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Clay County, Mississippi severe weather history spans 263 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 59.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,019 nationally and #60 in Mississippi.
263
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$9.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Clay County, Mississippi severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Clay County, Mississippi severe weather history averages 3.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 82 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 25 events fall before 1990 and 238 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Clay County, Mississippi record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $4.4M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Clay County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 157 | 0 | $3.1M | 74 | 1960–2026 |
| Hail | 63 | 0 | $156K | 2 | 1965–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 23 | 0 | $1.3M | 0 | 1997–2021 |
| Tornado | 17 | 1 | $4.4M | F3 | 1950–2024 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $18K | 0 | 2016–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2008 |
Decade by decade
Clay County, Mississippi severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
21 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 18 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976-03-20 | EF3 | 1 | 9 | 49.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-27 | EF3 | 0 | 25 | 58.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1988-01-19 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-11-26 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 54.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-04-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-02-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-04-03 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 5.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-05-14 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 18.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1950-03-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-03-20 | EF1 | 1 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Clay County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 1980 | Tornado | 1 | 0 | $25K | |
| Apr 4, 1956 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Mar 18, 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | CAHNS | 0 | 1 | $500K |
| Jan 10, 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | WEST PT MC CHAREN AR | 0 | 1 | $150K |
| Mar 21, 1976 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K | |
| May 14, 1953 | Tornado | 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 tornado touched down in northern Choctaw County and eventually tracked across multiple counties as it moved northeast. Many thousands of trees were snapped or uprooted along the path of this tornado. Numerous roofs of homes were severely damaged. Numerous mobile homes were severely damaged and several mobile homes were completely destroyed. Numerous barns and sheds received heavy damage or were destroyed. Numerous power poles and power lines were down. Extensive damage occurred to a school in Cumberland, Webster County, and this was the basis for the EF-3 rating. Maximum winds were around 140 mph. Total path length across Choctaw, Webster, Clay, Chickasaw, and Monroe Counties was 59 miles.
There was a swath of damaging thunderstorm winds across the county. A 20 foot section of the roof was blown off the Justice Court Building. There was roof damage to a home on Torbert Drive, and a tree fell and crushed a truck on Mapleview Drive. Numerous other trees and power lines were blown down across portions of the county. A woman was taken to the hospital with injuries after being blown over by the winds.
On the east side of town, more damage from the forward flank downdraft occurred. Here, numerous trees were snapped, uprooted or had large limbs broken off. One area along Highway 50 was especially hard hit. Here several storage sheds were flipped and destroyed. Debris was blown into a few buildings and caused damage to windows and the roofs. Several trees were also snapped in the area. On the north side of the highway, a large office building sustained substantial shingle damage. Like on the south side of town, all the damage was blown to the south and southeast.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
18,383
Population (ACS)
$129K
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 |
| 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 23, 2020 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- West Pt 122
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Clay County, Mississippi?
263 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $9.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Clay County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 157 recorded events — 59.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Clay County?
21 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 18 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Clay County?
27 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Clay County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Clay County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clay County as very low risk, placing it in the 43 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Clay 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
- Clarke County 560
- Coahoma County 247
- Claiborne County 312
- Copiah County 638
- Choctaw County 229
- Covington County 423
Cite this page
“Clay County, Mississippi.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/mississippi/clay-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.