States › Mississippi › Winston County

Winston 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 28159 · 17,596 residents (2021) · 607 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 131Tornado · 36Flood · 34Wind · 191Winter · 25

Winston 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 29 Sep 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Winston County, Mississippi, has 448 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 73.8 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Mississippi figure of 89.7, and 254.6 per 10,000 residents against 142.8 statewide.

10 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 14 deaths and 95 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $195M and crop damage at $53M.

FEMA has designated the county in 18 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 28 claims since 1978, of which 18 were paid, totalling $545K (about $30K per paid claim). FEMA counts 21 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" ($7.7M a year across 18 hazards).

28 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.

10events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

448events since 195014 deaths, 95 injuries recorded

18disaster declarationslast 6 Feb 2026

28NFIP flood claims$545K paid

Compared with Mississippi and the United States

Measure	Winston County	Mississippi	US
Recorded events since 1950	448	42,114	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	73.8	89.7	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	254.6	142.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	10	1,524	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	14	928	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$195M	$31B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.6	21.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$30K	$58K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	38.1	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: 3

Wind: 2

Hail: 1Tornado: 2Wind: 5

Hail: 4Tornado: 1Wind: 9

Hail: 42Tornado: 1Flood: 1Wind: 24Winter: 3

Hail: 34Tornado: 5Flood: 7Wind: 49Winter: 3Tropical: 3Heat: 4Drought: 7Lightning: 1Other: 1

Hail: 31Tornado: 19Flood: 10Wind: 54Winter: 11Tropical: 1Heat: 1Cold: 1Drought: 5Other: 1

Hail: 19Tornado: 5Flood: 16Wind: 48Winter: 8Tropical: 1Cold: 1Drought: 4

31950s21960s81970s141980s711990s1142000s1342010s1022020s

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

Trend: 288 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 136 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

Wind191

Hail131

Tornado36

Flood34

Winter25

Drought16

Tropical5

Heat5

Cold2

Other2

Lightning1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	191	—	1.0%	detail
■ Hail	131	—	1.5%	detail
■ Tornado	36	13	1.0%	detail
■ Flood	34	—	0.9%	detail
■ Winter	25	—	1.3%	detail
■ Drought	16	—	1.2%
■ Tropical	5	1	0.9%
■ Heat	5	—	0.2%
■ Cold	2	—	0.6%
■ Other	2	—	0.9%
■ Lightning	1	—	0.3%

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
28 Apr 2014	Tornado	Tornado	EF4	$115M	$6.5M	10	81	County
23 Feb 1977	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$250K	—	2	5	County
24 Nov 2004	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	1	2	County
16 Sep 2004	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$94K	$31K	1	—	Forecast zone
29 Aug 2005	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$50M	$40M	—	1	Forecast zone
4 Apr 1957	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$25K	—	—	4	County
18 Apr 2008	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$3.0M	$100K	—	1	County
30 Jul 1986	Hail	Hail	1.75 in	—	—	—	1	County
9 Mar 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	92 mph	$10M	—	—	—	County
13 Jul 2023	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
1 Jun 2007	Drought	Drought	—	—	$2.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
28 Apr 2014	Hail	Hail	3.00 in	$1.5M	—	—	—	County
14 Jun 2023	Hail	Hail	2.00 in	$1.0M	$175K	—	—	County
1 Oct 2023	Drought	Drought	—	—	$1.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
1 May 2007	Drought	Drought	—	—	$700K	—	—	Forecast zone
29 Aug 2005	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$600K	—	—	—	County
1 Oct 2006	Drought	Drought	—	—	$600K	—	—	Forecast zone
20 Feb 2006	Ice Storm	Winter	—	$500K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Oct 2010	Drought	Drought	—	—	$500K	—	—	Forecast zone
9 Mar 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	$400K	—	—	—	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
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
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
30 Apr 2014	DR-4175	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 Aug 2012	DR-4081	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Isaac	Public assistance
29 Apr 2011	DR-1972	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Associated 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	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
23 Feb 2001	DR-1360	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
25 Jan 1999	DR-1265	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms, Ice And Freezing Rain	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

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 Winston County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197828

Paid claims18

Total paid$545K

Average paid claim$30K

Repetitive-loss properties20 severe

Residential policies in force210.3% of 7,496 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2023	8	7	$380,968	$54,424
2009	2	2	$74,952	$37,476
2006	1	1	$48,567	$48,567
2005	3	2	$21,499	$10,749
2004	5	2	$16,480	$8,240
2001	1	0	$0	—
1983	4	1	$392	$392
1982	1	1	$1,435	$1,435
1980	1	1	$131	$131
1979	2	1	$246	$246

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 39.9 of 100

Expected annual loss$7.7MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$2,328,191
Inland flooding	Very Low	$1,637,461
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$889,013
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$742,141
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$455,956
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$447,029
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$420,570
Hail	Relatively Low	$296,422
Lightning	Relatively Low	$155,075
Drought	Relatively Low	$153,371
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$82,436
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$32,786
Wildfire	Very Low	$12,158
Landslide	Very Low	$729

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 miles28

Tracks within 50 miles9

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Zeta	2020	91 mi	69 mph
Nate	2017	86 mi	40 mph
Katrina	2005	33 mi	58 mph
Isidore	2002	75 mi	46 mph
Erin	1995	54 mi	40 mph
Frederic	1979	64 mi	75 mph
Camille	1969	65 mi	86 mph
Baker	1950	53 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1948	54 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	75 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	39 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	71 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	13 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	53 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	51 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1912	98 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1912	32 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1906	48 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1901	20 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	10 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1892	82 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1881	64 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1880	71 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1879	43 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1872	79 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.

ZIP codes with flood claims

39339 30

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 Winston County, MS?

NCEI records 131 hail events in Winston County since 1950, in 37 different years; that is about 1.7 recorded events a year. 18 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Winston County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 36 tornadoes in Winston County since 1950, 9 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 13.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Winston County?

6 Feb 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a major disaster declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 18 declarations since 1953.

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

28 NFIP claims since 1978, 18 of them paid, for $545K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Winston 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 Winston County compare with the rest of Mississippi?

73.8 recorded events per 100 square miles against 89.7 statewide, and 1.6 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 29 Sep 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 30 Sep 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.