Smith County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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 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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Mar 3, 2020Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An historic, long-track, strong EF-3 tornado began in western Davidson County then tracked eastward for over 60 miles through Wilson County into Smith County before lifting, causing 5 deaths and 220 injuries. This tornado touched down west of River Road Pike then moved eastward across Bells Bend, destroying a barn and blowing down numerous trees. The tornado strengthened significantly and widened to 0.65 miles wide as it crossed the Cumberland River into the John C. Tune Airport area, causing strong EF-2 damage to numerous planes, hangers, warehouses, and other buildings from Cockrill Bend Way to Briley Parkway. Around $200 million in damage was reported at John Tune Airport…

2. May 11, 2016Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Major flash flooding affected northern Smith County, especially the Dixon Springs and Riddleton areas. Numerous primary and secondary roads along with private driveways and bridges were flooded and closed or even washed out, including Highway 25, Bowmans Branch Lane, Wilburn Hollow Road, and Young Branch Road. One car reportedly was washed away into a creek off Highway 25 in Riddleton. Several homes were also flooded in these same areas. The Smith County Highway Superintendent stated that it would take at least 8 weeks to repair all the flood damage to the road network across the county. At least 2 water rescues from homes were conducted on Wilburn Hollow Road.

3. May 1, 2010Flood$1.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   On State Highway 53 near Chesnut Mound, hillside gave way due to the heavy rain and blocked off one half of the highway. Details on amount of damage to this highway were unkown. Also, numerous homes, numerous businesses, numerous non comercial buildings, along with several county, state, and federal roads across the county received damage due to the flood.

4. Aug 17, 2010Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sherriff���s office reported several roads in the northeast portion of Smith County with water over the roads, resulting in them being closed.| |Newspapers reported that a section of the roadway was washed out on Dog Branch Road. A large crack on Hartsville Pike developed in the Halls Hill community resulting in closure of the road. Heavy rainfall washed rocks onto State Highway 25 near the Carthage city limits which county's department of transportation had to clear off the road to make it passible again.||Newspapers also reported that Defeated Creek rose to within inches of flooding three mobile homes in the Difficult community. The water rose to the back of the mobile…

5. Jan 24, 1997Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   6 people were injured, none seriously, in the tornado that struck Smith county. 11 vehicles were destroyed and 7 vehicles damaged, 5 livestock killed, 22 outbuildings destroyed and one cattle trailer was destroyed. 7 houses and 7 mobile homes were destroyed and 43 buildings received some damage from the tornado. Most of the damage occurred in the Brush Creek area. Numerous trees and power lines were down in southern Smith county. Tornado path length and width are approximations.

6. May 8, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A NWS storm survey team found straight line wind damage in and around Carthage with maximum winds estimated up to 75 mph. Several trees were snapped and uprooted along Lebanon Highway west of Carthage. In the town, downed trees were found along Jefferson Avenue, Myers Terrance Road, Carmack Avenue, and Colonial Avenue. Nearby cars were also damaged by falling trees. These straight line winds also blew a steeple off of North Carthage Baptist Church. Damages are a rough estimate.

7. Mar 3, 2023High Wind, Smith$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several hours of severe non-thunderstorm winds resulted in numerous damage reports, including downed and uprooted trees, downed powerlines, and roof and other property damage across all of Smith County. At Smith County High School, metal legs on the football scoreboard were bent which caused the scoreboard to fall on top of an outbuilding. Damages are estimated.

8. Dec 23, 2015Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This EF2 tornado touched down on Helton Creek just southwest of Dry Branch Road. At this location, the path width was narrow at 50-75 yards wide but snapped numerous trees and did some minor roof damage to a home. The tornado continued to the east-northeast snapping large trees and doing minor roof damage to a home on Corley Road. As the tornado crossed over TN Highway 264 and Smith Fork Creek it widened to 250 yards. It was here where it produced the greatest damage. The roof and two exterior walls were removed, along with its carport and 2 covered porches. Based on the exterior walls only being toe-nailed in place, it was decided that the maximum wind speed would be reduced…

9. May 8, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A NWS storm survey team found straight line wind damage in and around Carthage with maximum winds estimated up to 75 mph. Several trees were snapped and uprooted along Lebanon Highway west of Carthage. In the town, downed trees were found along Jefferson Avenue, Myers Terrance Road, Carmack Avenue, and Colonial Avenue. Nearby cars were also damaged by falling trees. These straight line winds also blew a steeple off of North Carthage Baptist Church. Damages are a rough estimate.

10. Feb 14, 2021Winter Storm, Smith$156,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Freezing rain brought ice accumulations up to 1/2 inch across Smith County, mainly southeastern portions of the county, resulting in dozens of downed trees, power lines, and power poles. Some trees, power lines, and power poles fell onto homes and blocked numerous roads. Damage estimates from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency reached 156,000 dollars.

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 8, 1930

All-time low

−17°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

88°FJul 26, 1893

Coldest day

−1°F2 times, most recently Feb 13, 1899

Wettest day

8.35 inAug 3, 1893

Snowiest day

15.0 inFeb 25, 1894

Hottest year

1933mean 63.3°F

Coldest year

1969mean 56.0°F

Wettest year

199869.10 in

Driest year

200729.82 in

Snowiest season

20.5 in1966-67

Station Carthage (USC00401480), 515 ft elevation, 1.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1890 to October 21, 2026; 97.2% 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 USC00401480.
• 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.