Live
Active alerts for this county
Extreme Heat Warning
Jefferson; Wayne; Edwards; Wabash; Perry; Franklin; Hamilton; White; Jackson; Williamson; Saline; Gallatin; Union; Johnson; Pope; Hardin; Alexander; Pulaski; Massac; Gibson; Pike; Posey; Vanderburgh; Warrick; Spencer; Fulton; Hickman; Carlisle; Ballard; McCracken; Graves; Livingston; Marshall; Calloway; Crittenden; Lyon; Trigg; Caldwell; Union; Webster; Hopkins; Christian; Henderson; Daviess; McLean; Muhlenberg; Todd; Perry; Bollinger; Cape Girardeau; Wayne; Carter; Ripley; Butler; Stoddard; Scott; Mississippi; New Madrid
Mississippi County, Missouri severe weather history spans 233 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 42.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,226 nationally and #96 in Missouri.
233
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
41
Direct injuries
$181.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Mississippi County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Mississippi County, Missouri severe weather history averages 3.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 74 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 45 events fall before 1990 and 188 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Mississippi County, Missouri record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $150.1M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Mississippi County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 98 | 0 | $2.3M | 104 | 1966–2025 |
| Hail | 51 | 0 | $200K | 3 | 1962–2025 |
| Tornado | 28 | 1 | $27.6M | F4 | 1955–2024 |
| Flood | 25 | 0 | $1.2M | 0 | 2000–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 10 | 0 | $150.1M | 0 | 1997–2018 |
| Heavy Rain | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2015 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2025 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $90K | 0 | 1999–2018 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2010 |
Decade by decade
Mississippi County, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
29 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 24 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981-04-22 | EF4 | 1 | 32 | 63.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1955-04-22 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 12.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1955-03-20 | EF3 | 0 | 17 | 3.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-11-24 | EF2 | 2 | 6 | 57.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2003-05-06 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 25.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1971-07-15 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-07-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-04-01 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 5.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-02-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-04-03 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 6.8 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Mississippi County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1981 | Tornado | 1 | 6 | $25.0M | |
| Mar 20, 1955 | Tornado | 0 | 17 | $250K | |
| Jul 15, 1971 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $25K | |
| Apr 1, 1970 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| Jan 17, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | CHARLESTON | 0 | 3 | $100K |
| Apr 24, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | EAST PRAIRIE | 0 | 1 | $250K |
| Apr 4, 2008 | Lightning | EAST PRAIRIE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | Flash Flood | CHARLESTON | 0 | 1 | $40K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Eight grain bins were destroyed along County Road 407 north of East Prairie. Elsewhere in Mississippi County, there were numerous houses with shingle damage. This was part of a larger area of wind damage that surrounded the EF-1 tornado that tracked across western Mississippi County.
The tornado moved east from New Madrid County, passing across sparsely populated farmland before lifting about three miles north-northeast of Anniston. Significant roof damage occurred to a house, and its attached garage was destroyed. A barn was heavily damaged, and numerous irrigation systems were blown over. Dozens of trees were damaged or uprooted. Numerous power poles were snapped. Peak winds in the Mississippi County portion of the damage path were estimated near 100 mph.
Severe thunderstorm winds caused moderate damage to three homes. In addition, two grain bins were destroyed, each with a capacity of about 8,000 bushels. Five non-residential buildings were destroyed, including three small storage buildings and two shops. The shops were about 4,000 square feet in size. Several tractors and other farm equipment in the buildings was damaged.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
11,902
Population (ACS)
$109K
Median home value
25
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 21, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 26, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 9, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 20, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Mississippi County, Missouri?
233 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $181.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Mississippi County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 98 recorded events — 42.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Mississippi County?
29 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 24 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Mississippi County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Mississippi County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Mississippi County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Mississippi County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 57 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Mississippi County, Missouri 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
- Miller County 479
- Moniteau County 254
- Mercer County 189
- Monroe County 218
- Marion County 298
- Montgomery County 293
Cite this page
“Mississippi County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/mississippi-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.