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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Limestone, TN

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

6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Limestone, Tennessee since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 26 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
6

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
26

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
3

9 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Limestone

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Limestone, Tennessee, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2020ZetaOct 2930 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 3
1989HugoSep 2251 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 5
1959GracieSep 3056 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 4
1932Unnamed 1932 stormOct 1832 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1907Unnamed 1907 stormSep 2374 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1902Unnamed 1902 stormOct 1166 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2

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

By decade

  • 2020s1
  • 2010s11(2 EF3+)
  • 2000s2
  • 1990s2
  • 1980s2(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s4
  • 1960s2
  • 1950s2
Strongest tornadoes near Limestone, Tennessee
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Apr 27, 2011EF37 mi15.8 mi6 / 33
Apr 27, 2011EF36 mi13.6 mi2 / 70
Jul 10, 1980F315 mi1.9 mi0 / 12
Mar 12, 1967F23 mi16 mi1 / 5
Apr 27, 2011EF25 mi8.8 mi0 / 0
Apr 22, 1967F25 mi0.2 mi0 / 0
Apr 8, 1957F23 mi3 mi0 / 0
Mar 5, 1955F220 mi4.3 mi0 / 6
Aug 7, 2023EF119 mi6.23 mi0 / 0
Jul 27, 2014EF115 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Apr 9, 2011EF113 mi0.61 mi0 / 0
Apr 9, 2011EF111 mi3 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 26, 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 Limestone 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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