States › Mississippi › Simpson County

Simpson 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 28127 · 25,750 residents (2021) · 589 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 154Tornado · 82Flood · 46Wind · 318Winter · 15

Simpson 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.

Simpson County, Mississippi, has 646 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 109.6 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Mississippi figure of 89.7, and 250.9 per 10,000 residents against 142.8 statewide.

12 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 18 deaths and 181 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $139M and crop damage at $45M.

FEMA has designated the county in 30 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 246 claims since 1978, of which 216 were paid, totalling $2.6M (about $12K per paid claim). FEMA counts 68 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" ($12M a year across 18 hazards).

57 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 1 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

12events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

646events since 195018 deaths, 181 injuries recorded

30disaster declarationslast 6 Feb 2026

246NFIP flood claims$2.6M paid

Compared with Mississippi and the United States

Measure	Simpson County	Mississippi	US
Recorded events since 1950	646	42,114	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	109.6	89.7	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	250.9	142.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	12	1,524	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	18	928	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$139M	$31B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	9.6	21.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$12K	$58K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	11.8	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

Tornado: 5

Hail: 1Tornado: 9Wind: 6

Hail: 4Tornado: 9Wind: 13

Hail: 11Tornado: 3Wind: 17

Hail: 29Tornado: 8Flood: 2Wind: 52Winter: 1

Hail: 63Tornado: 9Flood: 8Wind: 106Winter: 3Tropical: 3Heat: 4Drought: 5Lightning: 1

Hail: 35Tornado: 14Flood: 22Wind: 80Winter: 8Tropical: 1Heat: 1Cold: 1Drought: 6Lightning: 1Other: 2

Hail: 11Tornado: 25Flood: 14Wind: 44Winter: 3Tropical: 1Cold: 1Drought: 4

51950s161960s261970s311980s921990s2022000s1712010s1032020s

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

Trend: 358 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 217 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

Wind318

Hail154

Tornado82

Flood46

Winter15

Drought15

Tropical5

Heat5

Cold2

Lightning2

Other2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	318	1	1.7%	detail
■ Hail	154	—	1.8%	detail
■ Tornado	82	16	2.3%	detail
■ Flood	46	—	1.2%	detail
■ Winter	15	—	0.8%	detail
■ Drought	15	—	1.1%
■ Tropical	5	1	0.9%
■ Heat	5	—	0.2%
■ Cold	2	—	0.6%
■ Lightning	2	—	0.5%
■ Other	2	—	0.9%

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 Jan 1969	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$250K	—	12	65	County
27 Nov 1994	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.0M	—	2	—	County
29 Aug 2005	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$100M	$40M	1	—	Forecast zone
26 Apr 1966	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	1	10	County
25 Apr 1980	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	1	7	County
4 Jun 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	70 mph	$500K	—	1	—	County
4 Apr 1957	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	—	50	County
26 Mar 2009	Tornado	Tornado	EF3	$5.0M	—	—	25	County
26 Mar 1976	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$2.5M	—	—	11	County
13 Oct 1970	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$25K	—	—	3	County
7 Nov 1996	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$50K	—	—	2	County
20 Feb 1961	Tornado	Tornado	F2	—	—	—	2	County
19 Jan 2017	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$2.0M	—	—	1	County
22 Dec 1990	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	1	County
3 May 1966	Tornado	Tornado	—	$25K	—	—	1	County
11 Mar 1973	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$25K	—	—	1	County
10 Jan 1975	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$25K	—	—	1	County
22 Mar 1953	Tornado	Tornado	F1	—	—	—	1	County
26 Feb 1958	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
29 Mar 1976	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$2.5M	—	—	—	County

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	Public assistance
24 Jan 2026	EM-3640	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
12 Aug 2023	DR-4727	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes.	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
4 May 2021	DR-4598	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms	Public assistance
8 Oct 2020	EM-3548	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Delta	Public assistance
9 Jul 2020	DR-4551	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	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
6 Dec 2019	DR-4470	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
30 Apr 2014	DR-4175	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance
29 Aug 2012	DR-4081	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Isaac	Public assistance
12 May 2009	DR-1837	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes	Public assistance
30 Aug 2008	EM-3291	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Gustav	Public assistance
29 Aug 2005	DR-1604	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina	Individual assistance, Public assistance
10 Jul 2005	DR-1594	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Dennis	Public assistance
15 Sep 2004	DR-1550	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ivan	Public assistance
24 Apr 2003	DR-1459	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Floods	Individual assistance
25 Nov 1992	DR-968	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms, High Winds & Tornadoes	Individual assistance
5 Mar 1991	DR-895	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance
3 Jan 1991	DR-888	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance
28 Feb 1990	DR-859	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
16 Apr 1983	DR-678	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding & Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
16 Apr 1979	DR-577	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Storms, Tornadoes, Floods	Individual assistance, Public assistance
22 Feb 1977	EM-3032	Emergency	Snowstorm	Drought & Freezing	Public assistance
1 Apr 1976	DR-499	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
18 Apr 1974	DR-430	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
27 Mar 1973	DR-368	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Heavy Rains, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
18 Aug 1969	DR-271	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Camille	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 Simpson County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978246

Paid claims216

Total paid$2.6M

Average paid claim$12K

Repetitive-loss properties315 severe

Residential policies in force680.6% of 12,023 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2024	3	3	$14,620	$4,873
2020	2	2	$34,604	$17,302
2019	2	2	$480,215	$240,108
2018	1	0	$0	—
2016	1	1	$18,546	$18,546
2014	11	11	$315,795	$28,709
2013	3	2	$23,533	$11,767
2011	1	0	$0	—
2009	5	5	$119,991	$23,998
2008	1	1	$5,263	$5,263
2007	1	1	$2,743	$2,743
2006	1	1	$30,462	$30,462
2005	1	0	$0	—
2004	5	3	$51,351	$17,117
2003	9	5	$106,090	$21,218
2001	3	1	$2,239	$2,239
1998	1	1	$3,404	$3,404
1997	10	9	$56,617	$6,291
1995	2	2	$13,294	$6,647
1994	5	4	$14,526	$3,631
1993	18	16	$182,138	$11,384
1991	7	7	$41,034	$5,862
1990	56	50	$407,259	$8,145
1988	6	5	$76,862	$15,372
1987	4	3	$24,410	$8,137

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 51.0 of 100

Expected annual loss$12MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$5,177,948
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$2,483,322
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$1,526,823
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$724,261
Hail	Relatively Moderate	$596,942
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$588,245
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$587,280
Lightning	Relatively Low	$210,579
Drought	Relatively Low	$181,462
Earthquake	Very Low	$145,630
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$82,045
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$36,124
Wildfire	Very Low	$31,682
Landslide	Relatively Low	$2,422

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 miles57

Tracks within 50 miles15

Hurricane strength within 50 miles1

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Francine	2024	100 mi	52 mph
Claudette	2021	90 mi	40 mph
Ida	2021	40 mi	46 mph
Cristobal	2020	99 mi	40 mph
Delta	2020	96 mi	40 mph
Olga	2019	15 mi	52 mph
Gordon	2018	92 mi	52 mph
Lee	2011	91 mi	46 mph
Cindy	2005	97 mi	46 mph
Katrina	2005	59 mi	92 mph
Isidore	2002	22 mi	46 mph
Allison	2001	89 mi	46 mph
Erin	1995	55 mi	52 mph
Andrew	1992	75 mi	40 mph
Elena	1985	69 mi	69 mph
Bob	1979	65 mi	46 mph
Frederic	1979	74 mi	75 mph
Edith	1971	7 mi	46 mph
Camille	1969	7 mi	132 mph
Hilda	1964	91 mi	69 mph
Ethel	1960	73 mi	46 mph
Esther	1957	54 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1956	74 mi	40 mph
Brenda	1955	94 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	58 mi	40 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.

ZIP codes with flood claims

39114 177
39111 43
39062 11
39082 10
39044 8

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Simpson County, MS?

NCEI records 154 hail events in Simpson County since 1950, in 38 different years; that is about 2.0 recorded events a year. 33 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Simpson County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 82 tornadoes in Simpson County since 1950, 21 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 16.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Simpson County?

6 Feb 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a major disaster declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 30 declarations since 1953.

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

246 NFIP claims since 1978, 216 of them paid, for $2.6M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Simpson 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 High" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Simpson County compare with the rest of Mississippi?

109.6 recorded events per 100 square miles against 89.7 statewide, and 9.6 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.