NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Franklin, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Franklin, Tennessee since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Frederic in 1979. Since 1950, 107 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 107
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
14 deaths in all
What the records show for Franklin
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Franklin; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 62 miles away. The record near Franklin begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Frederic in 1979, a tropical storm 32 miles away. None of the 5 systems has come since 2000. Of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site, 55% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Franklin. The highest rating among the 107 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 10, 2009, came within 11 miles. The deadliest, an EF3 on March 3, 2020, killed 5 people. Of the 107, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 70 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 22 each. The most recent tornado was on June 6, 2025. Franklin has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 79% of the 339 Tennessee cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 140 times since 1961, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Franklin has more hail reports within 10 miles than 94% of the 339 Tennessee cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Franklin
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Franklin: 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 Franklin
By decade
- 2020s17(2 EF3+)
- 2010s26
- 2000s27(2 EF3+)
- 1990s14(3 EF3+)
- 1980s6(1 EF3+)
- 1970s8
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 10, 2009 | EF4 | 11 mi | 23.25 mi | 2 / 58 |
| Dec 24, 1988 | F4 | 1 mi | 6 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Jan 24, 1997 | F4 | 23 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 18 |
| Mar 3, 2020 | EF3 | 18 mi | 60.13 mi | 5 / 220 |
| May 8, 2024 | EF3 | 18 mi | 11.53 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Apr 16, 1998 | F3 | 11 mi | 42.1 mi | 1 / 60 |
| May 11, 2003 | F3 | 5 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 16, 1998 | F3 | 25 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jan 10, 1963 | F3 | 9 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Dec 9, 2023 | EF2 | 24 mi | 34.77 mi | 3 / 22 |
| Apr 1, 1974 | F2 | 14 mi | 10.9 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Dec 9, 2023 | EF2 | 21 mi | 18.37 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 107, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Franklin
The Storm Prediction Center has 140 hail reports within 10 miles of Franklin since 1961, made on 67 separate days. Of these, 97 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 20, 2025. The most recent report is from November 7, 2025. May has the most reports, 55.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Franklin
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Franklin Sewage Plt, TN, 2 miles north of Franklin at 655 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 49°F and 29°F. May is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.5 inches; the year adds up to 54.0 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 45 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 84 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 54.0 inches is more than at 35 of the 122 Tennessee stations used on this site (29%). Thompsons Station, 8 miles south, has its own station (Thompson Stn, TN): 55.9 inches a year, 1.9 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 | 49 | 29 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.9 |
| Feb | 53 | 31 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.3 |
| Mar | 62 | 38 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.4 |
| Apr | 72 | 46 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 80 | 55 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 64 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 69 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 67 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 85 | 60 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 74 | 47 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 62 | 37 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 53 | 32 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Year | 71 | 48 | 54.0 | 85 | 1.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Franklin Sewage Plt, TN (655 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 Franklin
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 343 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Franklin: 280 thunderstorm wind reports, 29 flash floods, 18 lightning strikes, 12 floods and 4 heavy rain events. They killed 5 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $6.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on May 26, 2000. May has had the most flash floods, 8 of 29. Of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 287 have had fewer than Franklin.
May 1, 2010: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Franklin — 1 killed, $51,000 damage.
October 12, 2022: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Franklin — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “Strong thunderstorm winds downed a tree onto a vehicle on Old Natchez Trace northwest of Franklin. A 22-year-old woman who was driving at the time was killed.”
June 11, 2003: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Franklin — 1 killed.
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 Franklin's 3 ZIP codes have filed 587 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $16.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Late spring storms in 2010: 239 claims (41% of all) and $9.5 million, then Heavy rains in 2003 with 17. 45% 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, 151 have fewer than Franklin.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Late spring storms2010 | 239 | $9.5 million |
| Heavy rains2003 | 17 | $180,000 |
Williamson County, which includes Franklin, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes, 2 winter storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Williamson County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and inland flooding; Relatively Low for hail, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $98.0 million a year, the 6th highest of 95 Tennessee counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $57.0 million (58%), 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 Franklin
- Brentwood, TN8 mi
- Thompsons Station, TN8 mi
- Nolensville, TN11 mi
- Arrington, TN12 mi
- Spring Hill, TN13 mi
- College Grove, TN14 mi
- Fairview, TN16 mi
- Antioch, TN16 mi
- Nashville, TN16 mi
- Pegram, TN17 mi
- Eagleville, TN18 mi
- Kingston Springs, TN18 mi
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