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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Prospect, TN

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

7 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Prospect, Tennessee since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 160 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 21 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
7

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
160

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
21

134 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Prospect

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Prospect, Tennessee, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1995OpalOct 567 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1979FredericSep 137 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
1957AudreyJun 2850 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1863 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1916Unnamed 1916 stormOct 1950 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 2
1915Unnamed 1915 stormSep 3010 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1892Unnamed 1892 stormSep 1334 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Prospect: 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 Prospect

By decade

  • 2020s23(2 EF3+)
  • 2010s45(4 EF3+)
  • 2000s34(2 EF3+)
  • 1990s14(4 EF3+)
  • 1980s12(2 EF3+)
  • 1970s12(3 EF3+)
  • 1960s7(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s13(2 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Prospect, Tennessee
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Apr 27, 2011EF522 mi132 mi72 / 145
Apr 3, 1974F521 mi52 mi28 / 267
Apr 3, 1974F515 mi83.3 mi16 / 190
May 18, 1995F421 mi29 mi3 / 32
Feb 29, 1952F424 mi2 mi2 / 150
May 18, 1995F415 mi39 mi1 / 55
Apr 28, 2014EF325 mi26.76 mi2 / 0
Apr 28, 2014EF315 mi15.56 mi2 / 30
Mar 9, 1964F321 mi5.2 mi2 / 2
Apr 1, 2023EF324 mi12.03 mi1 / 5
May 8, 2024EF322 mi3.76 mi0 / 0
Mar 2, 2012EF319 mi33.99 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 160, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Prospect while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

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