44
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$27.6M
Property damage
Tornado in Wayne County, Mississippi: 44 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #513 nationally and #34 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Wayne County, Mississippi: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Wayne County is the 2020s, when 18 of the county's 44 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 Wayne County archive, tornado makes up 16.2% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #513 for this hazard and #34 within Mississippi, putting it in the 82.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Mar is the peak month for tornado in Wayne County with 14 recorded events, while Jul 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-02-28 | EF4 | 35.0 mi | 1,230 yd | Crossed in |
| 1958-02-26 | EF3 | 29.1 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
| 2025-02-12 | EF3 | 27.5 mi | 910 yd | Touched down here |
| 2019-12-16 | EF3 | 61.2 mi | 350 yd | Crossed in |
| 2014-04-28 | EF3 | 10.5 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 2006-11-15 | EF3 | 15.9 mi | 850 yd | Crossed in |
| 1988-11-04 | EF3 | 8.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1972-01-09 | EF3 | 23.6 mi | 300 yd | Crossed in |
| 2025-03-04 | EF2 | 4.0 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 2024-12-28 | EF2 | 6.5 mi | 550 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 27, 1958 | F3 | 2 | 0 | $3K | |
| Mar 5, 2025 | WHISTLER | EF2 | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Feb 13, 2025 | WHISTLER | EF3 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 2026 | BOICE | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 11, 2026 | WHISTLER | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 11, 2026 | WHISTLER | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 11, 2026 | EUCUTTA | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 5, 2025 | WHISTLER | EF2 | $0 |
| Feb 13, 2025 | WHISTLER | EF3 | $0 |
| Dec 29, 2024 | CHICORA | EF2 | $0 |
| Dec 27, 2024 | WHISTLER | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 5, 2022 | DENHAM | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 5, 2022 | WHISTLER | EF1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Wayne County
- Thunderstorm Wind 132
- Hail 60
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The NWS Survey team found evidence of a strong tornado that tracked across north central and northeast Wayne County. The tornado tracked from the west to the east at around 50 mph. A single family home located on Waller Ridge Road and several single family homes and mobile homes on Spinkes Hayes Road were destroyed. Minor to moderate damage occurred to numerous other residences from Spinkes Hayes Road to Matherville Diamond Road.
A tornado entered the southwest part of Wayne County from Jones County just south of US Highway 84. The tornado moved northeast causing mostly tree damage and crossed Highway 84. The tornado then crossed Harry Pippen Drive where it pushed a large tree on to a house. The tornado continued northeast over private property where it strengthened to an F1. Here it caused considerable tree damage and damaged a barn near Pleasant Grove Altair Road. The tornado crossed the road and this is where most of the damage occurred. A mobile home that was tied down was flipped and demolished. A large shed was flattened. Other homes in this area lost shingles and trees. The tornado lifted near Pleasant Grove Altair Road and Jack Fleming Road intersection.
The storm survey team found a third tornado touchdown in a heavily wooded area near the Greene/Wayne county line. Numerous large diameter (greater than 2 feet) hardwood and pine trees were either snapped near the base of the trunk or |uprooted. Significant damage occurred to a log cabin built in 1909 just inside the Wayne County line…with window panes blown out and large portions of the roof destroyed. A detached outbuilding…built roughly at the same time…was destroyed by a large tree falling on its north side. The tornado continued affecting mostly wooded areas before lifting just to the northeast of Woulard Bend River Road.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Wayne County, Mississippi?
44 tornado events are recorded in Wayne County between 1957 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Wayne County?
The strongest tornado on record in Wayne County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Wayne 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 Wayne County, Mississippi.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/mississippi/wayne-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.