NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Springfield, 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
4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Springfield, Tennessee since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Frederic in 1979. Since 1950, 130 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 130
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
30 deaths in all
What the records show for Springfield
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Springfield; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 28 miles away. The record near Springfield begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Frederic in 1979, a tropical storm 63 miles away. None of the 4 systems has come since 2000. Of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site, 81% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Springfield. The strongest of the 130 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 27, 1970; its path came within 2 miles, and it killed 3 people. The deadliest, an F3 on April 7, 2006, killed 7 people. Of the 130, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 76 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 39. The most recent tornado was on November 22, 2025. Springfield has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 92% of the 339 Tennessee cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 88 times since 1971, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Springfield has more hail reports within 10 miles than 83% of the 339 Tennessee cities.
Compare Springfield's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Springfield
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 28 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 Springfield: 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 Springfield
By decade
- 2020s23(2 EF3+)
- 2010s27
- 2000s26(3 EF3+)
- 1990s20(2 EF3+)
- 1980s14
- 1970s11(2 EF3+)
- 1960s5
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 1970 | F4 | 2 mi | 42.6 mi | 3 / 85 |
| Apr 7, 2006 | F3 | 15 mi | 22.7 mi | 7 / 128 |
| Mar 3, 2020 | EF3 | 24 mi | 60.13 mi | 5 / 220 |
| Dec 9, 2023 | EF3 | 17 mi | 47.22 mi | 4 / 62 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 24 mi | 31.1 mi | 3 / 57 |
| Apr 7, 2006 | F3 | 20 mi | 18.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 2003 | F3 | 20 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 22, 1999 | F3 | 24 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 16, 1998 | F3 | 9 mi | 7.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 27, 1956 | F3 | 13 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Dec 9, 2023 | EF2 | 18 mi | 34.77 mi | 3 / 22 |
| Feb 24, 2018 | EF2 | 11 mi | 12.88 mi | 1 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 130, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Springfield
The Storm Prediction Center has 88 hail reports within 10 miles of Springfield since 1971, made on 60 separate days. Of these, 58 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 8, 2024. The most recent report is from April 2, 2025. April has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Springfield
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Springfield Exp Stn, TN, 3 miles southeast of Springfield at 745 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 45°F and 27°F. May is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.7 inches; the year adds up to 53.4 inches over 84 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 44 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 91 nights a year. Snowfall averages 5.8 inches a year, most of it in February. That 53.4 inches is more than at 28 of the 122 Tennessee stations used on this site (23%). Cross Plains, 11 miles east, has its own station (Portland Sewage Plt, TN): 54.4 inches a year, 1.0 more than here, and the same July average high, 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 27 | 4.3 | 7 | 1.5 |
| Feb | 50 | 30 | 4.5 | 7 | 2.4 |
| Mar | 59 | 37 | 4.8 | 8 | 1.2 |
| Apr | 69 | 47 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 77 | 57 | 5.6 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 65 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 68 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 66 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 60 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 48 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 59 | 38 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 49 | 31 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.7 |
| Year | 69 | 48 | 53.4 | 84 | 5.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Springfield Exp Stn, TN (745 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 Springfield
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 213 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Springfield: 180 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 flash floods, 7 heavy rain events, 5 lightning strikes and 2 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $8.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on January 30, 2013. May has had the most flash floods, 7 of 19. Of the 339 Tennessee cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 231 have had fewer than Springfield.
June 22, 2009: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Springfield — 4 injured, $100,000 damage.
January 30, 2013: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Springfield — 1 injured, $750,000 damage.
May 8, 2024: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Springfield — $2.0 million 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 Springfield's ZIP code 37172 have filed 23 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $991,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 17% 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, 56 have fewer than Springfield.
Robertson County, which includes Springfield, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1975, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 winter storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Robertson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $24.0 million a year, the 27th highest of 95 Tennessee counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.1 million (34%), 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 Springfield
- Greenbrier, TN7 mi
- Cedar Hill, TN9 mi
- Cross Plains, TN11 mi
- White House, TN12 mi
- Pleasant View, TN12 mi
- Joelton, TN13 mi
- Adams, TN13 mi
- Goodlettsville, TN14 mi
- Cottontown, TN15 mi
- Chapmansboro, TN17 mi
- Whites Creek, TN17 mi
- Ashland City, TN19 mi
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