Mississippi County, Missouri
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 29133 · population 12,551 · 412 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 715 records for Mississippi County, Missouri from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 660 days; the most frequent are fog, smoke and funnel cloud records (114 records). 480 of them are forecast-zone records, which the National Weather Service files once per zone: a county covered by several zones receives each one, so a single storm can add several records on the same day. The deadliest single record is the March 17, 2022 dense fog, filed for the forecast zone Mississippi, which covers the county: 5 deaths and 14 injuries. FEMA has issued 25 declarations naming the county since 1973, 23 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding” on May 21, 2025.
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
- 715on 660 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 658 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $417Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 28strongest F4
- FEMA declarations
- 25latest 2025
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 Mississippi County most?
The most frequent records are fog, smoke and funnel cloud records: 114 since 1997. The rank column places the county among Missouri's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 114 | 113 | 1997-2026 | 5 | 14 | – | 2 of 114 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 100 | 93 | 1966-2025 | 0 | 5 | $3.5M | 34 of 114 |
| Heat | 93 | 93 | 1997-2025 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 of 114 |
| Winter storms | 86 | 86 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 3 | $28M | 5 of 114 |
| High wind and dust storms | 84 | 84 | 1997-2026 | 0 | 0 | $12M | 2 of 114 |
| Extreme cold | 56 | 56 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 0 | $4.3M | 4 of 114 |
| Hail | 51 | 45 | 1962-2025 | 0 | 0 | $293K | 95 of 114 |
| Floods | 47 | 45 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 1 | $272M | 49 of 114 |
| Drought | 43 | 43 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 0 | $2.9M | 1 of 114 |
| Tornadoes | 28 | 26 | 1955-2024 | 1 | 34 | $93M | 11 of 114 |
| Heavy rain | 10 | 10 | 2008-2015 | 0 | 0 | – | 14 of 114 |
| Lightning | 3 | 3 | 1999-2018 | 0 | 1 | $124K | 21 of 114 |
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 Mississippi County had?
NOAA records 28 tornadoes in Mississippi County from 1955 to 2024, the strongest rated F4, with 1 death and 34 injuries recorded in the county. That is 11th of 114 Missouri counties and 267th of 3,080 U.S. counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. 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 27 tornadoes whose track touched Mississippi County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 28: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 3 people, 1 of them in Mississippi County.
| Date | Tornado | Rating | Path | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-11-24 22:25, as SPC files it | Gideon to East Prairie | F2 | 57.3 mi | 2 |
| 1981-04-22 16:50, as SPC files it | Sikeston | F4 | 63 mi | 1 |
| 1955-03-20 17:20, as SPC files it | East Prairie | F3 | 3.6 mi | 0 |
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Missouri.
Every tornado record filed for Mississippi County (28)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-07-26 | Alfalfa Center, Mississippi County | EFU 0.38 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2024-07-08 | Alfalfa Center, Mississippi County | EFU 0.73 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2021-05-04 | Dorena, Mississippi County | EF1 3.71 mi x 400 yd | 0 | 0 | $93K |
| 2017-03-01 | Dogwood, Mississippi County | EF1 10.52 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | $241K |
| 2013-10-31 | Wyatt, Mississippi County | EF1 6.7 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | $114K |
| 2006-04-30 | East Prairie, Mississippi County | F0 0.2 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2005-11-15 | East Prairie, Mississippi County | F0 0.2 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2003-05-06 | Wyatt, Mississippi County | F2 7 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2002-04-20 | Charleston, Mississippi County | F1 1.8 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $125K |
| 1996-01-18 | East Prairie, Mississippi County | F1 2 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 1 | $1.4M |
| 1991-05-18 | Mississippi County | F1 0.8 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1981-04-22 | Mississippi County | F4 6.5 mi x 33 yd | 1 | 6 | $25M step |
| 1974-05-20 | Mississippi County | F1 0.5 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1973-11-24 | Mississippi County | F2 11.9 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1973-11-24 | Mississippi County | F2 6.5 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1973-07-09 | Mississippi County | F0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1971-07-15 | Mississippi County | F2 0.2 mi x 17 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1971-07-15 | Mississippi County | F2 1 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 6 | $25K step |
| 1971-03-15 | Mississippi County | F1 1.9 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1970-04-19 | Mississippi County | F0 0.2 mi x 17 yd | 0 | 0 | $30 step |
| 1970-04-01 | Mississippi County | F2 5.1 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 4 | $25K step |
| 1964-03-04 | Mississippi County | F1 0.2 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1962-02-08 | Mississippi County | F2 0.1 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1957-05-22 | Mississippi County | F2 0.4 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1957-04-03 | Mississippi County | F0 0.3 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1956-02-25 | Mississippi County | F1 0.5 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1955-04-22 | Mississippi County | F0 | 0 | 0 | $250 step |
| 1955-03-20 | Mississippi County | F3 3.6 mi x 250 yd | 0 | 17 | $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 Mississippi County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 2, 2026 strong wind ($1,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-14 | DroughtMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-02 | Strong WindMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi | 36 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-02-27 | Dense FogMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-17 | Strong WindMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi | 35 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-02-15 | Dense FogMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-10 | Dense FogMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-26 | Cold/Wind ChillMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-24 | Winter StormMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-23 | Cold/Wind ChillMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-21 | Dense FogMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-08 | Dense FogMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-11-23 | Dense FogMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi | 0 | 0 | – |
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
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-03-17 | Dense FogMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi Dense fog along portions of Interstate 57 between the Mississippi River and Interstate 55 resulted in several fatalities (indirect) in a massive pile-up. The pile-up occurred on both sides of the interstate near Charleston, Missouri in Mississippi County. Approximately 50 vehicles were involved, including multiple ... | 5 | 14 | – | |
| 1981-04-22 | TornadoMississippi County | F4 6.5 mi x 33 yd | 1 | 6 | $25M step |
| 1955-03-20 | TornadoMississippi County | F3 3.6 mi x 250 yd | 0 | 17 | $250K step |
| 1971-07-15 | TornadoMississippi County | F2 1 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 6 | $25K step |
| 1970-04-01 | TornadoMississippi County | F2 5.1 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 4 | $25K step |
| 1999-01-17 | Thunderstorm WindCharleston, Mississippi County Thunderstorm winds overturned a mobile home and blew down a barn. The roof was removed from the Farm Bureau building in Charleston. At the Charleston Inn, windows were blown out and the roof was damaged. A large sign was snapped off, and a steel light post was snapped. Lots of trees were down in Charleston. The three ... | 0 | 3 | $177K | |
| 2023-01-30 | Winter StormMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi A winter storm consisting primarily of sleet impacted southeast Missouri during the late afternoon and evening on January 30th. The precipitation moved out before sunrise on the 31st. The precipitation fell quite heavily as soon as it started, and temperatures were well below freezing, so roads quickly became covered ... | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2018-02-06 | Winter WeatherMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi A moist 500 mb shortwave trough tracked east from the Plains, causing a surface low pressure center to develop northeast from Texas to the central Appalachians. Widespread wintry precipitation occurred as colder air filtered south on the back side of the low. Around one-tenth of an inch of ice glazed surfaces across ... | 0 | 1 | – |
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.
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-05-02 | Flash FloodBirds Pt, Mississippi County | 0 | 0 | $262M | |
| 2009-01-26 | Winter StormMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi | 0 | 0 | $28M | |
| 2008-09-14 | High WindMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $12M |
| 2006-09-23 | Flash FloodCountywide, Mississippi County | 0 | 0 | $8.1M | |
| 2007-04-08 | Frost/FreezeMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi | 0 | 0 | $4.3M | |
| 1996-01-18 | TornadoEast Prairie, Mississippi County | F1 2 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 1 | $1.4M |
| 2008-03-18 | FloodBertrand, Mississippi County | 0 | 0 | $1.2M | |
| 1995-06-07 | Thunderstorm WindEast Prairie, Mississippi County | 0 | 1 | $387K |
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 $25M, in the dollars of the day) holds: April 22, 1981 (tornado, Mississippi County, 1 killed).
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 Mississippi 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).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | – | – | – | – | 4 | 21 | 51 | 38 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 25 | 9 |
| Heat | – | – | – | – | 5 | 14 | 43 z | 31 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 8 | 24 | 33 | 21 |
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 1 | 16 | 36 | 31 |
| Extreme cold | – | – | – | – | 3 | 19 | 20 | 14 |
Heat in the 2010s: 43 records against 14 in the decade before, 43 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Mississippi County days with a record above.
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 Mississippi County. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 77 · Feb 76 · Mar 54 · Apr 85 · May 66 · Jun 46 · Jul 81 · Aug 54 · Sep 22 · Oct 38 · Nov 50 · Dec 66 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Mississippi County
FEMA's register lists 25 declarations that include Mississippi County: 19 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (13) and flood (5).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-21 | DR-4872 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2023-09-21 | DR-4741 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2020-03-26 | DR-4490 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3482 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2019-07-09 | DR-4451 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2019-05-20 | DR-4435 | Flood | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding |
| 2017-06-02 | DR-4317 | Flood | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding |
| 2016-01-21 | DR-4250 | Flood | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding |
| 2016-01-02 | EM-3374 | Flood | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding |
| 2011-05-09 | DR-1980 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2011-02-03 | EM-3317 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2009-02-17 | DR-1822 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2009-01-30 | EM-3303 | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2008-11-13 | DR-1809 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, and A Tornado |
| 2008-06-25 | DR-1773 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2008-03-19 | DR-1749 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2008-03-12 | DR-1748 | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storms and Flooding |
| 2007-12-12 | EM-3281 | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storms |
| 2006-03-16 | DR-1631 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding |
| 2005-09-10 | EM-3232 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2002-05-06 | DR-1412 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding |
| 1995-06-02 | DR-1054 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Hail, Flooding |
| 1993-07-09 | DR-995 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1979-04-21 | DR-579 | Tornado | Tornadoes, Torrential Rain & Flooding |
| 1973-04-19 | DR-372 | Severe Storm | Heavy Rains, Tornadoes & Flooding |
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 Mississippi County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 47 flood or flash flood records for Mississippi County from 1996 to 2025, on 45 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Mississippi County ranks 907th of 2,942 U.S. counties.
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $4.4 million on 212 claims filed in Mississippi County; the most in one year was 119 in 2011. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1978: 1 · 1979: 26 · 1983: 17 · 1984: 6 · 1989: 2 · 1994: 1 · 1997: 23 · 2002: 1 · 2003: 1 · 2004: 1 · 2006: 1 · 2007: 3 · 2008: 3 · 2009: 1 · 2011: 119 · 2015: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2026: 1; 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 Mississippi County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Mississippi County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $15.7 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.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | $425K | 1.4 a year (modeled) |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | $8.0M | once in about 74 years (modeled) |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | $846K | 11 modeled event-days a year |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | $1.9M | once in about 3 years (modeled) |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | $629K | 3.3 a year (modeled) |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | $569K | 11 modeled event-days a year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | $63K | 6.4 a year (modeled) |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | $639K | about once a year (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Mississippi County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.
Next
- Tornadoes in MissouriEvery Missouri tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
- The Missouri recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
- FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Mississippi CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Mississippi County's FEMA declarations (CSV)25 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis