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Issaquena County, Mississippi severe weather history spans 176 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 48.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,578 nationally and #78 in Mississippi.
176
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
26
Direct injuries
$7.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Issaquena County, Mississippi severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Issaquena County, Mississippi severe weather history averages 2.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 58 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 30 events fall before 1990 and 146 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $3.9M in reported property damage. In total, 5 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Issaquena County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 85 | 0 | $1.7M | 75 | 1960–2024 |
| Hail | 56 | 0 | $191K | 2 | 1986–2022 |
| Tornado | 26 | 0 | $3.9M | F5 | 1953–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 8 | 0 | $663K | 0 | 1999–2017 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
Issaquena County, Mississippi severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
26 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 14 touched down inside it and 12 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-02-21 | EF5 | 47 | 510 | 109.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1971-02-21 | EF4 | 58 | 795 | 202.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-03-24 | EF4 | 17 | 165 | 59.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-04-24 | EF4 | 10 | 146 | 149.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-12-03 | EF3 | 0 | 20 | 18.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-05-17 | EF3 | 0 | 17 | 41.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-03-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 19.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-12-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-02-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-04-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 21.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Issaquena County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 3, 1953 | Tornado | 0 | 20 | $2.5M | |
| Mar 28, 1977 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| Nov 28, 1994 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $150K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Flooding along the Mississippi River caused extensive flooding of low lying farmland around the river. All of the flood waters were within the mainline levee. Flooding also occurred over portions of the county near the Delta National Forest where backwater from the Yazoo River was located. Twelve homes were destroyed and 12 homes sustained major damage. Two mobile homes were destroyed, and 15 mobile homes as well as 2 businesses sustained major damage. Seven roads had major damage due to the flood waters.
Heavy rain between six and ten inches fell across all of Issaquena County during the late afternoon and evening hours of October 16th. This heavy rain caused many roads and farm fields to become flooded by several feet of water. High water marks were noted by debris across the landscape.
The tornado started at Grace, where it downed a few large trees and caused minor roof damage to several homes. The tornado continued into Sharkey County, and just after crossing Dry Bend Road it destroyed a metal outbuilding, scattering tin and other debris a mile downstream. Part of the roof of another larger metal building was taken off at the same location, along with a couple of trees snapped. From here the tornado mainly passed through open fields for a couple of miles, although trees could be seen down along some tree lines. As the tornado approached US Highway 61, it turned more east-northeastward and downed more trees and rolled some equipment at a farm shop. As it crossed Highway 61, it snapped or downed at least 6 wooden power poles. It also caused significant shingle damage to a frame home and downed several trees and large limbs. The tornado then moved back into inaccessible farm fields, and is assumed to have dissipated shortly thereafter. Max winds were 115 mph and the total path length was near 7 miles.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
928
Population (ACS)
$111K
Median home value
27
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 6, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| May 21, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 22, 2021 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IDA | DR |
| Aug 28, 2021 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IDA | EM |
| Oct 8, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE DELTA | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Issaquena County, Mississippi?
176 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $7.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Issaquena County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 85 recorded events — 48.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Issaquena County?
26 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 14 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Issaquena County?
27 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Issaquena County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Issaquena County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Issaquena County as very low risk, placing it in the 8 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Issaquena 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
- Humphreys County 230
- Itawamba County 313
- Holmes County 405
- Jackson County 387
- Hinds County 1,418
- Jasper County 588
Cite this page
“Issaquena County, Mississippi.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/mississippi/issaquena-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.