States › Mississippi

Mississippi

The recorded hazard history of every county in Mississippi: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

Mississippi has 42,114 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 82 counties, led by damaging wind: 89.7 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 928 deaths and 7,911 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $31B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Lee, Rankin and Hinds.

FEMA lists 99 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Tropical Storm Arthur (3 Aug 2026). NFIP policyholders filed 64,589 flood claims since 1978, $3.1B paid; 40,942 residential policies are in force.

1,524events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

42,114events since 195089.7 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)

99disaster declarations since 1953last 3 Aug 2026

64,589NFIP flood claims$3.1B paid

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. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

Measure	Mississippi	US
Recorded events since 1950	42,114	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	89.7	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	142.8	59.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI	928	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$31B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	21.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$58K	$43K
Residential flood policies in force	40,942	3,139,862

Hazard mix

Wind18,831

Hail8,457

Flood3,812

Tornado3,532

Heat2,741

Winter1,854

Drought1,382

Tropical552

Lightning393

Cold338

Other214

Wildfire5

Fog3

Hazard	Events	Share of US	Deaths
■ Wind	18,831	2.7%	54
■ Hail	8,457	2.0%	—
■ Flood	3,812	2.1%	26
■ Tornado	3,532	4.3%	537
■ Heat	2,741	4.8%	40
■ Winter	1,854	0.6%	33
■ Drought	1,382	1.6%	—
■ Tropical	552	5.0%	186
■ Lightning	393	2.2%	21
■ Cold	338	0.6%	28
■ Other	214	0.5%	2
■ Wildfire	5	0.1%	—
■ Fog	3	0.0%	1

Events by decade

Hail: 12Tornado: 171Wind: 53

Hail: 125Tornado: 196Wind: 320

Hail: 229Tornado: 355Wind: 784

Hail: 619Tornado: 332Wind: 1057

Hail: 1872Tornado: 325Flood: 185Wind: 2744Winter: 155Tropical: 22Cold: 18Lightning: 48Other: 5

Hail: 2896Tornado: 639Flood: 1121Wind: 5176Winter: 368Tropical: 323Heat: 235Cold: 25Drought: 362Wildfire: 1Lightning: 149Fog: 1Other: 103

Hail: 1767Tornado: 757Flood: 1565Wind: 4978Winter: 796Tropical: 82Heat: 675Cold: 51Drought: 475Lightning: 148Fog: 1Other: 78

Hail: 937Tornado: 757Flood: 941Wind: 3719Winter: 535Tropical: 125Heat: 1831Cold: 244Drought: 545Wildfire: 4Lightning: 48Fog: 1Other: 28

2361950s6411960s1,3681970s2,0081980s5,3741990s11,3992000s11,3732010s9,7152020s

Recorded events in Mississippi by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

County	Events	Last 12 mo	Per 100 sq mi	Per 10k residents	Dominant	Tornadoes	Hail	Declarations	NFIP claims	NRI risk
Lee County	881	35	195.8	106.3	Wind	41	241	22	174	Relatively Moderate
Rankin County	1,435	40	185.0	90.8	Wind	114	322	24	978	Relatively Moderate
Hinds County	1,537	37	176.7	69.0	Wind	127	331	27	4,716	Relatively Moderate
Forrest County	817	10	175.3	104.9	Wind	48	178	32	1,755	Relatively Low
Jones County	1,042	19	150.0	156.1	Wind	85	219	33	248	Relatively Low
Lowndes County	711	15	140.7	122.3	Wind	50	156	23	1,186	Relatively Low
Warren County	827	18	140.5	189.8	Wind	71	135	33	2,690	Relatively Moderate
Lauderdale County	973	10	138.3	135.0	Wind	67	235	24	292	Relatively Moderate
Lamar County	634	16	127.7	97.0	Wind	51	138	27	399	Relatively Low
Madison County	909	24	127.2	82.8	Wind	78	164	26	1,003	Relatively Moderate
Neshoba County	680	12	119.3	234.5	Wind	62	158	25	9	Relatively Low
Jefferson Davis County	477	23	116.8	428.4	Wind	57	93	33	6	Very Low
Covington County	481	15	116.2	263.1	Wind	56	69	33	71	Relatively Low
Alcorn County	464	36	116.0	135.1	Wind	25	85	18	67	Relatively Low
Newton County	655	11	113.4	311.1	Wind	58	162	24	12	Relatively Low
Union County	460	22	110.7	164.6	Wind	27	103	19	19	Relatively Low
Lawrence County	476	22	110.5	403.0	Wind	41	109	33	43	Very Low
Lincoln County	644	36	109.9	184.3	Wind	67	169	32	75	Relatively Low
Simpson County	646	12	109.6	250.9	Wind	82	154	30	246	Relatively Low
Harrison County	622	39	108.4	29.7	Wind	91	96	37	15,939	Relatively High
Grenada County	456	10	108.0	213.4	Wind	21	74	27	320	Relatively Low
Tishomingo County	457	28	107.7	243.7	Wind	28	76	19	18	Very Low
Pontotoc County	535	24	107.5	170.1	Wind	25	117	20	3	Relatively Low
DeSoto County	504	24	105.8	26.7	Wind	29	167	16	280	Relatively Moderate
Smith County	671	13	105.5	472.8	Wind	93	124	25	11	Relatively Low
Leake County	610	13	104.6	287.8	Wind	75	104	27	54	Relatively Low
Oktibbeha County	469	10	102.3	90.5	Wind	33	79	19	44	Relatively Low
Scott County	609	9	100.0	220.7	Wind	64	120	22	36	Relatively Low
Tate County	403	37	99.6	142.7	Heat	16	59	17	38	Very Low
Marion County	538	10	99.2	220.7	Wind	55	141	37	685	Relatively Low
Adams County	453	13	98.0	157.6	Wind	20	75	27	187	Relatively Low
Pike County	401	14	98.0	100.3	Wind	37	85	34	190	Relatively Low
Jasper County	649	18	96.0	398.4	Wind	62	143	27	13	Very Low
Prentiss County	396	26	95.4	158.4	Wind	30	70	22	2	Relatively Low
Copiah County	715	18	92.0	255.4	Wind	59	149	28	37	Relatively Low
Itawamba County	476	23	89.3	199.7	Wind	21	96	26	3	Relatively Low
Clarke County	612	9	88.5	396.9	Wind	57	117	25	80	Very Low
Coahoma County	479	39	86.6	230.2	Wind	29	61	23	333	Relatively Low
Washington County	625	13	86.3	143.1	Wind	32	158	30	1,955	Relatively Moderate
Lafayette County	541	30	85.6	95.1	Wind	25	113	21	31	Relatively Low
Tunica County	384	43	84.6	396.0	Heat	13	36	18	449	Very Low
Chickasaw County	424	21	84.5	249.3	Wind	30	55	23	3	Relatively Low
Monroe County	640	27	83.7	188.9	Wind	47	106	26	148	Relatively Low
Tippah County	381	27	83.2	176.1	Wind	23	69	20	7	Relatively Low
Leflore County	493	6	83.0	178.9	Wind	47	116	25	443	Relatively Low
Montgomery County	331	6	81.3	340.2	Wind	26	73	21	0	Very Low
Hancock County	382	24	80.6	82.9	Wind	67	61	33	9,927	Relatively Moderate
Clay County	323	8	78.8	174.3	Wind	17	63	27	121	Very Low
Webster County	327	6	77.6	327.6	Wind	17	66	22	24	Very Low
Yalobusha County	362	32	77.5	291.6	Heat	10	56	20	39	Very Low
Claiborne County	367	8	75.3	412.0	Wind	41	53	29	223	Very Low
Panola County	511	40	74.6	155.6	Wind	24	96	26	87	Relatively Low
Winston County	448	10	73.8	254.6	Wind	36	131	18	28	Very Low
Bolivar County	645	6	73.6	212.8	Wind	58	171	24	994	Relatively Low
Yazoo County	674	13	73.1	255.6	Wind	67	129	31	410	Relatively Low
Sunflower County	509	10	72.9	200.4	Wind	36	129	22	191	Relatively Low
Quitman County	293	41	72.3	493.7	Heat	12	20	22	253	Very Low
Attala County	516	10	70.2	290.8	Wind	53	131	23	26	Very Low
Choctaw County	289	6	69.1	356.5	Wind	24	59	20	17	Very Low
Humphreys County	282	8	67.4	373.5	Wind	36	58	25	343	Very Low
Calhoun County	395	27	67.3	303.4	Wind	24	48	22	38	Very Low
Benton County	262	23	64.4	342.7	Heat	12	29	17	3	Very Low
Carroll County	404	5	64.3	408.9	Wind	28	78	24	16	Very Low
Tallahatchie County	415	37	64.3	335.6	Heat	22	56	27	102	Very Low
Walthall County	254	10	62.9	183.6	Wind	37	44	29	233	Very Low
Sharkey County	271	10	62.8	739.8	Wind	38	56	26	238	Very Low
Jackson County	453	11	62.7	31.5	Wind	79	86	36	11,325	Relatively Moderate
Marshall County	439	31	62.2	130.2	Wind	24	73	18	13	Relatively Low
Holmes County	464	5	61.3	281.3	Wind	51	100	30	117	Relatively Low
Jefferson County	318	8	61.2	441.4	Wind	31	69	26	67	Very Low
Franklin County	328	15	58.2	427.3	Wind	21	72	25	12	Very Low
Noxubee County	391	3	56.2	386.2	Wind	50	91	21	15	Very Low
Issaquena County	228	4	55.2	1,781.3	Wind	26	56	27	127	Very Low
Pearl River County	439	44	54.1	77.7	Wind	56	76	37	828	Relatively Moderate
Kemper County	398	6	51.9	450.8	Wind	37	95	21	0	Very Low
Stone County	212	1	47.6	113.7	Wind	22	32	31	55	Relatively Low
George County	222	1	46.4	89.7	Wind	25	43	34	67	Relatively Low
Wayne County	295	5	36.4	149.7	Wind	44	60	32	53	Relatively Low
Amite County	265	16	36.3	209.7	Wind	40	40	29	24	Relatively Low
Perry County	231	1	35.7	199.6	Wind	23	46	33	123	Very Low
Greene County	229	2	32.1	168.0	Wind	29	55	33	45	Very Low
Wilkinson County	174	11	25.7	209.3	Wind	20	20	32	1,394	Very Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

County	Claims, last 10 years	Policies in force	Claims per 100 policies	Claims since 1978	Paid
Warren County	184	321	57.3	2,690	$36M
Clay County	34	118	28.8	121	$1.3M
Marion County	35	141	24.8	685	$7.3M
Forrest County	108	469	23.0	1,755	$13M
Sunflower County	26	116	22.4	191	$1.7M
Madison County	145	650	22.3	1,003	$10M
Jones County	38	187	20.3	248	$2.5M
Sharkey County	22	109	20.2	238	$2.8M
Lee County	47	241	19.5	174	$3.9M
Rankin County	232	1,202	19.3	978	$21M
Hinds County	410	2,255	18.2	4,716	$71M
Yazoo County	49	271	18.1	410	$7.8M
Coahoma County	17	107	15.9	333	$6.8M
Lamar County	36	251	14.3	399	$5.9M
Pearl River County	87	642	13.6	828	$18M

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026

Declarations touching Mississippi by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.

Incident type	Declarations
Severe Storm	43
Hurricane	24
Tornado	12
Flood	10
Winter Storm	2
Severe Ice Storm	2
Biological	2
Tropical Storm	1
Other	1
Snowstorm	1

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
3 Aug 2026	DR-4930	Major disaster	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Arthur	9
30 Jun 2026	DR-4922	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding	5
6 Feb 2026	DR-4899	Major disaster	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	82
24 Jan 2026	EM-3640	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	82
21 May 2025	DR-4874	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding	18
10 Jun 2024	DR-4790	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding	6
12 Aug 2023	DR-4727	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes.	29
26 Mar 2023	DR-4697	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes	7
30 Aug 2022	EM-3582	Emergency	Other	Water Crisis	1
22 Oct 2021	DR-4626	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ida	82
28 Aug 2021	EM-3569	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Ida	82
4 May 2021	DR-4598	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms	36
31 Dec 2020	DR-4576	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Zeta	8
28 Oct 2020	EM-3550	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Zeta	13
8 Oct 2020	EM-3548	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Delta	29

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026

NFIP claims in Mississippi by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

64,589 claims, 53,884 paid, $3.1B in total; 5,274 repetitive-loss and 785 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in Mississippi with flood claims (276).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1950

Questions and answers

Which Mississippi counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Hinds (127), Rankin (114) and Smith (93), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which Mississippi counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Harrison (15,939), Jackson (11,325) and Hancock (9,927) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has Mississippi had?

99 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 4 of them in 2026 so far.

How does Mississippi compare with the national rate?

89.7 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 21.9 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.