NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Erwin, 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
8 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Erwin, Tennessee since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 24 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 8
- Tornadoes
- 24
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Erwin
None of the 8 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Erwin; the strongest was Hugo in 1989, a tropical storm with 62 mph winds when its centre passed 40 miles away. The record near Erwin begins with an unnamed storm in 1901; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 17 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 3 systems. Of the 8 systems, one has come since 2000. Erwin has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 89% of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site. The highest rating among the 24 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 8 miles. Of the 24, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 12 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on August 7, 2023. Of the 339 Tennessee cities, 98% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Erwin. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 25 times since 1967, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 339 Tennessee cities, 94% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Erwin.
Compare Erwin's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Erwin
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1959 | GracieSep 30 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 18 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Erwin: 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 Erwin
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s10(2 EF3+)
- 2000s1
- 1990s2
- 1980s2(1 EF3+)
- 1970s5
- 1960s2
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 8 mi | 15.8 mi | 6 / 33 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 6 mi | 13.6 mi | 2 / 70 |
| Jul 10, 1980 | F3 | 7 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Mar 12, 1967 | F2 | 16 mi | 16 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF2 | 18 mi | 8.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 22, 1967 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1957 | F2 | 14 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 2023 | EF1 | 7 mi | 6.23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 2014 | EF1 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF1 | 12 mi | 0.61 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF1 | 12 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1997 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 24, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Erwin
The Storm Prediction Center has 25 hail reports within 10 miles of Erwin since 1967, made on 24 separate days. Of these, 13 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 1, 1990. The most recent report is from April 30, 2025. April and May have the most reports, 7 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Erwin
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Erwin 1 W, TN, 1 mile north of Erwin at 1,720 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 47°F and 25°F. July is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 47.0 inches over 93 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 98 nights a year. Snowfall averages 9.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 47.0 inches is more than at 4 of the 122 Tennessee stations used on this site (3%). Johnson City, 15 miles north, has its own station (Elizabethton, TN): 48.2 inches a year, 1.2 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47 | 25 | 3.5 | 7 | 3.4 |
| Feb | 51 | 27 | 3.3 | 7 | 2.5 |
| Mar | 59 | 33 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.9 |
| Apr | 68 | 41 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 76 | 50 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 58 | 5.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 62 | 5.5 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 61 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 55 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 43 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 59 | 33 | 2.8 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 50 | 28 | 3.6 | 8 | 2.4 |
| Year | 68 | 43 | 47.0 | 93 | 9.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Erwin 1 W, TN (1,720 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 Erwin
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 104 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Erwin: 84 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods and 5 floods. They killed 14 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $55.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on June 7, 2005. August has had the most flash floods, 4 of 15. Of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 183 have had fewer than Erwin.
September 27, 2024: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Erwin — 9 killed, $9.8 million damage.
NWS: “Flooding along portions of Hwy 19 was reported at 8:00 am EST. Reports from spotters, social media, broadcast media, and county officials increased through the day, including flooded roadways at 8:51 am EST.”
September 27, 2024: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Erwin — 4 killed, $39.0 million damage.
NWS: “Flash flooding on the Nolichucky River flowed downstream from Unicoi County. This stretch of the river is a gorge that opens into the flood plain of the Bumpus Cove Road section of the town of Embreeville.”
February 6, 2020: flood 8 miles from the centre of Erwin — 1 killed, $350,000 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 Erwin's ZIP code 37650 have filed 45 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1993, and were paid $1.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Helene in 2024: 15 claims (33% of all) and $1.2 million. 33% 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, 101 have fewer than Erwin.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene2024 | 15 | $1.2 million |
Unicoi County, which includes Erwin, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tropical storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Unicoi County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $4.4 million a year, the 89th highest of 95 Tennessee counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.8 million (64%), 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.