Scott County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Scott 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 28, 2011Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding occurred across much of the county with several roads having extensive damage due to up to two feet of water over the roads.

2. Mar 28, 2021Flood$1.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Record flooding on the Big South Fork Cumberland River at Leatherwood Ford washed away a portion of the historic Burnt Mill Bridge in the Big South Fork Recreation Area. The river crested at 42.50 feet at 10:15 AM EST. For the entire flood event throughout Scott County, damages totaled $1.725 million.

3. Apr 20, 2000Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Twenty one homes in the Scenic Hills Estates subdivision received damage. One was totaled. The storm moved in from the southwest. The main damage came from straight-line winds, however, the one home that was totally destroyed was clearly from tornado damage. Winds were estimated in the 70-90 mph range.

4. Mar 16, 1996Tornado$160,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were downed, one mobile home was destroyed injuring a man, and twelve homes sustained some structural damage by what was believed to be a small tornado.

5. Nov 10, 2002Tornado$130,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F1 tornado touched down 1.5 miles west southwest of Winona damaging several homes and injuring several residents. The tornado produced a 50 yard wide damage path that continued for 4.2 miles ending 2.6 miles east northeast of Winona. During the entire time the tornado was on the ground in Scott county, losses were estimated at about $240,000. In all, 24 homes, six mobile homes, one modular home and one business were damaged, including one home beyond repair and three mobile homes completely destroyed.

6. Nov 10, 2002Tornado$110,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F1 tornado touched down 1.8 miles west of Elgin producing a damage path 50 yards wide for a distance of 4.1 miles. The tornado damaged several homes and ended 2.4 miles east northeast of Elgin.

7. May 8, 2009Tornado$90,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF2 tornado with a maximum wind speed of 135 miles an hour occurred around five miles southeast of Huntsville. The tornado initially touched down just west of the Fairview community with a maximum wind speed of 90 mph (EF-1) and a width of 100 yards. The tornado continued along an east path and increased in size and intensity to an EF-2 with a maximum wind speed at 135 mph and a width of 200 yards. Several large hardwood trees were snapped off near trunk level and a free standing cell phone tower was collapsed and twisted by the tornado winds. Extensive damage occurred in a concentrated path at least 80 yards in length at the 135 mph EF-2 level. The tornado continued east and…

8. Feb 14, 2003Flood, Scott$74,000
   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.

9. May 26, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A significant severe thunderstorm wind swath devastated portions of Scott County, including portions of Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. Hundreds of trees were snapped or uprooted, with winds estimated up to 90 mph. A private lodge within the park incurred significant structural damage due to fallen trees. East of the park, blown down trees damaged powerlines in both Oneida and Winfield.

10. Apr 20, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Trees down.

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 2, 2012

All-time low

−26°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

73°FJun 30, 2024

Coldest day

0°FDec 24, 2022

Wettest day

5.00 inJan 30, 2010

Snowiest day

10.0 inJan 30, 1966

Hottest year

1999mean 56.9°F

Coldest year

1976mean 51.4°F

Wettest year

201182.48 in

Driest year

200041.07 in

Snowiest season

25.6 in1983-84

Station Oneida (USC00406829), 1,440 ft elevation, 3.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1959 to October 22, 2026; 94.4% 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 USC00406829.
• 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.