Harrison County, Mississippi severe weather history spans 536 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 42.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #762 nationally and #24 in Mississippi.
536
Recorded events
10
Direct deaths
90
Direct injuries
$68.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Harrison County, Mississippi severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Harrison County, Mississippi severe weather history averages 7.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 121 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 114 events fall before 1990 and 422 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Harrison County, Mississippi record is tornado, responsible for 6 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $64.1M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Harrison County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 229 | 1 | $921K | 80 | 1963–2026 |
| Hail | 96 | 0 | $0 | 2.75 | 1969–2024 |
| Tornado | 89 | 6 | $64.1M | F3 | 1953–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 62 | 1 | $2.9M | 0 | 1998–2026 |
| Lightning | 19 | 2 | $411K | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Flood | 14 | 0 | $145K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2021 |
| Waterspout | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2001 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 1 | 0 | $250K | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Harrison County, Mississippi severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
89 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 79 touched down inside it and 10 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-10-30 | EF3 | 4 | 17 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-05-19 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 10.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-04-13 | EF3 | 0 | 25 | 15.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-05-16 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 11.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-05-19 | EF3 | 0 | 8 | 13.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1968-11-03 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-04-18 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 23.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-04-12 | EF2 | 2 | 16 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-11-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-03-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Harrison County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 30, 1967 | Tornado | 4 | 17 | $25.0M | |
| Apr 13, 1994 | Tornado | Woolmarket | 2 | 15 | $5.0M |
| Mar 28, 2009 | Flash Flood | LONG BEACH | 1 | 0 | $750K |
| Jun 7, 2001 | Lightning | GULFPORT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 25, 1999 | Lightning | D IBERVILLE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 1990 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Apr 13, 1980 | Tornado | 0 | 25 | $25.0M | |
| Feb 1, 1970 | Tornado | 0 | 10 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Twenty mobile homes were totally destroyed and four brick homes were partially destroyed. At least four businesses were damaged. The two deaths and the fifteen injuries all occurred in mobile homes. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down. Damage was estimated at near one million dollars. F57M M08M
Major flooding due to heavy rain affected portions of Harrison County. The cities which experienced the worst flooding were Gulfport, Biloxi, D'Iberville, and Long Beach. At least 100 roads were impacted by flooding with numerous cars under water near the entrance to Interstate 10 off of the Interstate 110 loop. Around 200 homes flooded with most having 12 inches or less of water in them. A 36 year old man drowned in D'Iberville when he drove into a flooded drainage ditch.
A 37 year old man was fatally injured by a lightning strike. The man was standing behind a waste collection truck when lightning struck a nearby tree and the charge moved through the tree to the man standing near the truck.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
210,891
Population (ACS)
$212K
Median home value
36
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 |
| Dec 31, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE ZETA | DR |
| Oct 28, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE ZETA | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Harrison County, Mississippi?
536 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 10 direct deaths and $68.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Harrison County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 229 recorded events — 42.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Harrison County?
89 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 79 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Harrison County?
36 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Harrison County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Harrison County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Harrison County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 96 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Harrison 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
- Hancock County 292
- Hinds County 1,418
- Grenada County 394
- Holmes County 405
- Greene County 205
- Humphreys County 230
Cite this page
“Harrison County, Mississippi.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/mississippi/harrison-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.