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Washington County, Mississippi severe weather history spans 552 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 53.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #719 nationally and #21 in Mississippi.
552
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
40
Direct injuries
$36.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Washington County, Mississippi severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Washington County, Mississippi severe weather history averages 7.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 165 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 101 events fall before 1990 and 451 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Washington County, Mississippi record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $12.5M 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 Washington County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 295 | 1 | $5.0M | 78 | 1955–2026 |
| Hail | 157 | 0 | $3.0M | 3 | 1958–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 57 | 0 | $12.5M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Tornado | 32 | 1 | $11.1M | F5 | 1953–2026 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $5.1M | 0 | 2011–2024 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $140K | 0 | 2009–2013 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2008 |
Decade by decade
Washington County, Mississippi severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
32 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 27 touched down inside it and 5 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 |
| 2001-11-24 | EF4 | 0 | 48 | 30.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-03-09 | EF4 | 0 | 1 | 20.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1978-04-17 | EF4 | 0 | 3 | 3.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-03-22 | EF2 | 2 | 22 | 234.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2020-01-11 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 17.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2005-09-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-02-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 37.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-10-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 51.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-02-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Washington County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 9, 2009 | Tornado | AVON | 1 | 2 | $225K |
| Jun 20, 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | PRISCILLA | 1 | 0 | $50K |
| Nov 24, 2001 | Tornado | WINTERVILLE | 0 | 12 | $3.5M |
| Dec 4, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $25K | |
| Mar 10, 1992 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 4 | $0 | |
| Apr 4, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Apr 18, 1978 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $2.5M | |
| Jan 11, 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | GREENVILLE | 0 | 2 | $300K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado started along Levee Road and moved north-northeast snapping and downing several trees. As it crossed Highway 1, several more trees were snapped, a couple outbuildings were destroyed, and a couple of mobile homes were damaged. One framed house sustained shingle damage in this area as well. The tornado continued to the north-northeast and moved into a mobile home complex along Key Road. Here the tornado narrowed and reached its maximum intensity with winds around 110 mph. One mobile home was completely destroyed and this is where a fatality occurred. Two other mobile homes were rolled and moderate damage was sustained to several other mobile homes in the complex. In total, 3 mobile homes were destroyed and 16 damaged. A number of trees and several power lines were also blown down along the rest of the path. The tornado dissipated as it crossed Highway 438 where several large limbs were broken off trees.
During the late afternoon and evening of the 3rd, a heavy band of storms developed across the region and produced 5 to 9 inches of rainfall in 3 to 5 hours. This additional rainfall made the total across Washington County between 7 and 11 inches for the entire 3 day event. This extreme rainfall flooded numerous roads, many which were closed or even washed out. Some 250 to 270 structures were flooded with flood damage ranging from minor to major. Flood damage was widespread and significant for this area.||Agriculture was hard hit as well. Farmland was flooded and entire crops were lost or significantly damaged. Any crops that were salvaged produced low yields.
Flooding along the Mississippi River caused extensive flooding of low lying farmland and urban areas around the river. All of the flood waters were within the mainline levee. Sixty one homes were destroyed, 18 sustained major damage and 63 sustained minor damage. One mobile home and 1 business were destroyed, with 19 businesses sustaining minor damage. Twenty four roads had major damage, and 3 public buildings were destroyed.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
42,765
Population (ACS)
$104K
Median home value
30
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 |
| Mar 26, 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
- Greenville 144
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Washington County, Mississippi?
552 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $36.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Washington County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 295 recorded events — 53.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Washington County?
32 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 27 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Washington County?
30 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Washington County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Washington County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Washington County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 83 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Washington 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
- Warren County 729
- Wayne County 272
- Walthall County 199
- Webster County 269
- Union County 303
- Wilkinson County 115
Cite this page
“Washington County, Mississippi.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/mississippi/washington-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.