La Follette Micro Area Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
The chance of earthquake damage in La Follette Area is lower than Tennessee average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in La Follette Area is much lower than Tennessee average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #272
| La Follette Area | 0.18 |
| Tennessee | 0.56 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #129
| La Follette Area | 0.0000 |
| Tennessee | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #633
| La Follette Area | 85.74 |
| Tennessee | 175.35 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 14,140 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of La Follette Area were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 1 | Cold: | 46 | Dense Fog: | 30 | Drought: | 72 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 1,555 | Hail: | 3,026 | Heat: | 35 | Heavy Snow: | 168 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 6 | Ice Storm: | 42 | Landslide: | 2 | Strong Wind: | 101 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 8,300 | Tropical Storm: | 2 | Wildfire: | 6 | Winter Storm: | 123 | Winter Weather: | 139 |
| Other: | 486 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near La Follette Area.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 4 historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near La Follette Area.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 43.0 | 1973-11-30 | 4.7 | 3 | 35.8 | -83.96 |
| 37.7 | 1976-01-19 | 4 | 5 | 36.88 | -83.83 |
| 29.9 | 1984-02-14 | 3.6 | 10 | 36.13 | -83.74 |
| 33.0 | 1969-07-13 | 3.5 | N/A | 36.1 | -83.7 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 39 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near La Follette Area.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 14.0 | 2002-11-10 | 2 | 36°12'N / 84°12'W | 36°12'N / 84°05'W | 5.50 Miles | 75 Yards | 0 | 0 | 213K | 0 | Anderson |
| Brief Description: An F2 tornado produced a damage path 75 yards wide for a distance of 5.5 miles from near Briceville to Medford. The Medford community received the brunt of the damage, which was concentrated along Highway 25W, Leinart Road, Bryant Circle and Old and New Clear Branch roads. In all, 32 homes were damaged while 3 were totally destroyed. In addition, 9 mobile homes were damaged. | |||||||||||
| 14.7 | 2009-05-08 | 2 | 36°21'N / 84°25'W | 5.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 90K | 0K | Scott | |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An EF2 tornado with a maximum wind speed of 135 miles an hour occurred around five miles southeast of Huntsville. The tornado initially touched down just west of the Fairview community with a maximum wind speed of 90 mph (EF-1) and a width of 100 yards. The tornado continued along an east path and increased in size and intensity to an EF-2 with a maximum wind speed at 135 mph and a width of 200 yards. Several large hardwood trees were snapped off near trunk level and a free standing cell phone tower was collapsed and twisted by the tornado winds. Extensive damage occurred in a concentrated path at least 80 yards in length at the 135 mph EF-2 level. The tornado continued east and finally weakened to an EF-1 with a maximum wind speed of 100 mph as it dissipated at the foothill of Gray Mountain. At least seven homes suffered minor to moderate wind damage along the 4.5 mile path of the tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A highly organized mesoscale convective vorticity maximum with strong low to mid tropospheric flow coupled with moderate instability resulted in the development of discrete supercellular thunderstorms. These storms produced a long-lived tornado across Northeast Tennessee late in the afternoon and another long duration tornado across Southwest Virginia later in the evening. | |||||||||||
| 18.5 | 1967-03-12 | 3 | 36°40'N / 84°07'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Whitley | |
| 21.0 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 36°29'N / 84°36'W | 36°35'N / 84°24'W | 13.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 21 | 250K | 0 | Scott |
| 21.6 | 1967-03-12 | 3 | 36°45'N / 84°20'W | 36°40'N / 84°08'W | 12.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 5 | 250K | 0 | Whitley |
| 22.3 | 1955-03-25 | 2 | 36°01'N / 84°25'W | 36°12'N / 84°14'W | 16.30 Miles | 1760 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Jefferson |
| 22.8 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 36°17'N / 84°37'W | 36°22'N / 84°30'W | 8.60 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 5 | 0K | 0 | Scott |
| 22.9 | 1973-05-10 | 2 | 36°40'N / 84°26'W | 36°40'N / 84°23'W | 2.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 5 | 25K | 0 | Mccreary |
| 23.9 | 1993-02-21 | 3 | 36°01'N / 84°15'W | 36°06'N / 83°58'W | 10.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 3 | 5.0M | 0 | Knox |
| Brief Description: The tornado started near Oak Ridge, moved through the Bull Run Steam Plant and went through the town of Claxton. Fifty homes were damaged and six mobile homes were destroyed. Two business were destroyed and another 10 were damaged including a weapons plant. Twelve electric transmission towers were knocked down. | |||||||||||
| 25.5 | 1980-04-08 | 2 | 36°43'N / 84°28'W | 36°34'N / 84°33'W | 11.20 Miles | 200 Yards | 2 | 9 | 250K | 0 | Mccreary |
| 25.9 | 1953-05-02 | 2 | 36°02'N / 84°04'W | 0.80 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Anderson | |
| 28.4 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 36°15'N / 84°40'W | 36°17'N / 84°37'W | 3.60 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 6 | 25K | 0 | Morgan |
| 28.9 | 1988-05-09 | 3 | 36°36'N / 83°45'W | 36°36'N / 83°39'W | 5.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 1 | 15 | 25.0M | 0 | Bell |
| 30.2 | 1967-03-12 | 3 | 36°49'N / 84°31'W | 36°45'N / 84°20'W | 11.10 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mccreary |
| 31.4 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 36°48'N / 84°26'W | 36°51'N / 84°18'W | 8.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Mccreary |
| 31.7 | 1998-04-16 | 2 | 36°38'N / 84°45'W | 36°42'N / 84°30'W | 15.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 30K | 0 | Mccreary |
| Brief Description: The path of the tornado was intermittent. It first touched down in extreme southeast Wayne County, and then moved northeast across McCreary County. The tornado downed numerous trees in both Wayne and McCreary Counties. In Wayne County the tornado damaged a barn and several outbuildings, and overturned a vehicle. Before lifting the tornado hit Smithtown in McCreary County and damaged several mobile homes, houses and outbuildings. | |||||||||||
| 32.1 | 2002-11-10 | 3 | 36°02'N / 84°36'W | 36°03'N / 84°27'W | 8.30 Miles | 300 Yards | 7 | 28 | 968K | 0 | Morgan |
| Brief Description: A strong F3 tornado (with wind speeds estimated around 175 mph) touched down 4.4 miles south of Wartburg in the Mossy Grove community killing 5 people and injuring 28. This tornado then struck Joyner at 8:40 P.M. killing two more people for a total of 7 dead. The tornado damaged 63 homes while destroying 24 others. In addition, 18 mobile homes were damaged and 12 others were destroyed. M47PH, F36PH, F73PH, M55VE, F1VE, M45PH, F93PH | |||||||||||
| 32.4 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 36°51'N / 84°18'W | 36°52'N / 84°17'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Whitley | ||
| 33.1 | 2009-05-08 | 2 | 36°27'N / 83°34'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Claiborne | |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An EF-2 tornado with maximum wind speed of 110 miles an hour occurred around five miles southwest of Tazewell. The tornado initially touched down along Cole Road and quickly produced 110 mph winds. It lifted the roof off of a home on Cole Road moved east across the road and moved east across the road and destroyed two large wooden barns carrying debris up to a half mile away. Several trees were also snapped off at mid trunk level. The tornado continued in a 2.2 mile path and dissipated near Neely Road. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A highly organized mesoscale convective vorticity maximum with strong low to mid tropospheric flow coupled with moderate instability resulted in the development of discrete supercellular thunderstorms. These storms produced a long-lived tornado across Northeast Tennessee late in the afternoon and another long duration tornado across Southwest Virginia later in the evening. | |||||||||||
| 33.8 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 36°40'N / 84°44'W | 36°45'N / 84°32'W | 12.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Mccreary |
| 33.8 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 36°36'N / 84°46'W | 36°48'N / 84°31'W | 19.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 11 | 25K | 0 | Mccreary |
| 34.7 | 1965-04-15 | 2 | 35°52'N / 84°05'W | 35°57'N / 84°00'W | 7.40 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 6 | 2.5M | 0 | Knox |
| 34.9 | 1957-11-18 | 2 | 36°16'N / 84°52'W | 36°25'N / 84°42'W | 13.90 Miles | 220 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | Fentress |
| 35.6 | 1998-04-16 | 2 | 36°37'N / 84°46'W | 36°39'N / 84°42'W | 3.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 15K | 0 | Wayne |
| Brief Description: The path of the tornado was intermittent. It first touched down in extreme southeast Wayne County, and then moved northeast across McCreary County. The tornado downed numerous trees in both Wayne and McCreary Counties. In Wayne County the tornado damaged a barn and several outbuildings, and overturned a vehicle. Before lifting the tornado hit Smithtown in McCreary County and damaged several mobile homes, houses and outbuildings. | |||||||||||
| 35.7 | 1972-05-14 | 2 | 36°22'N / 84°48'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 3 | 25K | 0 | Fentress | |
| 37.4 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 36°38'N / 84°47'W | 36°40'N / 84°44'W | 3.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Wayne |
| 38.1 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 36°31'N / 84°52'W | 36°36'N / 84°46'W | 7.90 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Fentress |
| 40.3 | 1965-04-15 | 2 | 36°21'N / 84°55'W | 36°25'N / 84°51'W | 5.90 Miles | 327 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Fentress |
| 40.4 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 36°47'N / 84°42'W | 36°53'N / 84°36'W | 8.80 Miles | 33 Yards | 2 | 40 | 2.5M | 0 | Wayne |
| 41.6 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 36°53'N / 84°36'W | 36°56'N / 84°32'W | 5.10 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 5 | 2.5M | 0 | Pulaski |
| 44.6 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 36°15'N / 85°05'W | 36°26'N / 84°50'W | 18.80 Miles | 200 Yards | 7 | 150 | 2.5M | 0 | Fentress |
| 44.8 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 36°37'N / 84°57'W | 36°38'N / 84°53'W | 3.80 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Wayne |
| 44.8 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 35°47'N / 83°55'W | 0.50 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Blount | |
| 45.4 | 2010-05-02 | 2 | 36°53'N / 84°43'W | 0 | 0 | 50K | 0K | Wayne | |||
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An EF2 tornado touched down 1 mile south of Betsey in the Meadow Creek area. The tornado had a path length of 1/4 of a mile and a path width of 100 yards. The estimated wind speeds associated with the tornado were 110 to 120 mph. The tornado downed numerous trees. The twister also blew part of the roof off of a brick home, causing the corner of an outside wall to collapse. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A multiple lines and clusters of intense showers and strong to severe thunderstorms brought a variety of severe weather to eastern Kentucky on May 2nd and 3rd. During the late morning and late afternoon hours of May 2nd, multiple thunderstorms formed ahead of an approaching frontal boundary. These storms eventually merged into a line that stretched across the entire forecast area late in the day on the 2nd. During the overnight hours a large area of intense showers and thunderstorms dumped anywhere from 2 to over 7 inches of rainfall. Flooding was the primary issue during the overnight and early morning hours of May 3rd. Some areas felt the affects of the flooding as late in the week as May 7th. | |||||||||||
| 47.0 | 1974-04-03 | 2 | 36°58'N / 84°07'W | 37°11'N / 83°57'W | 17.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 22 | 2.5M | 0 | Laurel |
| 47.4 | 1984-05-07 | 2 | 35°44'N / 84°21'W | 1.00 Mile | 70 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Loudon | |
| 48.7 | 1974-04-03 | 3 | 37°02'N / 84°24'W | 37°09'N / 84°17'W | 10.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 6 | 30 | 2.5M | 0 | Pulaski |
| 48.8 | 1993-02-21 | 2 | 35°47'N / 84°34'W | 35°45'N / 84°31'W | 10.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0 | Blount And Loudon |
| Brief Description: The tornado that went through Loudon County continued across Blount County through the town of Friendsville and ending just west of Maryville. One large home was destroyed and several other were damaged. Numerous trees were snapped. | |||||||||||
| 49.6 | 1974-04-03 | 4 | 36°31'N / 85°05'W | 36°35'N / 84°59'W | 7.20 Miles | 300 Yards | 5 | 6 | 2.5M | 0 | Pickett |
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.