States › Tennessee › Chester County

Chester County, Tennessee

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 47023 · 17,504 residents (2021) · 286 sq mi · dominant hazard Heat

Hail · 76Tornado · 13Flood · 23Wind · 80Winter · 50

Chester County within Tennessee. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Chester County, Tennessee, has 370 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them heat.

That is 129.5 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Tennessee figure of 112.2, and 211.4 per 10,000 residents against 66.4 statewide.

26 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 23 deaths and 107 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $5.3M.

FEMA has designated the county in 16 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storm (major disaster, 6 Feb 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 2 claims since 1978, of which 2 were paid, totalling $42K (about $21K per paid claim). FEMA counts 7 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($13M a year across 18 hazards).

11 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

26events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

370events since 195023 deaths, 107 injuries recorded

16disaster declarationslast 6 Feb 2026

2NFIP flood claims$42K paid

Compared with Tennessee and the United States

Measure	Chester County	Tennessee	US
Recorded events since 1950	370	46,283	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	129.5	112.2	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	211.4	66.4	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	26	1,524	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	23	804	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$5.3M	$9.2B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	0.1	2.5	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$21K	$33K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	0.0	20.9	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Tornado: 2Wind: 1

Hail: 1Tornado: 1Wind: 1

Wind: 2

Tornado: 2Wind: 4

Hail: 22Tornado: 5Flood: 3Wind: 18Winter: 4Lightning: 1

Hail: 22Flood: 8Wind: 27Winter: 14Tropical: 1Heat: 1Cold: 2Drought: 6Lightning: 1

Hail: 15Tornado: 2Flood: 11Wind: 17Winter: 20Heat: 25Drought: 6Other: 1

Hail: 16Tornado: 1Flood: 1Wind: 10Winter: 12Heat: 63Cold: 9Drought: 11Lightning: 1

31950s31960s21970s61980s531990s822000s972010s1242020s

Recorded events in Chester County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 252 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 98 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Heat89

Wind80

Hail76

Winter50

Flood23

Drought23

Tornado13

Cold11

Lightning3

Tropical1

Other1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Heat	89	—	4.0%
■ Wind	80	—	0.4%	detail
■ Hail	76	—	1.1%	detail
■ Winter	50	—	0.8%	detail
■ Flood	23	—	0.5%	detail
■ Drought	23	—	1.2%
■ Tornado	13	23	0.8%	detail
■ Cold	11	—	1.9%
■ Lightning	3	—	0.6%
■ Tropical	1	—	1.9%
■ Other	1	—	0.3%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
22 Mar 1952	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$2.5M	—	23	100	County
30 Jan 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	—	—	—	4	County
26 Apr 2012	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$400K	—	—	1	County
5 May 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$100K	—	—	1	County
15 Nov 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	$10K	—	—	1	County
23 Feb 1962	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County
27 Nov 1985	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County
19 Nov 1988	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	—	County
28 Apr 1990	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County
27 Sep 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$200K	—	—	—	County
1 May 2010	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$150K	—	—	—	County
3 Mar 2023	High Wind	Wind	58 mph	$100K	—	—	—	Forecast zone

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
6 Feb 2026	DR-4898	Major disaster	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Individual assistance, Public assistance
24 Jan 2026	EM-3635	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
2 Apr 2025	EM-3625	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
2 Apr 2020	DR-4514	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3473	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
9 May 2011	DR-1978	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, And Straight-Line Winds	Public assistance
1 May 2011	DR-1974	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Associated Flooding	Public assistance
4 May 2010	DR-1909	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
21 Aug 2009	DR-1856	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
5 Sep 2005	EM-3217	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
8 May 2003	DR-1464	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance
12 May 1999	DR-1275	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Jan 1998	DR-1197	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
7 Mar 1997	DR-1167	Major disaster	Tornado	Heavy Rains, Tornadoes, Flooding, Hail, High Winds	Individual assistance, Public assistance
28 Feb 1994	DR-1010	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Ice Storm,Flash Flooding	Public assistance
22 Mar 1975	DR-459	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Chester County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19782

Paid claims2

Total paid$42K

Average paid claim$21K

Repetitive-loss properties0

Residential policies in force70.1% of 7,003 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2010	1	1	$36,126	$36,126
2003	1	1	$5,722	$5,722

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Lowscore 44.5 of 100

Expected annual loss$13MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Moderate

Community resilienceRelatively Moderate

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$4,826,559
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$2,420,911
Inland flooding	Very Low	$2,362,113
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$2,053,735
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$437,857
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$360,489
Lightning	Relatively Low	$132,468
Hurricane	Very Low	$54,281
Drought	Relatively Low	$54,266
Hail	Very Low	$38,045
Ice storm	Very Low	$20,857
Winter weather	Very Low	$8,908
Wildfire	Very Low	$4,462
Landslide	Very Low	$2,829

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles11

Tracks within 50 miles3

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Olga	2019	66 mi	46 mph
Katrina	2005	91 mi	46 mph
Frederic	1979	92 mi	46 mph
Camille	1969	93 mi	40 mph
Audrey	1957	54 mi	40 mph
Baker	1950	43 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	36 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	34 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1906	88 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	87 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1860	57 mi	46 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Chester County, TN?

NCEI records 76 hail events in Chester County since 1950, in 28 different years; that is about 1.0 recorded events a year. 13 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Chester County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 13 tornadoes in Chester County since 1950, 4 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 23.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Chester County?

6 Feb 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a major disaster declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 16 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Chester County, and how much was paid?

2 NFIP claims since 1978, 2 of them paid, for $42K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Chester County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Low" for overall risk, "Very Low" for expected annual loss, "Relatively Moderate" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Moderate" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Chester County compare with the rest of Tennessee?

129.5 recorded events per 100 square miles against 112.2 statewide, and 0.1 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 2.5. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.