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Bolivar County, Mississippi severe weather history spans 562 recorded events between 1959 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 49.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #686 nationally and #19 in Mississippi.
562
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
122
Direct injuries
$34.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Bolivar County, Mississippi severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Bolivar County, Mississippi severe weather history averages 8.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 199 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 94 events fall before 1990 and 468 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $20.9M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Bolivar County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 276 | 0 | $6.5M | 87 | 1959–2026 |
| Hail | 170 | 0 | $2.2M | 3 | 1970–2025 |
| Tornado | 56 | 0 | $20.9M | F4 | 1961–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 51 | 0 | $3.7M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $68K | 0 | 2008–2025 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 2011–2022 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2013 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
Bolivar County, Mississippi severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
62 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 56 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-11-24 | EF4 | 0 | 48 | 30.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2015-12-23 | EF3 | 2 | 28 | 61.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-02-24 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 42.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-03-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-01-11 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 23.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-12-21 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 40.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2012-10-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-01-22 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 3.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-09-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-02-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 37.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Bolivar County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 1972 | Tornado | 0 | 62 | $250K | |
| Nov 24, 2001 | Tornado | STRINGTOWN | 0 | 36 | $6.0M |
| Mar 7, 1961 | Tornado | 0 | 10 | $25K | |
| Sep 12, 1982 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $2.5M | |
| Jan 11, 2020 | Tornado | BOLIVAR | 0 | 4 | $3.0M |
| Mar 30, 2022 | Tornado | CLEVELAND | 0 | 1 | $110K |
| Jan 23, 2012 | Tornado | ALLIGATOR | 0 | 1 | $700K |
| Jun 23, 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | SHAW | 0 | 1 | $75K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Training showers and thunderstorms produced heavy rain that flooded numerous roads and approximately 200 homes in and between the areas of Rosedale, Shelby, Mound Bayou, and Merigold. A neighborhood flooded in Rosedale, and several streets in town were flooded significantly. In Mound Bayou, some residents had to be evacuated from flooded homes. The COOP Observer 2 miles southwest of Shelby measured 11.96 inches of rain during a 6 to 7 hour period that morning.
This tornado touched down as an F0 tornado in extreme northwest Washington County and moved across a cotton field. The tornado quickly moved into southwest Bolivar County about three miles west of Lamont. The storm moved across the community of Benoit and then about two miles west of Cleveland. The tornado continued on a northeasterly path until dissipating about one mile east of Merigold near the Sunflower County line. The tornado was rated as strong as an F2 in portions of Bolivar County. Damage in the tornado path in Bolivar County included: three houses destroyed, two houses with major damage, five houses with minor damage, and a mobile home destroyed. One small church was destroyed, about two miles east of Benoit. The airplane hangar on a small airstrip near Scott was destroyed, including four small planes inside the hangar. One of the planes was blown at least one half mile from where it had been located in the hangar. At least three businesses sustained serious damage. No serious injuries were reported in the county.
Four mobile homes were destroyed including eight with major damage. A number of other homes had heavy damage along the path, two metal frame buildings were destroyed, and several power poles were snapped. A 200 foot radio tower was blown down and mangled, a grain bin was blown away, and numerous trees and power lines were blown down. Maximum wind speeds were around 120 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
29,534
Population (ACS)
$130K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 6, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Oct 22, 2021 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IDA | DR |
| Aug 28, 2021 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IDA | EM |
| Apr 16, 2020 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Cleveland 145
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Bolivar County, Mississippi?
562 events are on record between 1959 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $34.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Bolivar County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 276 recorded events — 49.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Bolivar County?
62 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 56 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Bolivar County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Bolivar County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Bolivar County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Bolivar County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 77 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Bolivar County, Mississippi severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Benton County 102
- Calhoun County 231
- Attala County 456
- Carroll County 345
- Amite County 207
- Chickasaw County 259
Cite this page
“Bolivar County, Mississippi.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/mississippi/bolivar-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.