Sullivan County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. May 25, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Downburst winds estimated near 120 mph caused extensive damage in the city of Kingsport. Numerous roofs blown off, windows blown out and trees and powerlines blown down. Approximately 100 downtown businesses and 70 residences sustained some type of storm damage. Immediately following the storm, as many as 19,000 customers were without power.

2. May 26, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A downburst with 90 mph winds demolished a portable classroom and broke 30 windows in the main building at Kingsley Elementary School. The classroom roof was lifted off and struck a parked car. Also, another classroom in the area, Ketron Middle School; lost part of its roof, numerous windows. In addition, the school's scoreboard and outdoor lights were knocked down, and the sign at the main entrance was destroyed by a fallen tree.

3. May 26, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   One home was destroyed and eighteen others suffered severe damage in Kingsport.

4. Jul 17, 2013Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flash flooding across the county including city of Kingsport. Several roads closed. Several home and vehicle rescues.

5. Sep 3, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A roof and back wall of a business located at the intersection of Eastman Road and East Stone Drive were heavily damaged due to severe thunderstorm winds. The roof was lifted up and a large portion of the back wall collapsed in.

6. Feb 6, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tree fell on a car in northern Kingsport after being blown down by powerful thunderstorm winds.

7. Oct 25, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Bristol Herald Courier newspaper reported campers were damaged by thunderstorm winds at the Water's Edge campground in Bristol.

8. Jul 2, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees were reported down across the western half of the county from 305 pm through 315 pm EDT.

9. Apr 16, 2011Strong Wind, Sullivan$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Newspaper reported one tree split and fell across two separate mobile homes by strong non-thunderstorm winds on Ridgecrest Avenue in Kingsport. A 52 year old woman was injured on her back when the tree fell through the roof of her mobile home. She was struck on her back while she was walking through her hallway when the trees crashed through her home. Powerlines were also downed by the wind.

10. Dec 1, 2006High Wind, Sullivan$30,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous trees and powerlines down countywide. A section of roof on a home in Kingsport was damaged.

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°FJun 30, 2012

All-time low

−21°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

79°FJul 6, 1943

Coldest day

2°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

3.65 inOct 16, 1964

Snowiest day

16.2 inNov 21, 1952

Hottest year

2024mean 58.9°F

Coldest year

1996mean 53.9°F

Wettest year

200365.64 in

Driest year

200722.39 in

Snowiest season

51.0 in1959-60

Station Bristol Airport (USW00013877), 1,496 ft elevation, 3.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1937 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00013877.
• 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.