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Smith County, Mississippi severe weather history spans 610 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 56.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #562 nationally and #12 in Mississippi.
610
Recorded events
11
Direct deaths
84
Direct injuries
$64.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Smith County, Mississippi severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Smith County, Mississippi severe weather history averages 8.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 223 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 57 events fall before 1990 and 553 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Smith County, Mississippi record is tornado, responsible for 11 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $54.4M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Smith County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 347 | 0 | $6.0M | 90 | 1962–2026 |
| Hail | 123 | 0 | $2.5M | 2.75 | 1962–2023 |
| Tornado | 93 | 11 | $54.4M | F4 | 1951–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 39 | 0 | $832K | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2006 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2014 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 2007–2010 |
Decade by decade
Smith County, Mississippi severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
97 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 72 touched down inside it and 25 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969-01-23 | EF4 | 32 | 241 | 117.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-27 | EF4 | 7 | 17 | 122.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-11-22 | EF4 | 0 | 20 | 40.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-29 | EF4 | 0 | 8 | 126.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1994-11-27 | EF3 | 2 | 0 | 40.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1957-04-04 | EF3 | 1 | 75 | 40.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2020-04-12 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 83.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2019-12-16 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 18.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-27 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 8.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-03-26 | EF3 | 0 | 25 | 17.4 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Smith County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 1969 | Tornado | 9 | 35 | $250K | |
| Apr 4, 1957 | Tornado | 1 | 25 | $0 | |
| Apr 27, 2011 | Tornado | RALEIGH | 1 | 0 | $500K |
| Nov 22, 1992 | Tornado | 0 | 15 | $25.0M | |
| Nov 24, 2004 | Tornado | RALEIGH | 0 | 2 | $3.5M |
| Nov 18, 2003 | Tornado | COHAY | 0 | 2 | $400K |
| Dec 29, 1954 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Mar 7, 1995 | Tornado | Raleigh to | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado touched down just south of Raleigh on State Highway 35 and tracked northeast to the Jasper Smith county line, 7 miles northeast of Sylvarena, where it then moved into Jasper county. Along its path it uprooted and destroyed a few thousand trees. Thirteen chicken houses were destroyed and six others were damaged. Three mobile homes and one residential home were destroyed along with five other homes sustaining major damage. Two people were injured when a mobile home was blown off its foundation and destroyed 10 miles northeast of Raleigh. At 210 AM the strong tornado moved into northwest Jasper county. The total path length of this tornado was 38 miles across Smith, Jasper and Newton counties.
A storage tank was struck by lighting and caused the tank to catch fire. The initial fire spread to two other tanks engulfing three 1000 gallons tanks into a huge fire. Each tank had a small amount of crude oil and salt water in them.
An intense microburst caused significant damage around Taylorsville. Several buildings had the roof blown off along with several others sustaining roof damage. Numerous trees and power lines were also blown down around town.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,132
Population (ACS)
$113K
Median home value
25
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 |
| Aug 12, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES. | DR |
| Oct 22, 2021 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IDA | DR |
| Aug 28, 2021 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IDA | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Raleigh 138
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Smith County, Mississippi?
610 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 11 direct deaths and $64.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Smith County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 347 recorded events — 56.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Smith County?
97 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 72 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Smith County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Smith County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Smith County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Smith County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 47 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Smith 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
- Simpson County 594
- Stone County 194
- Sharkey County 215
- Sunflower County 446
- Scott County 546
- Tallahatchie County 202
Cite this page
“Smith County, Mississippi.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/mississippi/smith-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.