Storm risk in Knox County, Tennessee

FEMA rates Knox County Relatively Moderate for natural-hazard risk overall, 249th of 3,144 rated counties. For a roof the three that matter are hail (Relatively Low), strong wind (Relatively High) and tornado (Relatively High). NOAA logged 48 hail reports here from 2014 to June 2026.

FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026. Planning-level county ratings.

Knox County: FEMA National Risk Index scores for overall risk, hail, strong wind and tornado, each on a scale of 0 to 100Overall riskOverall risk: score 92.1, Relatively Moderate, 249th of 3,144 rated counties92Relatively Moderate, 249th of 3,144HailHail: score 59.7, Relatively Low, 1268th of 3,126 rated counties60Relatively Low, 1268th of 3,126Strong windStrong wind: score 89.3, Relatively High, 337th of 3,121 rated counties89Relatively High, 337th of 3,121TornadoTornado: score 96.7, Relatively High, 104th of 3,144 rated counties97Relatively High, 104th of 3,144

Each dot is the county’s score from 0 to 100 against all rated U.S. counties; the bar colour is FEMA’s rating band.

Hazard by hazard

HazardRatingScore (0 to 100)Rank in U.S.Rank in TNExpected yearly loss
OverallRelatively Moderate 92.12494 of 95$91,827,916buildings
HailRelatively Low 59.71,26812 of 95$140,583buildings
Strong windRelatively High 89.33376 of 95$210,443buildings
TornadoRelatively High 96.71045 of 95$19,962,060all exposure

Rank 1 is the highest score. Expected annual loss is a county total in dollars per year, not a figure per home; the overall, hail and wind rows count buildings only, the tornado row all exposure.

Knox County in plain numbers

  • FEMA's overall rating for Knox County is Relatively Moderate, score 92.1 of 100, 249th of 3,144 rated counties.
  • Hail: Relatively Low (score 59.7), 1268th nationwide and 12th of 95 counties in Tennessee.
  • Expected yearly hail loss to buildings: $140,583 for the whole county, about $1.52 per $1 million of building value.
  • NRI's hail record averages 2.9 hail events a year in the county.
  • Strong wind: Relatively High (score 89.3), 337th nationwide; expected yearly loss to buildings $210,443, about $2.28 per $1 million of building value.
  • Tornado: Relatively High (score 96.7), 104th nationwide; total expected yearly loss $19,962,060.
  • Buildings in the county are valued at 92.4 billion dollars in the index; population 478,842.
  • Social vulnerability is rated Relatively Low and community resilience Relatively High.
  • NOAA logged 48 hail reports in Knox County from 2014 to June 2026; hail of 1 inch or more fell on 22 days and the largest stone was 1.75 inches.
  • 1 of our cities is in the county: Knoxville.
  • 22 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have more than half of their land area in Knox County.
  • Our guide range for a 2,000 sq ft asphalt roof in Knoxville is $6,230 to $13,795.
  • NOAA lists 1 tornado track in the county since 2014.

Where large hail was reported

FEMA scores the county as a whole. NOAA’s storm reports show where inside it the big stones fell.

Reported hail locations, Knox County

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  • 371 to 1.74 in
  • 71.75 to 2.74 in, golf ball to tennis ball
  • 02.75 in and up, baseball

Largest plotted stone: 1.75 in. Bigger dots are bigger stones.

44 reports of 1 inch or larger have coordinates. Each dot is a reported location, not a storm path.

Sources: NOAA, Census county outline

Cities and ZIP areas in Knox County

1 city in this county is on PickARoofer. ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are Census shapes that approximate ZIP codes; where we have a city’s ZIPs, the share is the part of each area’s land that lies in this county. 22 such areas have more than half their land here.

CityZIP areas (share of land in the county)Pages
Knoxville 37902 (100%), 37909 (100%), 37912 (100%), 37919 (100%), 37922 (99%) Roofers

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Questions

How high is storm risk in Knox County?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Knox County Relatively Moderate overall. By peril: hail Relatively Low, strong wind Relatively High, tornado Relatively High. The highest-scoring of the three for this county is tornado (score 96.7).

How many hail reports has NOAA logged in Knox County?

48 reports between 2014 and June 2026 in NOAA's Storm Events Database. A report is one entry for one storm in one county, so counts follow where people live as well as where hail fell.

What does expected annual loss mean?

It is FEMA's estimate of the average yearly loss from a hazard, in dollars, summed over the county. It is a county total, not a figure per home, and it is built for comparing counties, not for pricing one house.

Does a high rating mean my roof will be damaged?

No. The index compares counties at planning level. It cannot say what will happen on your street. After a storm, a roof inspection is the only way to know.

How does Knox County compare with the rest of Tennessee?

For hail it ranks 12th of 95 rated counties in the state; for strong wind 6th of 95; for tornado 5th of 95.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026; NOAA Storm Events Database; Census Bureau ZCTA-to-county relationship file (2020). This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset 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). Planning-level information, not an inspection and not insurance advice.