NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Dunlap, 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 Dunlap, Tennessee since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 58 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 58
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Dunlap
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Dunlap; the strongest was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 68 miles away. The record near Dunlap begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 72 miles away. The 1970s and the 2020s were the busiest decades, with 2 systems each. Of the 7 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Dunlap has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 71% of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site. The strongest of the 58 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on April 27, 2011; its path came within 2 miles, and it killed 4 people. Of the 58, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 33 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on April 5, 2025. Of the 339 Tennessee cities, 70% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Dunlap. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 40 times since 1977, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 339 Tennessee cities, 71% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Dunlap.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Dunlap
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 24 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 17 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 39 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 Dunlap: 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 Dunlap
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s20(2 EF3+)
- 2000s9
- 1990s13(2 EF3+)
- 1980s4
- 1970s3
- 1960s3
- 1950s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 2 mi | 40.16 mi | 4 / 12 |
| Apr 15, 1994 | F3 | 23 mi | 15 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 23 mi | 41 mi | 0 / 44 |
| Mar 29, 1997 | F3 | 24 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 44 |
| Feb 13, 1952 | F3 | 22 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 20 mi | 8.7 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Nov 6, 2018 | EF2 | 20 mi | 29.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 29, 2016 | EF2 | 6 mi | 8.15 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF2 | 2 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF2 | 24 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF2 | 24 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 26, 2010 | EF2 | 22 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 6 |
The strongest 12 of 58, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Dunlap
The Storm Prediction Center has 40 hail reports within 10 miles of Dunlap since 1977, made on 30 separate days. Of these, 21 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 20, 2006. The most recent report is from May 20, 2025. April has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Dunlap
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Whitwell-Sequatchie Vly, TN, 9 miles southwest of Dunlap at 1,020 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 49°F and 32°F. December is the wettest at 6.8 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.9 inches; the year adds up to 63.8 inches over 90 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 32 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 63 nights a year. Snowfall averages 3.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 63.8 inches is more than at 118 of the 122 Tennessee stations used on this site (97%). Graysville, 12 miles east, has its own station (Pikeville, TN): 56.3 inches a year, 7.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49 | 32 | 5.8 | 8 | 1.3 |
| Feb | 54 | 35 | 5.5 | 8 | 1.6 |
| Mar | 63 | 41 | 6.1 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Apr | 72 | 49 | 6.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 78 | 57 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 65 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 68 | 5.6 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 67 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 62 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 72 | 50 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 61 | 41 | 5.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 52 | 35 | 6.8 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Year | 70 | 50 | 63.8 | 90 | 3.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Whitwell-Sequatchie Vly, TN (1,020 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 Dunlap
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 171 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Dunlap: 150 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods, 6 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on November 6, 2018. September has had the most flash floods, 4 of 13. Of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 159 have had fewer than Dunlap.
April 27, 2011: flood 2 miles from the centre of Dunlap — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “Law enforcement personnel reported thunderstorms produced flooding on Hwy 127 in Dunlap. A middle aged man, who was intoxicated, jumped into the high water, drowned and was later found 60 yards downstream.”
July 21, 2006: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Dunlap — 1 injured, $1,000 damage.
February 23, 2019: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Dunlap — $850,000 damage.
NWS: “Multiple roads closed throughout the county. Evacuations in the northern part of the county.”
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 Dunlap's ZIP code 37327 have filed 20 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2003, and were paid $134,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2009, with 14. 15% 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, 49 have fewer than Dunlap.
Sequatchie County, which includes Dunlap, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 3 fires, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Sequatchie County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.0 million a year, the 62nd highest of 95 Tennessee counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.6 million (33%), 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 Dunlap
- Graysville, TN12 mi
- Whitwell, TN15 mi
- Soddy Daisy, TN16 mi
- Sale Creek, TN16 mi
- Signal Mountain, TN17 mi
- Hixson, TN19 mi
- Pikeville, TN20 mi
- Spencer, TN21 mi
- Tracy City, TN22 mi
- Harrison, TN22 mi
- Dayton, TN22 mi
- Birchwood, TN22 mi
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