Holmes County, Mississippi

County storm and disaster record · FIPS 28051 · population 16,992 · 757 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 464 records for Holmes County, Mississippi from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 304 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (227 records). The deadliest single record is the November 7, 1957 tornado: 2 deaths. FEMA has issued 30 declarations naming the county since 1971, 28 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storm” on February 6, 2026.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $100,000
  • $100,000 or more
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more, or a death
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
  • 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
  • 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
Storm records
464on 304 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
648 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$171Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
51strongest EF4
FEMA declarations
30latest 2026

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.

What hazards hit Holmes County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 227 since 1958. The rank column places the county among Mississippi's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Holmes County: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Severe thunderstorm wind 227 164 1958-2026 0 3 $3.6M 57 of 82
Hail 100 76 1955-2024 0 0 $1.9M 59 of 82
Tornadoes 51 38 1957-2025 5 45 $109M 46 of 82
Floods 27 22 1997-2021 0 0 $24M 70 of 82
Winter storms 23 22 1996-2026 0 0 $1.8M 54 of 82
Drought 18 18 2006-2026 0 0 $5.6M 49 of 82
High wind and dust storms 6 6 2007-2025 1 0 $77K 55 of 82
Heat 5 5 2005-2010 0 0 – 75 of 82
Hurricanes and tropical storms 4 4 2002-2021 0 0 $24M 56 of 82
Extreme cold 2 2 2010-2026 0 0 $338K 72 of 82
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds 1 1 2022-2022 0 0 – 44 of 82

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Holmes County had?

NOAA records 51 tornadoes in Holmes County from 1957 to 2025, the strongest rated EF4, with 5 deaths and 45 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 51 tornadoes whose track touched Holmes County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 51, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 35 people, 5 of them in Holmes County.

The deadliest and strongest tornadoes that touched Holmes County, whole tracks
DateTornadoRatingPathKilled
2023-03-24 18:57, as SPC files itRolling Fork to TchulaEF459.23 mi17
1971-02-21 17:06, as SPC files itBovinaF465.2 mi13
1957-11-07 23:00, as SPC files itCruger to CarrolltonF331.2 mi2
1990-12-21 16:50, as SPC files itVaidenF320 mi1
2017-04-30 08:16, as SPC files itDurantEF223.4 mi1
2001-02-16 12:10, as SPC files itGoodman to DurantF24 mi1
2011-04-27 00:40, as SPC files itLexingtonEF323 mi0
2008-01-10 11:51, as SPC files itPickens to GoodmanEF39.73 mi0
1997-05-02 17:30, as SPC files itTchulaF320 mi0

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Mississippi.

Every tornado record filed for Holmes County (51)
Every tornado recorded in Holmes County, newest first
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-03-14 Egypt, Holmes County EF2 0.51 mi x 1,000 yd 0 0 –
2024-07-09 Edsville, Holmes County EF1 0.73 mi x 85 yd 0 0 $14K
2023-03-24 Refuge, Holmes County EF2 13.92 mi x 900 yd 0 0 $97K
2022-12-14 Howard, Holmes County EF0 5.91 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $10K
2022-03-30 Keirn, Holmes County EF1 5.8 mi x 1,700 yd 0 1 $131K
2022-03-22 Pickens, Holmes County EF1 10.14 mi x 700 yd 0 0 $655K
2022-03-22 Crossing, Holmes County EF1 7.43 mi x 700 yd 0 0 $50K
2021-05-02 Durant, Holmes County EF1 4.15 mi x 300 yd 0 0 $109K
2021-05-02 Zeiglerville, Holmes County EF0 3.72 mi x 75 yd 0 0 $5K
2021-05-02 Acona, Holmes County EF2 3.01 mi x 510 yd 0 0 $71K
2021-05-02 Coxburg, Holmes County EF1 10.63 mi x 450 yd 0 0 $44K
2020-04-12 Coxburg, Holmes County EF0 2.33 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $46K
2020-02-05 Pickens, Holmes County EF2 0.02 mi x 300 yd 0 0 $1K
2019-04-13 Goodman, Holmes County EF1 1.27 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $23K
2017-04-30 Pickens, Holmes County EF2 18.32 mi x 1,900 yd 1 0 $5.1M
2017-04-30 Hoffman, Holmes County EF1 3.04 mi x 600 yd 0 0 $36K
2017-04-30 Bowling Green, Holmes County EF1 8.2 mi x 400 yd 0 0 $36K
2011-04-27 West, Holmes County EF1 0.81 mi x 400 yd 0 0 $7K
2011-04-27 Durant, Holmes County EF0 1.7 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $33K
2011-04-27 Owens Wells, Holmes County EF2 12.35 mi x 1,760 yd 0 0 $656K
2011-04-27 Lexington, Holmes County EF3 18.53 mi x 1,760 yd 0 0 $1.6M
2011-04-27 Bee Lake, Holmes County EF1 1.13 mi x 250 yd 0 0 $197K
2011-04-15 Franklin, Holmes County EF1 6.12 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $669K
2010-04-24 Zeiglerville, Holmes County EF4 21.25 mi x 2,600 yd 1 40 $87M
2008-12-09 Zeiglerville, Holmes County EF2 8.07 mi x 450 yd 0 0 $959K
2008-01-10 Pickens, Holmes County EF3 7.57 mi x 1,320 yd 0 3 $5.1M
2007-10-17 Tolarsville, Holmes County EF0 2.37 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
2006-10-16 Tolarsville, Holmes County F1 4.91 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $29K
2005-09-24 Acona, Holmes County F0 1 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $15K
2005-09-24 Cruger, Holmes County F0 1 mi x 75 yd 0 0 $38K
2004-10-23 Coxburg, Holmes County F0 3 mi x 40 yd 0 0 $3K
2004-03-05 West, Holmes County F0 0.2 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $8K
2001-02-16 Goodman, Holmes County F2 4 mi x 500 yd 1 1 $83K
1999-04-14 Cruger, Holmes County F0 1 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $4K
1999-01-22 Lexington, Holmes County F0 1 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
1999-01-22 Lexington, Holmes County F0 1 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $5K
1997-05-14 Lexington, Holmes County F0 2 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
1997-05-02 Tchula, Holmes County F3 20 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $368K
1993-02-15 Pickens, Holmes County F0 0.5 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
1992-08-26 Holmes County F0 1.5 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $25K step
1990-12-21 Holmes County F3 7 mi x 880 yd 0 0 –
1988-12-28 Holmes County F1 1.5 mi x 70 yd 0 0 $250K step
1986-11-08 Holmes County F0 0.5 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
1986-03-18 Holmes County F0 0.6 mi x 40 yd 0 0 $25K step
1986-03-18 Holmes County F2 5 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $250K step
1974-04-01 Holmes County F2 0 0 $25K step
1971-02-21 Holmes County F4 10.7 mi x 33 yd 0 0 –
1970-04-26 Holmes County F1 0.5 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $3K step
1969-05-17 Holmes County F0 0 0 –
1966-04-26 Holmes County F2 4.1 mi x 67 yd 0 0 $250K step
1957-11-07 Holmes County F3 5.2 mi x 300 yd 2 0 $250K step

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Holmes County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the March 31, 2025 thunderstorm wind ($1,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The 12 most recent records kept for Holmes County
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-01 DroughtHolmes County · forecast zone Holmes 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtHolmes County · forecast zone Holmes 0 0 –
2026-04-28 Thunderstorm WindMontgomery, Holmes County 52 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-01-25 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillHolmes County · forecast zone Holmes 0 0 –
2026-01-25 Ice StormHolmes County · forecast zone Holmes 0 0 –
2025-05-25 Thunderstorm WindPickens, Holmes County 55 kt wind 0 0 –
2025-05-24 Thunderstorm WindDurant, Holmes County 55 kt wind 0 0 –
2025-05-24 Thunderstorm WindTchula, Holmes County 55 kt wind 0 0 –
2025-03-31 Thunderstorm WindCruger, Holmes County 50 kt wind 0 0 $1K
2025-03-14 TornadoEgypt, Holmes County EF2 0.51 mi x 1,000 yd 0 0 –
2025-03-04 Strong WindHolmes County · forecast zone Holmes 40 kt wind 0 0 $10K
2025-02-15 Thunderstorm WindBowling Green, Holmes County 50 kt wind 0 0 $2K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Records with deaths or injuries in Holmes County, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1957-11-07 TornadoHolmes County F3 5.2 mi x 300 yd 2 0 $250K step
2010-04-24 TornadoZeiglerville, Holmes County The tornado continued northeast into rural southern Holmes County, causing intense tree damage and damaging or destroying a number of rural residences. The damage across this area was in the EF3 range. As the tornado moved by the Franklin Community, in rural Holmes county, it again reached EF4 intensity. It completely ... EF4 21.25 mi x 2,600 yd 1 40 $87M
2001-02-16 TornadoGoodman, Holmes County The tornado formed about 1.4 miles west of interstate 55 at mile marker 150, then tracked eastward. As the tornado tracked eastward across Interstate 55, an eighteen wheeler truck was overturned. The tornado continued to track eastward across Holmes County State Park, where many trees were blown down and several ... F2 4 mi x 500 yd 1 1 $83K
2017-04-30 TornadoPickens, Holmes County This strong tornado started several miles west of Pickens off Highway 432 and tracked Northeast for roughly 23 miles. The tornado impacted areas west of Goodman, Holmes County State Park and a direct hit on the town of Durant. The tornado was very wide and was roughly 1.2 miles wide at its widest point. Across the ... EF2 18.32 mi x 1,900 yd 1 0 $5.1M
2012-08-30 Strong WindHolmes County · forecast zone Holmes A few trees were blown down across the county due to strong winds on the periphery of Tropical Storm Isaac. A woman was killed when a tree fell on her car on North Street in Lexington. 40 kt wind 1 0 $39K
2008-01-10 TornadoPickens, Holmes County The tornado started with a narrow path of scattered downed trees near Shady Lane Road. The damage intensified as it approached Highway 17. Here tree damage became much more intense with hundreds of trees snapped and uprooted. One home had a portion of its roof ripped off. The tornado intensified and reached its ... EF3 7.57 mi x 1,320 yd 0 3 $5.1M
1999-05-22 Thunderstorm WindPickens, Holmes County A tree fell down onto a mobile home and injured two persons. Numerous power lines were blown down. 0 2 $142K
2022-03-30 TornadoKeirn, Holmes County This EF-1 tornado, with a maximum width of about a mile, developed across farmland near Linden Road where a center pivot irrigation system was overturned and several trees were uprooted or snapped. The tornado moved northeast where it crossed Pinchback Lake and moved across Holly Grove-Meeks Road. At this time the ... EF1 5.8 mi x 1,700 yd 0 1 $131K

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

The costliest records in Holmes County since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2010-04-24 TornadoZeiglerville, Holmes County EF4 21.25 mi x 2,600 yd 1 40 $87M
2005-08-29 Hurricane (Typhoon)Holmes County · forecast zone Holmes 0 0 $24M
1997-06-10 Flash FloodLexington, Holmes County 0 0 $18M
2008-01-10 TornadoPickens, Holmes County EF3 7.57 mi x 1,320 yd 0 3 $5.1M
2017-04-30 TornadoPickens, Holmes County EF2 18.32 mi x 1,900 yd 1 0 $5.1M
2001-04-04 Flash FloodCountywide, Holmes County 0 0 $1.7M
2006-10-16 Flash FloodCoxburg, Holmes County 0 0 $1.6M
2011-04-27 TornadoLexington, Holmes County EF3 18.53 mi x 1,760 yd 0 0 $1.6M

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250K, in the dollars of the day) holds: November 7, 1957 (tornado, Holmes County, 2 killed); April 26, 1966 (tornado, Holmes County); March 18, 1986 (tornado, Holmes County).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Holmes County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Holmes County: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Severe thunderstorm wind1562030546843
Hail12391629355
Tornadoes1234891113
Floods––––39123
Winter storms––––2489
Drought––––0585

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

Records by month in Holmes County. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 24 · Feb 33 · Mar 57 · Apr 86 · May 65 · Jun 57 · Jul 40 · Aug 21 · Sep 11 · Oct 14 · Nov 21 · Dec 35 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Holmes County

FEMA's register lists 30 declarations that include Holmes County: 24 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (15) and hurricane (7).

Declarations including Holmes County, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2026-02-06DR-4899Winter StormSevere Winter Storm
2026-01-24EM-3640Winter StormSevere Winter Storm
2023-08-12DR-4727Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes.
2021-10-22DR-4626HurricaneHurricane Ida
2021-08-28EM-3569HurricaneHurricane Ida
2021-05-04DR-4598Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storms
2020-04-23DR-4538Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2020-04-16DR-4536Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding
2020-04-05DR-4528BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3474BiologicalCovid-19
2019-06-20DR-4450Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding
2017-05-22DR-4314Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding
2016-03-25DR-4268FloodSevere Storms and Flooding
2012-08-29DR-4081HurricaneHurricane Isaac
2012-08-28EM-3348HurricaneTropical Storm Isaac
2011-04-29DR-1972Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Associated Flooding
2010-04-29DR-1906Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2008-08-30EM-3291HurricaneHurricane Gustav
2005-08-29DR-1604HurricaneHurricane Katrina
2005-07-10DR-1594HurricaneHurricane Dennis
2003-04-24DR-1459Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Floods
2001-12-07DR-1398Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2001-04-17DR-1365Severe StormSevere Storms and Flooding
2001-02-23DR-1360Severe StormSevere Storms and Tornadoes
1991-05-17DR-906Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding
1983-06-01DR-683Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
1979-04-16DR-577Severe StormStorms, Tornadoes, Floods
1977-02-22EM-3032SnowstormDrought & Freezing
1973-03-27DR-368Severe StormHeavy Rains, Tornadoes & Flooding
1971-02-22DR-302TornadoStorms & Tornadoes

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Holmes County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 27 flood or flash flood records for Holmes County from 1997 to 2021, on 22 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Holmes County ranks 1221st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

Named storms on Holmes County's flood and tropical record
StormBeganRecordsDeaths in the county
Hurricane Katrina2005-08-2920

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.4 million on 117 claims filed in Holmes County; the most in one year was 36 in 2001. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1979: 1 · 1980: 4 · 1982: 1 · 1983: 14 · 1987: 2 · 1988: 1 · 1990: 2 · 1991: 16 · 1993: 1 · 1994: 3 · 1995: 3 · 1997: 8 · 1998: 1 · 2000: 7 · 2001: 36 · 2003: 1 · 2005: 1 · 2006: 3 · 2008: 1 · 2010: 1 · 2011: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2019: 5 · 2020: 2; the other years: 0.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Holmes County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Holmes County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $9.1 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

National Risk Index ratings for Holmes County (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
DroughtRelatively Moderate$671K15 modeled event-days a year
TornadoRelatively Moderate$2.5Mabout once a year (modeled)
Strong WindRelatively Moderate$577K2.9 a year (modeled)
LightningRelatively Moderate$293K67 a year (modeled)
Cold WaveRelatively Moderate$1.3M1.1 a year (modeled)
HailRelatively Low$350K3.5 a year (modeled)
Heat WaveRelatively Low$505K17 modeled event-days a year
EarthquakeRelatively Low$436Konce in about 356 years (modeled)

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Holmes County

  1. Madison County 909
  2. Yazoo County 674
  3. Attala County 516
  4. Leflore County 493
  5. Holmes County 464
  6. Carroll County 404
  7. Humphreys County 282

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

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