding event transitioned to a flood event as water from creeks and streams allowed river levels to quickly rise. A breach in the North Fork of the Obion River caused widespread flooding in Kenton. As many as 50 homes were flooded as a result.

9. May 10, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Six homes and 15 businesses were damaged. Several cars were also damaged.

10. May 4, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$350,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Widespread tree and roof damage in the Samburg area.

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

111°FAug 10, 1930

All-time low

−22°FJan 9, 1942

Warmest night

84°F2 times, most recently Jul 25, 1907

Coldest day

−3°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

10.38 inAug 3, 2023

Snowiest day

12.0 inJan 6, 1910

Hottest year

1921mean 63.4°F

Coldest year

1960mean 54.6°F

Wettest year

195780.19 in

Driest year

190126.68 in

Snowiest season

34.3 in1977-78

Station Union City (USC00409219), 321 ft elevation, 2.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1895 to September 30, 2026; 97.7% 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 USC00409219.
• 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.