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Winston County, Mississippi severe weather history spans 389 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 47.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,299 nationally and #37 in Mississippi.
389
Recorded events
13
Direct deaths
94
Direct injuries
$142.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Winston County, Mississippi severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Winston County, Mississippi severe weather history averages 5.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 114 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 27 events fall before 1990 and 362 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Winston County, Mississippi record is tornado, responsible for 13 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $122.6M 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 Winston County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 185 | 0 | $12.6M | 80 | 1964–2025 |
| Hail | 131 | 0 | $3.5M | 3 | 1970–2026 |
| Tornado | 36 | 13 | $122.6M | F4 | 1951–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 33 | 0 | $3.9M | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $300K | 0 | 2007–2007 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2005 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $2K | 0 | 2021–2021 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2015 |
Decade by decade
Winston County, Mississippi severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
38 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 29 touched down inside it and 9 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-27 | EF5 | 3 | 6 | 28.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-04-28 | EF4 | 10 | 84 | 33.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1977-02-23 | EF4 | 2 | 5 | 15.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-11-24 | EF3 | 1 | 2 | 21.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2019-04-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-04-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-05-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-01-18 | EF2 | 0 | 8 | 7.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1957-04-04 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 40.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-04-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 112.8 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Winston County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2014 | Tornado | ZAMA | 10 | 81 | $115.0M |
| Feb 23, 1977 | Tornado | 2 | 5 | $250K | |
| Nov 24, 2004 | Tornado | NOXAPATER | 1 | 2 | $2.5M |
| Apr 4, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| Apr 18, 2008 | Tornado | LOUISVILLE | 0 | 1 | $3.0M |
| Jul 31, 1986 | Hail | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This strong tornado moved into Winston county from Neshoba county and tracked northeast for 12 miles before moving into Noxubee county. Just inside the Winston county line four large chicken houses were destroyed. As the tornado tracked northeast across State Route 393 and 397, a few hundred trees were uprooted and snapped. Several homes sustained minor roof damage. One home was totally destroyed on McBrayer Road. Pieces of the home was blown and scattered across a field for 1/4 mile. Here three vehicles were moved with two of them landing on top of tree debris and the other thrown into a ditch. This home was where the two injuries and one fatality occurred. The tornado was at its widest point here and as it tracked northeast hundreds of trees were blown down. The tornado moved into Noxubee county 2 miles southeast of Ferns Springs. The total path length across northern Neshoba, southeast Winston and western Noxubee county was 21 miles.
This tornado touched down just on the southern side of Louisville and tracked northeast across the eastern side of the city and dissipated about 6 miles northeast of town. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted along the path. Seven homes sustained significant damage as well as the Island Plaza apartments. The Georgia Pacific Paper Company building was badly damaged as well as damage to a school bus barn. Maximum winds were around 110 mph.
Multiple roads were flooded and several washed out across Winston county due to rainfall totals measured up to 12.91 inches near Louisville. Numerous cars were flooded and stalled with water rescues occurred across the county; most in the vicinity of the city of Louisville. Water entered homes and businesses including residences near Mount Moriah Street, a community center along Church Street, and a retail store along MS highway 14 on the east side of Louisville. Flooding also occurred into the southern part of the county where a truck became stalled on a flooded and partially washed out road in the Nanih Waiya community.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
17,536
Population (ACS)
$125K
Median home value
18
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 |
| May 4, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Louisville 165
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Winston County, Mississippi?
389 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 13 direct deaths and $142.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Winston County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 185 recorded events — 47.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Winston County?
38 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 29 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Winston County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Winston County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Winston County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Winston County as very low risk, placing it in the 40 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Winston 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
- Wilkinson County 115
- Yalobusha County 181
- Webster County 269
- Yazoo County 602
- Wayne County 272
- Washington County 552
Cite this page
“Winston County, Mississippi.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/mississippi/winston-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.