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Forrest County, Mississippi severe weather history spans 748 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 47.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #351 nationally and #6 in Mississippi.
748
Recorded events
9
Direct deaths
191
Direct injuries
$69.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Forrest County, Mississippi severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Forrest County, Mississippi severe weather history averages 10.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 248 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 51 events fall before 1990 and 697 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Forrest County, Mississippi record is tornado, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $46.1M 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 Forrest County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 355 | 2 | $5.2M | 78 | 1963–2026 |
| Hail | 177 | 0 | $6.7M | 4.5 | 1965–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 136 | 1 | $10.2M | 0 | 1997–2022 |
| Tornado | 47 | 4 | $46.1M | F3 | 1957–2025 |
| Lightning | 26 | 2 | $1.2M | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2022 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 2017–2017 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2021–2021 |
Decade by decade
Forrest County, Mississippi severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
49 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 38 touched down inside it and 11 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-04-19 | EF4 | 1 | 1 | 53.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2013-02-10 | EF4 | 0 | 71 | 21.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-01-21 | EF3 | 4 | 57 | 31.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2006-11-15 | EF3 | 0 | 6 | 13.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1982-05-07 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 13.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-12-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-03-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-12-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2012-12-25 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 28.6 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Forrest County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 21, 2017 | Tornado | BONHOMIE | 4 | 56 | $9.0M |
| Jun 6, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | HATTIESBURG | 2 | 45 | $1.0M |
| Jul 20, 2000 | Lightning | PETAL | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 30, 1999 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 1 | 0 | $500K |
| Jun 13, 1996 | Lightning | HATTIESBURG | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 10, 2013 | Tornado | HATTIESBURG | 0 | 63 | $25.0M |
| Mar 4, 2008 | Tornado | MC LAURIN | 0 | 14 | $1.5M |
| Mar 12, 2001 | Tornado | HATTIESBURG | 0 | 5 | $6.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across the city of Hattiesburg blocking many of the roads and highways. Winds heavily damaged twenty-five homes and twenty-five mobile homes. Forty-five people were injured and two people were killed. The two fatalities were both in automobiles which ran into falling trees or the trees fell on them.
Several roads across southern Forrest County were flooded including portions of Old Highway 49 between Brooklyn and Maxie. A few roads were also washed out including Churchwell Road, Tower Road, Entrekin Road, Worth Nall Road, and Bud Myers Road.
This tornado touched down at Camp Shelby and snapped or uprooted numerous trees, and downed several power lines along the short path. Twelve buildings, mostly barracks, were damaged. Several buildings had the roofs severely damaged with one roof nearly completely torn off. Several walls of the barrack buildings collapsed where the roof support was lost. A hummer was turned over and windows were blown out of several other vehicles. Maximum wind speed was 110 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
78,272
Population (ACS)
$168K
Median home value
32
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 |
| Oct 28, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE ZETA | EM |
| Oct 8, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE DELTA | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Hattiesburg 309
- Petal 150
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Forrest County, Mississippi?
748 events are on record between 1957 and 2026, causing 9 direct deaths and $69.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Forrest County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 355 recorded events — 47.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Forrest County?
49 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 38 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Forrest County?
32 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Forrest County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Forrest County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Forrest County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 78 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Forrest 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
- DeSoto County 498
- Franklin County 278
- Covington County 423
- George County 202
- Copiah County 638
- Greene County 205
Cite this page
“Forrest County, Mississippi.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/mississippi/forrest-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.