67
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
100
Direct injuries
$21.5M
Property damage
Tornado in Lauderdale County, Mississippi: 67 recorded events between 1950 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #184 nationally and #11 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Lauderdale County, Mississippi: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Lauderdale County is the 2020s, when 18 of the county's 67 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Lauderdale County archive, tornado makes up 7.5% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #184 for this hazard and #11 within Mississippi, putting it in the 93.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Mar is the peak month for tornado in Lauderdale County with 12 recorded events, while Jun is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-27 | EF4 | 122.0 mi | 1,050 yd | Crossed in |
| 1986-03-12 | EF4 | 23.0 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-29 | EF4 | 126.5 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 1992-03-10 | EF3 | 20.0 mi | 1,760 yd | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-06 | EF2 | 5.3 mi | 800 yd | Touched down here |
| 2022-12-14 | EF2 | 25.0 mi | 600 yd | Crossed in |
| 2022-04-13 | EF2 | 43.1 mi | 1,800 yd | Crossed in |
| 2020-02-05 | EF2 | 59.9 mi | 1,320 yd | Crossed in |
| 2018-04-14 | EF2 | 8.5 mi | 780 yd | Touched down here |
| 2017-01-21 | EF2 | 7.3 mi | 550 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 10, 1992 | F3 | 3 | 57 | $2.5M | |
| Dec 16, 2000 | MERIDIAN | F2 | 0 | 17 | $2.1M |
| Jan 19, 1988 | F1 | 0 | 10 | $25K | |
| Mar 12, 1986 | F4 | 0 | 8 | $2.5M | |
| May 27, 1973 | F2 | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| Apr 14, 2018 | MERIDIAN | EF2 | 0 | 2 | $500K |
| Aug 26, 1992 | F0 | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Jan 22, 2017 | TOPTON | EF2 | 0 | 1 | $175K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 2025 | OKATIBBEE | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 6, 2025 | WHYNOT | EF2 | $600K |
| Mar 15, 2025 | OKATIBBEE | EF1 | $0 |
| Feb 16, 2025 | SCHAMBERVILLE | EF1 | $200K |
| Dec 29, 2024 | INCREASE | EF1 | $15K |
| Dec 29, 2024 | TOPTON | EF1 | $500K |
| Dec 14, 2022 | VIMVILLE | EF1 | $40K |
| Dec 14, 2022 | SCHAMBERVILLE | EF0 | $1K |
| Apr 14, 2022 | OKATIBBEE | EF2 | $300K |
| Apr 5, 2022 | WHYNOT | EF0 | $30K |
Other hazards here
More from Lauderdale County
- Thunderstorm Wind 490
- Hail 234
- Flash Flood 87
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An F2 tornado caused major damage in the Marion and Dalewood Shore Lake communities, northeast of Meridian. Two houses and thirteen mobile homes were destroyed. Eleven houses and twelve mobile homes received major damage. Thirty-three houses and twenty-two mobile homes received minor damage. Three businesses were destroyed and one business had minor damage. Thousands of trees were blown down or snapped off, and numerous power poles and power lines were also downed. Seventeen people were injured, including one in critical condition.
This tornado touched down just to the northeast of Montrose near County Road 2414, in Jasper County. This tornado tracked across 3 counties before it dissipated just before it reached Meridian. Along the path, it produced major structural roof damage to a church. Shingles and siding were blown off of a house. An outbuilding was destroyed along with damage to a grain silo. Thousands of large softwood and hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted. In addition, numerous power lines were blown down. This EF2 tornado had a total path length of 23 miles and a width of 0.6 miles. Maximum winds were around 125 mph.
This short lived EF-2 tornado began just south of Center Grove Road where it did minor tree damage, mostly large broken branches and uprooted softwood trees. It quickly intensified as it took a northerly turn, with the worst damage on Shannon Road. There, numerous trees were snapped in a concentrated corridor. Several single family residences sustained roof damage with greater than 20% loss of roofing material. It took a more easterly turn as it approached Highway 19. There, it weakened, but continued to do tree damage. It crossed the state line at Highway 19/10 and continued to do more tree damage in Alabama. Maximum width was estimated at 800 yards and maximum winds at 115 mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Lauderdale County, Mississippi?
67 tornado events are recorded in Lauderdale County between 1950 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Lauderdale County?
The strongest tornado on record in Lauderdale County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Lauderdale County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Lauderdale County, Mississippi.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/mississippi/lauderdale-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.