NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fayetteville, 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 Fayetteville, Tennessee since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Frederic in 1979. Since 1950, 137 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 137
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
144 deaths in all
What the records show for Fayetteville
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Fayetteville; the strongest was Frederic in 1979, a tropical storm with 46 mph winds when its centre passed 19 miles away. The record near Fayetteville begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Frederic in 1979. The busiest decade was the 1910s, with 2 systems. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Fayetteville has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 44% of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site. The highest rating among the 137 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5 or EF5, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 15 miles. Of the 137, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 87 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on May 25, 2025. Fayetteville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 94% of the 339 Tennessee cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 45 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 339 Tennessee cities, 61% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Fayetteville.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Fayetteville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 17 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 19 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Fayetteville: 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 Fayetteville
By decade
- 2020s20(1 EF3+)
- 2010s43(3 EF3+)
- 2000s24(1 EF3+)
- 1990s13(1 EF3+)
- 1980s9
- 1970s13(3 EF3+)
- 1960s6
- 1950s9(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF5 | 15 mi | 132 mi | 72 / 145 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 22 mi | 52 mi | 28 / 267 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 4 mi | 83.3 mi | 16 / 190 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 10 mi | 27.5 mi | 11 / 121 |
| Feb 13, 1952 | F4 | 16 mi | 12.7 mi | 3 / 44 |
| Feb 29, 1952 | F4 | 1 mi | 2 mi | 2 / 150 |
| May 18, 1995 | F4 | 22 mi | 39 mi | 1 / 55 |
| Apr 28, 2014 | EF3 | 6 mi | 26.76 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Apr 1, 2023 | EF3 | 11 mi | 12.03 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 16 mi | 33.99 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 2003 | F3 | 9 mi | 1.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Feb 13, 1952 | F3 | 6 mi | 7.4 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 137, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fayetteville
The Storm Prediction Center has 45 hail reports within 10 miles of Fayetteville since 1968, made on 35 separate days. Of these, 22 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on January 21, 2010. The most recent report is from March 23, 2025. March has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fayetteville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fayetteville Wtp, TN, 2 miles east of Fayetteville at 742 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 50°F and 31°F. December is the wettest at 6.5 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.8 inches; the year adds up to 59.9 inches over 91 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 51 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 72 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.1 inches a year, most of it in March. That 59.9 inches is more than at 105 of the 122 Tennessee stations used on this site (86%). Petersburg, 12 miles north, has its own station (Lewisburg Exp Stn, TN): 56.1 inches a year, 3.8 less than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 50 | 31 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Feb | 55 | 33 | 5.7 | 8 | 0.4 |
| Mar | 63 | 40 | 5.8 | 9 | 0.5 |
| Apr | 73 | 48 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 80 | 56 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 64 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 68 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 66 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 60 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 74 | 48 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 62 | 38 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 52 | 33 | 6.5 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Year | 71 | 49 | 59.9 | 91 | 1.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fayetteville Wtp, TN (742 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 Fayetteville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 233 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fayetteville: 205 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 flash floods, 6 lightning strikes, 4 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $1.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on May 5, 2003. September has had the most flash floods, 9 of 17. Of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 212 have had fewer than Fayetteville.
April 30, 2017: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Fayetteville — 1 killed.
NWS: “A female was killed by a fallen tree onto a vehicle in the driveway of their residence on Rambo Road in Fayetteville.”
July 14, 2012: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Fayetteville — $300,000 damage.
June 28, 2018: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Fayetteville — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Lightning struck a home on Fox Wood Drive sparking a fire. The house was a total loss.”
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 Fayetteville's ZIP code 37334 have filed 36 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $480,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1990: 14 claims (39% of all) and $152,000. 42% 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, 84 have fewer than Fayetteville.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1990 | 14 | $152,000 |
Lincoln County, which includes Fayetteville, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 winter storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lincoln County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $16.1 million a year, the 45th highest of 95 Tennessee counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.5 million (40%), 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 Fayetteville
- Petersburg, TN12 mi
- Hazel Green, AL13 mi
- Lynchburg, TN16 mi
- Ardmore, TN16 mi
- Ardmore, AL18 mi
- New Market, AL18 mi
- Toney, AL18 mi
- Huntland, TN18 mi
- Meridianville, AL19 mi
- Cornersville, TN20 mi
- Shelbyville, TN24 mi
- Prospect, TN24 mi
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