NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Columbia, 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
7 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Columbia, Tennessee since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Frederic in 1979. Since 1950, 92 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 92
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
22 deaths in all
What the records show for Columbia
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Columbia; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 74 miles away. The record near Columbia begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Frederic in 1979, a tropical storm 23 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1910s, with 2 systems. None of the 7 systems has come since 2000. Columbia has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 71% of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site. The strongest of the 92 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 16, 1998; its path came within 7 miles, and it killed 3 people. The deadliest, an EF3 on March 31, 2023, killed 9 people. Of the 92, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 57 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on June 18, 2025. Columbia has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 339 Tennessee cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 71 times since 1961, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Columbia has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 339 Tennessee cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Columbia
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 19 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 74 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 Columbia: 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 Columbia
By decade
- 2020s16(2 EF3+)
- 2010s20(1 EF3+)
- 2000s21(4 EF3+)
- 1990s13(2 EF3+)
- 1980s9(2 EF3+)
- 1970s7(1 EF3+)
- 1960s5(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 1998 | F5 | 7 mi | 69.4 mi | 3 / 36 |
| May 18, 1995 | F4 | 20 mi | 29 mi | 3 / 32 |
| Apr 10, 2009 | EF4 | 14 mi | 23.25 mi | 2 / 58 |
| Dec 24, 1988 | F4 | 22 mi | 6 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF3 | 19 mi | 86.01 mi | 9 / 23 |
| May 8, 2024 | EF3 | 2 mi | 11.53 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Dec 23, 2015 | EF3 | 14 mi | 48.38 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 11, 2008 | EF3 | 19 mi | 4.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 2008 | EF3 | 24 mi | 10.34 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 11, 2003 | F3 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 16, 1985 | F3 | 13 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 21, 1972 | F3 | 17 mi | 32.3 mi | 0 / 10 |
The strongest 12 of 92, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Columbia
The Storm Prediction Center has 71 hail reports within 10 miles of Columbia since 1961, made on 50 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on April 28, 2002. The most recent report is from May 20, 2025. March has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Columbia
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Columbia 3 WNW, TN, 3 miles northwest of Columbia at 650 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 48°F and 27°F. December is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.8 inches; the year adds up to 56.9 inches over 86 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 41 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 93 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.9 inches a year, most of it in February. That 56.9 inches is more than at 72 of the 122 Tennessee stations used on this site (59%). Spring Hill, 10 miles northeast, has its own station (Thompson Stn, TN): 55.9 inches a year, 1.0 less than here, and the same July average high, 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 27 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.3 |
| Feb | 52 | 29 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Mar | 62 | 36 | 5.4 | 9 | 0.2 |
| Apr | 71 | 44 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 79 | 54 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 62 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 67 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 65 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 58 | 4.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 72 | 45 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 60 | 35 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 51 | 30 | 5.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Year | 70 | 46 | 56.9 | 86 | 0.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Columbia 3 WNW, TN (650 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 Columbia
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 169 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Columbia: 136 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 flash floods, 6 lightning strikes, 3 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $7.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 20, 2000. September has had the most flash floods, 8 of 22. Of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 251 have had fewer than Columbia.
June 29, 2023: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Columbia — 1 killed, $1,000 damage.
July 8, 2023: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Columbia — 2 injured, $15,000 damage.
NWS: “Severe thunderstorm winds downed trees along Campbellsville Pike in Columbia. One of these trees fell on a truck, causing minor injuries to two people inside the truck.”
May 1, 2009: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Columbia — 1 injured, $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Portions of Trotwood Avenue closed due to several feet of water covering the road. Additional newspaper reports added that several additional area roads were closed because of the rising water and numerous secondary roads were closed.”
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 Columbia's ZIP code 38401 have filed 153 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Late spring storms in 2010: 30 claims (20% of all) and $487,000, then Heavy rains in 2003 with 19. 35% 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, 128 have fewer than Columbia.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Late spring storms2010 | 30 | $487,000 |
| Heavy rains2003 | 19 | $221,000 |
Maury County, which includes Columbia, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 severe storms, 3 winter storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Maury County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $46.2 million a year, the 13th highest of 95 Tennessee counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $17.9 million (39%), 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 Columbia
- Spring Hill, TN10 mi
- Culleoka, TN10 mi
- Mt Pleasant, TN12 mi
- Thompsons Station, TN14 mi
- Lynnville, TN17 mi
- Lewisburg, TN18 mi
- Chapel Hill, TN20 mi
- College Grove, TN20 mi
- Summertown, TN21 mi
- Franklin, TN22 mi
- Cornersville, TN23 mi
- Ethridge, TN23 mi
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