NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Burns, TN
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Burns, Tennessee since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Frederic in 1979. Since 1950, 87 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 87
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Burns
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Burns; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 42 miles away. The record near Burns begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Frederic in 1979, a tropical storm 54 miles away. None of the 4 systems has come since 2000. Of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site, 81% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Burns. The strongest of the 87 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on December 24, 1988; its path came within 23 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an EF3 on March 3, 2020, killed 5 people. Of the 87, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 66 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on June 18, 2025. Burns has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 52% of the 339 Tennessee cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 89 times since 1985, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Burns has more hail reports within 10 miles than 84% of the 339 Tennessee cities.
Compare Burns's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Burns
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Burns: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Burns
By decade
- 2020s16(1 EF3+)
- 2010s24
- 2000s26(3 EF3+)
- 1990s5(2 EF3+)
- 1980s5(1 EF3+)
- 1970s5
- 1960s3
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 24, 1988 | F4 | 23 mi | 6 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Mar 3, 2020 | EF3 | 21 mi | 60.13 mi | 5 / 220 |
| Apr 16, 1998 | F3 | 21 mi | 42.1 mi | 1 / 60 |
| Apr 7, 2006 | F3 | 16 mi | 18.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2003 | F3 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 4, 2003 | F3 | 25 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 16, 1998 | F3 | 3 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Mar 22, 1952 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.5 mi | 3 / 10 |
| Dec 9, 2023 | EF2 | 8 mi | 18.37 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 9, 2023 | EF2 | 17 mi | 5.81 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 11, 2021 | EF2 | 7 mi | 12.61 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Dec 11, 2021 | EF2 | 1 mi | 10.87 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 87, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Burns
The Storm Prediction Center has 89 hail reports within 10 miles of Burns since 1985, made on 61 separate days. Of these, 57 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on March 3, 2020. The most recent report is from April 3, 2025. March has the most reports, 28.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Burns
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dickson, TN, 6 miles west of Burns at 780 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 48°F and 28°F. May is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and August and September the driest at 3.5 inches; the year adds up to 54.0 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 26 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 84 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 54.0 inches is more than at 35 of the 122 Tennessee stations used on this site (29%). White Bluff, 6 miles northeast, has its own station (Kingston Springs, TN): 50.5 inches a year, 3.5 less than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 28 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.8 |
| Feb | 52 | 30 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.6 |
| Mar | 61 | 38 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.5 |
| Apr | 71 | 46 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 77 | 55 | 5.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 63 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 67 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 65 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 59 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 47 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 60 | 37 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 50 | 31 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.6 |
| Year | 69 | 47 | 54.0 | 82 | 2.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dickson, TN (780 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Burns
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 262 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Burns: 220 thunderstorm wind reports, 28 flash floods, 8 floods and 6 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $8.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on March 29, 2002. August has had the most flash floods, 10 of 28. Of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 284 have had fewer than Burns.
May 2, 2010: flood 7 miles from the centre of Burns — 1 killed, $3.6 million damage.
July 13, 2004: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Burns — 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
February 21, 2005: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Burns — $1.0 million damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Dickson County, which includes Burns, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 14 severe storms, 4 tornadoes, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Dickson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.8 million a year, the 38th highest of 95 Tennessee counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.0 million (32%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 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).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets 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).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Burns
- White Bluff, TN6 mi
- Dickson, TN7 mi
- Bon Aqua, TN7 mi
- Fairview, TN10 mi
- Kingston Springs, TN10 mi
- Lyles, TN11 mi
- Charlotte, TN12 mi
- Pegram, TN15 mi
- Cumberland Furnace, TN19 mi
- Mc Ewen, TN20 mi
- Ashland City, TN21 mi
- Centerville, TN23 mi
All Tennessee cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Burns with another place →