NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Chattanooga, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Chattanooga, Tennessee since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 96 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 96
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
54 deaths in all
What the records show for Chattanooga
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Chattanooga; the strongest was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 43 miles away. The record near Chattanooga begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020. The busiest decade was the 1970s, with 2 systems. Of the 6 systems, one has come since 2000. Chattanooga has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 44% of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site. The highest rating among the 96 tornadoes within 25 miles is EF4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 6 miles. The deadliest, an EF4 on April 27, 2011, killed 20 people. Of the 96, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 57 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 47. The most recent tornado was on March 2, 2023. Chattanooga has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 65% of the 339 Tennessee cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 162 times since 1956, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Chattanooga has more hail reports within 10 miles than 97% of the 339 Tennessee cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Chattanooga
All 6 tracks on the map were moving northeast as they passed Chattanooga. Zeta (2020), the strongest pass, was heading northeast; its centre passed 43 miles southeast of Chattanooga. None made landfall within 75 miles of Chattanooga; 4 of the 6 were hurricanes at their peak, none at their closest to the city. In the last 30 seasons (1996–2025), 1 came near Chattanooga: 0.3 a decade, against 0.3 a decade from 1851 to 1995.
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 23 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 17 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Chattanooga: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Chattanooga
By decade
- 2020s5(1 EF3+)
- 2010s44(5 EF3+)
- 2000s8
- 1990s21(3 EF3+)
- 1980s6
- 1970s5(2 EF3+)
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 11 mi | 48 mi | 20 / 335 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 6 mi | 46.98 mi | 14 / 50 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 23 mi | 40.16 mi | 4 / 12 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 23 mi | 20.24 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 23 mi | 21.2 mi | 3 / 50 |
| Apr 12, 2020 | EF3 | 5 mi | 19.34 mi | 2 / 18 |
| Apr 15, 1994 | F3 | 24 mi | 15 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 19 mi | 18.1 mi | 1 / 100 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 7 mi | 41 mi | 0 / 44 |
| Mar 29, 1997 | F3 | 21 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 50 |
| Mar 29, 1997 | F3 | in town | 8 mi | 0 / 44 |
| Apr 15, 1965 | F3 | 23 mi | 10.4 mi | 0 / 50 |
The strongest 12 of 96, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Chattanooga
The Storm Prediction Center has 162 hail reports within 10 miles of Chattanooga since 1956, made on 103 separate days. Of these, 85 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on March 2, 2012. The most recent report is from June 27, 2025. May has the most reports, 43.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Chattanooga
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chattanooga Lovell Airport, TN, 3 miles east of Chattanooga at 671 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 51°F and 32°F. March and December are the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 55.0 inches over 83 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 58 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 56 nights a year. Snowfall averages 3.6 inches a year, most of it in February. That 55.0 inches is more than at 52 of the 122 Tennessee stations used on this site (43%). Rossville, GA, 6 miles south, has its own station (Chickamauga Pk Larc, GA): 56.5 inches a year, 1.5 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 51 | 32 | 5.0 | 7 | 1.0 |
| Feb | 56 | 36 | 5.0 | 7 | 1.2 |
| Mar | 64 | 42 | 5.3 | 8 | 1.1 |
| Apr | 74 | 50 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 81 | 59 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 67 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 71 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 70 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 64 | 4.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 74 | 51 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 62 | 40 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 53 | 35 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.3 |
| Year | 72 | 52 | 55.0 | 83 | 3.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chattanooga Lovell Airport, TN (671 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 Chattanooga
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 386 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Chattanooga: 316 thunderstorm wind reports, 43 flash floods, 24 floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 10 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $24.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on June 7, 2025. September has had the most flash floods, 12 of 43. Of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 319 have had fewer than Chattanooga.
August 12, 2025: heavy rain event 3 miles from the centre of Chattanooga — 3 killed, $25,000 damage.
NWS: “Waterlogged soils caused a large oak tree to fall and crush a car, killing the family of 3 within the vehicle. Calm to near calm winds were observed at the time of the incident off the nearby Chattanooga ASOS.”
July 5, 2012: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Chattanooga — 2 killed.
September 20, 2009: flood 9 miles from the centre of Chattanooga — 1 killed, 1 injured, $455,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Chattanooga's 15 ZIP codes have filed 1,510 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $27.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Heavy rains in 2003: 244 claims (16% of all) and $8.5 million, then Early winter storms in 2015 with 26. 18% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 155 Tennessee cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 153 have fewer than Chattanooga.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy rains2003 | 244 | $8.5 million |
| Early winter storms2015 | 26 | $288,000 |
Hamilton County, which includes Chattanooga, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Hamilton County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $140.1 million a year, the 3rd highest of 95 Tennessee counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $75.4 million (54%), 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 Chattanooga
- Rossville, GA6 mi
- Fort Oglethorpe, GA7 mi
- Lookout Mountain, TN7 mi
- Hixson, TN9 mi
- Lookout Mountain, GA9 mi
- Signal Mountain, TN9 mi
- Flintstone, GA10 mi
- Ringgold, GA10 mi
- Ooltewah, TN11 mi
- Harrison, TN13 mi
- Apison, TN13 mi
- Mc Donald, TN15 mi
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