Franklin, TN Tornado History — 108 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Franklin, TN had?
Franklin has had 108 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 9 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Franklin?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Franklin was an EF0 on June 6, 2025.
When is tornado season in Franklin?
April is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Franklin, with 23 on record. Spring through early summer (April–June) generally sees the highest activity across most of the central and southern United States.
At a Glance
Recent Tornado Activity Near Franklin
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 49 total, averaging 2.5 per year over this window.
Tornadoes by Decade
Tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita Rating
F0–F5 ratings (pre-2007) are grouped with their EF equivalents. The Enhanced Fujita scale replaced the original Fujita scale in February 2007.
Tornadoes by Month
Casualties on Record Near Franklin
14 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Franklin since 1950, across 7 events. 466 injuries have been reported across all events. 2020 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was an EF3 on March 3, 2020, which caused 5 fatalities along a 60.1-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Franklin
About Tornadoes in Franklin
This overview was written August 10, 2026. The tornado counts and notable-event figures elsewhere on this page reflect the latest data and may differ from this summary.
On Christmas Eve of 1988, an F4 tornado carved a six-mile track through the Franklin area, killing one person and injuring seven in the heart of winter. That holiday strike captures the defining trait of Middle Tennessee's tornado climate: moisture from the Gulf of Mexico can surge northward in almost any month, and when a strong cold-season jet stream sweeps overhead, sharp frontal clashes can spin up rotating storms far outside the familiar spring window.
Spring, even so, concentrates the danger. An F2 struck on April 2, 1974, killing one resident and injuring twelve. On January 24, 1997, an F4 injured eighteen people, and on April 16, 1998, an F3 tore a forty-two-mile path across the region, killing one and injuring sixty. A Good Friday EF4 followed on April 10, 2009, running roughly twenty-three miles and leaving two dead and fifty-eight injured.
Recent years have kept the same seasonal rhythm of springtime and cold-season strikes. An EF3 on March 3, 2020, tracked sixty miles, killing five people and injuring two hundred twenty; an EF2 arrived on December 9, 2023, and an EF3 returned on May 8, 2024. The NOAA Storm Prediction Center maintains the record behind the event list shown elsewhere on this page, and for Franklin its lesson is steady: watch the spring, and stay alert through the cold months too.