States › Mississippi › Benton County

Benton County, Mississippi

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

FIPS 28009 · 7,646 residents (2021) · 407 sq mi · dominant hazard Heat

Hail · 29Tornado · 12Flood · 6Wind · 56Winter · 45

Benton County within Mississippi. 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.

Between 1950 and 2026, NCEI recorded 262 storm events in Benton County, Mississippi, led by heat.

That is 64.4 events per 100 square miles, below the Mississippi figure of 89.7, and 342.7 per 10,000 residents against 142.8 statewide.

23 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 8 deaths and 8 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $5.8M.

FEMA has designated the county in 17 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 3 claims since 1978, of which 2 were paid, totalling $798 (about $399 per paid claim). FEMA counts 6 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Very Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($3.7M a year across 18 hazards).

15 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.

23events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

262events since 19508 deaths, 8 injuries recorded

17disaster declarationslast 6 Feb 2026

3NFIP flood claims$798 paid

Compared with Mississippi and the United States

Measure	Benton County	Mississippi	US
Recorded events since 1950	262	42,114	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	64.4	89.7	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	342.7	142.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	23	1,524	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	8	928	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$5.8M	$31B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	0.4	21.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$399	$58K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	0.0	11.5	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

Hail: 1Wind: 1

Hail: 1Tornado: 2

Hail: 1Tornado: 1Wind: 2

Hail: 7Tornado: 2Flood: 1Wind: 18Winter: 3Lightning: 1

Hail: 8Tornado: 2Flood: 2Wind: 18Winter: 12Tropical: 1Heat: 2Cold: 2Drought: 7Lightning: 1

Hail: 6Tornado: 3Flood: 3Wind: 5Winter: 20Heat: 23Drought: 5

Hail: 5Tornado: 2Wind: 12Winter: 10Heat: 55Cold: 9Drought: 8

01950s21960s31970s41980s321990s552000s652010s1012020s

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

Trend: 187 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 58 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

Heat80

Wind56

Winter45

Hail29

Drought20

Tornado12

Cold11

Flood6

Lightning2

Tropical1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Heat	80	—	2.9%
■ Wind	56	—	0.3%	detail
■ Winter	45	—	2.4%	detail
■ Hail	29	—	0.3%	detail
■ Drought	20	—	1.4%
■ Tornado	12	8	0.3%	detail
■ Cold	11	—	3.3%
■ Flood	6	—	0.2%
■ Lightning	2	—	0.5%
■ Tropical	1	—	0.2%

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
23 Dec 2015	Tornado	Tornado	EF4	$2.0M	—	6	1	County
2 May 2010	Tornado	Tornado	EF3	$1.0M	—	2	7	County
2 May 2010	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$750K	—	—	—	County
2 Apr 2025	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$300K	—	—	—	County
18 Mar 1986	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County
22 Mar 1991	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	—	—	County
5 May 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	75 mph	$150K	—	—	—	County
3 Apr 2025	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$150K	—	—	—	County
5 Nov 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	$100K	—	—	—	County
10 May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	$100K	—	—	—	County
23 Jan 2026	Ice Storm	Winter	—	$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-4899	Major disaster	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Individual assistance, Public assistance
24 Jan 2026	EM-3640	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
22 Oct 2021	DR-4626	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ida	Public assistance
28 Aug 2021	EM-3569	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Ida	Public assistance
5 Apr 2020	DR-4528	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3474	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
4 Jan 2016	DR-4248	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 Apr 2011	DR-1972	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Associated Flooding	Public assistance
14 May 2010	DR-1916	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
30 Aug 2008	EM-3291	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Gustav	Public assistance
29 Aug 2005	DR-1604	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina	Public assistance
7 Dec 2001	DR-1398	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding	Public assistance
18 Feb 1994	DR-1009	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Freeezing Rain And Sleet	Public assistance
17 May 1991	DR-906	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
28 Feb 1990	DR-859	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
22 Feb 1977	EM-3032	Emergency	Snowstorm	Drought & Freezing	Public assistance
22 Feb 1971	DR-302	Major disaster	Tornado	Storms & Tornadoes	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 Benton County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19783

Paid claims2

Total paid$798

Average paid claim$399

Repetitive-loss properties0

Residential policies in force60.1% of 4,627 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
1982	1	1	$280	$280
1980	1	1	$518	$518
1978	1	0	$0	—

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 riskVery Lowscore 15.2 of 100

Expected annual loss$3.7MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Very Low	$1,069,526
Tornado	Relatively Low	$901,083
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$873,845
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$402,097
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$220,046
Strong wind	Very Low	$72,617
Lightning	Relatively Low	$65,003
Drought	Relatively Low	$37,913
Wildfire	Very Low	$29,999
Hail	Very Low	$25,152
Hurricane	Very Low	$15,321
Ice storm	Very Low	$6,524
Landslide	Relatively Low	$3,621
Winter weather	Very Low	$2,316

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 miles15

Tracks within 50 miles7

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Olga	2019	96 mi	46 mph
Katrina	2005	60 mi	46 mph
Frederic	1979	88 mi	52 mph
Camille	1969	46 mi	40 mph
Audrey	1957	14 mi	40 mph
Baker	1950	28 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	44 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	48 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	71 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	95 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1906	40 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	51 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1881	57 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1879	99 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1860	9 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 Benton County, MS?

NCEI records 29 hail events in Benton County since 1950, in 21 different years; that is about 0.4 recorded events a year. 11 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Benton County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 12 tornadoes in Benton County since 1950, 6 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 8.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Benton County?

6 Feb 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a major disaster declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 17 declarations since 1953.

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

3 NFIP claims since 1978, 2 of them paid, for $798 in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

How does Benton County compare with the rest of Mississippi?

64.4 recorded events per 100 square miles against 89.7 statewide, and 0.4 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 21.9. 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.