NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Memphis, 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
9 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Memphis, Tennessee since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Olga in 2019. Since 1950, 110 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 9
- Tornadoes
- 110
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
40 deaths in all
What the records show for Memphis
None of the 9 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Memphis; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 62 mph winds when its centre passed 10 miles away. The record near Memphis begins with an unnamed storm in 1860; the most recent system was Olga in 2019, a tropical storm 27 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1950s, with 2 systems. Of the 9 systems, one has come since 2000. Memphis has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 92% of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site. The strongest of the 110 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 21, 1952; its path came within 22 miles, and it killed 16 people. Of the 110, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 28 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 22. The most recent tornado was on May 18, 2025. Memphis has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 82% of the 339 Tennessee cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 199 times since 1958, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Memphis has more hail reports within 10 miles than 98% of the 339 Tennessee cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Memphis
Of the 9 tracks on the map, 5 were moving northeast as they passed Memphis, 4 north. The unnamed 1888 storm, the strongest pass, was heading northeast; its centre passed 10 miles southeast of Memphis. None made landfall within 75 miles of Memphis; 7 of the 9 were hurricanes at their peak, none at their closest to the city. In the last 30 seasons (1996–2025), 1 came near Memphis: 0.3 a decade, against 0.6 a decade from 1851 to 1995.
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1969 | CamilleAug 19 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1950 | BakerAug 31 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormOct 3 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Memphis: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Check hail and hurricane history for any address
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Memphis
By decade
- 2020s9(2 EF3+)
- 2010s6
- 2000s13
- 1990s20(1 EF3+)
- 1980s14(2 EF3+)
- 1970s20(3 EF3+)
- 1960s24(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 21, 1952 | F4 | 22 mi | 29.6 mi | 16 / 74 |
| Dec 14, 1987 | F3 | 11 mi | 25 mi | 6 / 121 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF3 | 24 mi | 72.55 mi | 4 / 26 |
| Apr 3, 1968 | F3 | 15 mi | 28.8 mi | 4 / 32 |
| Nov 27, 1994 | F3 | 7 mi | 16 mi | 3 / 25 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF3 | 25 mi | 39.18 mi | 1 / 28 |
| Apr 21, 1984 | F3 | 10 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 24, 1970 | F3 | 3 mi | 10.4 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 24, 1970 | F3 | 8 mi | 12.3 mi | 0 / 18 |
| Apr 24, 1970 | F3 | 5 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Feb 5, 2008 | EF2 | 6 mi | 10.24 mi | 3 / 13 |
| Nov 27, 1973 | F2 | 10 mi | 4.1 mi | 1 / 50 |
The strongest 12 of 110, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Memphis
The Storm Prediction Center has 199 hail reports within 10 miles of Memphis since 1958, made on 146 separate days. Of these, 116 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on April 11, 1987. The most recent report is from May 2, 2025. April has the most reports, 51.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Memphis
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Memphis International Airport, TN, 5 miles southwest of Memphis at 254 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 74°F; January is the coolest, at 51°F and 33°F. April is the wettest at 5.9 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 55.0 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 72 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 45 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 55.0 inches is more than at 52 of the 122 Tennessee stations used on this site (43%). Germantown, 9 miles east, has its own station (Germantown 4SE, TN): 55.4 inches a year, 0.4 more than here, and the same July average high, 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 51 | 33 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Feb | 56 | 37 | 4.6 | 7 | 1.0 |
| Mar | 64 | 44 | 5.7 | 8 | 0.5 |
| Apr | 73 | 53 | 5.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 82 | 62 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 70 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 74 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 92 | 73 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 86 | 66 | 3.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 75 | 54 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 63 | 43 | 4.7 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 53 | 36 | 5.5 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Year | 73 | 54 | 55.0 | 74 | 2.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Memphis International Airport, TN (254 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 Memphis
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 416 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Memphis: 266 thunderstorm wind reports, 134 flash floods, 10 lightning strikes, 4 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 7 people and injured 14, and the NWS estimated $62.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 109 mph, on July 22, 2003. July has had the most flash floods, 25 of 134. Of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 338 have had fewer than Memphis.
March 31, 2023: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Memphis — 3 killed, $500,000 damage.
NWS: “NWS meteorologists determined that straight-line winds impacted portions of southern and southeast Shelby County on the evening of March 31. Strong winds developed in the forward flank downdraft of a supercell thunderstorm and caused considerable tree damage and downed power lines in the area.”
July 22, 2003: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Memphis — 1 killed, 3 injured, $40.0 million damage.
December 11, 2021: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Memphis — 1 killed, $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous trees were knocked down from Orange Mound into East Buntyn. Several trees fell onto houses and vehicles.”
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 Memphis's 22 ZIP codes have filed 603 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $9.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Mid-spring storms in 2011: 48 claims (8% of all) and $1.4 million, then Late spring storms in 2010 with 38 and Central U.S. April Flooding in 2025 with 13. The year with the most claims was 1979, with 90. 18% 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, 152 have fewer than Memphis.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-spring storms2011 | 48 | $1.4 million |
| Late spring storms2010 | 38 | $1.7 million |
| Central U.S. April Flooding2025 | 13 | $136,000 |
Shelby County, which includes Memphis, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 23 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 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 Shelby County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $554.7 million a year, the highest of 95 Tennessee counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $153.7 million (28%), 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.