Scott County, Mississippi

County storm and disaster record · FIPS 28123 · population 27,923 · 609 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 609 records for Scott County, Mississippi from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 393 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (300 records). The deadliest single record is the December 2, 1967 tornado: 2 deaths and 10 injuries. FEMA has issued 22 declarations naming the county since 1977, 20 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
609on 393 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
429 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$367Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
64strongest F4
FEMA declarations
22latest 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 Scott County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 300 since 1963. 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.

Scott County: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Severe thunderstorm wind 300 214 1963-2026 1 9 $23M 26 of 82
Hail 120 100 1962-2026 0 0 $7.2M 20 of 82
Tornadoes 64 43 1954-2024 2 20 $22M 27 of 82
Floods 61 37 2001-2026 1 0 $86M 31 of 82
Winter storms 20 20 1996-2026 0 0 $2.1M 47 of 82
Drought 16 16 2006-2026 0 0 $7.2M 43 of 82
High wind and dust storms 10 10 1998-2017 0 0 $685K 27 of 82
Heat 5 5 2005-2010 0 0 – 59 of 82
Hurricanes and tropical storms 5 5 2002-2021 0 0 $219M 44 of 82
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds 3 3 2002-2007 0 0 – 15 of 82
Extreme cold 2 2 2010-2026 0 0 – 62 of 82
Lightning 2 2 1998-2009 0 0 $257K 52 of 82
Heavy rain 1 1 2010-2010 0 0 – 31 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 Scott County had?

NOAA records 64 tornadoes in Scott County from 1954 to 2024, the strongest rated F4, with 2 deaths and 20 injuries recorded in the county. That is 27th of 82 Mississippi counties and 181st 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 69 tornadoes whose track touched Scott County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 64: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 74 people, 2 of them in Scott County.

The deadliest and strongest tornadoes that touched Scott County, whole tracks
DateTornadoRatingPathKilled
1966-03-03 18:30, as SPC files itJacksonCrossed AL, MSF5202.5 mi58
1992-11-21 23:27, as SPC files itBrandonF4128 mi12
1967-12-02 12:30, as SPC files itHillsboroF47.6 mi2
2014-04-28 17:27, as SPC files itJacksonEF329.72 mi1
1958-02-26 17:40, as SPC files itMortonF371 mi1
2014-04-28 18:36, as SPC files itForestEF34.27 mi0
2012-10-17 23:46, as SPC files itHillsboroEF37.59 mi0
1966-04-18 13:00, as SPC files itBiloxi to GautierF323.8 mi0

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Mississippi.

Every tornado record filed for Scott County (64)
The 60 most recent of 64 tornadoes in Scott County
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2024-12-28 Branch, Scott County EF1 10.42 mi x 700 yd 0 0 $118K
2023-06-18 Independence, Scott County EF1 3.58 mi x 450 yd 0 0 $10K
2023-06-18 Forkville, Scott County EF1 6.48 mi x 350 yd 0 0 $10K
2022-12-14 Lake, Scott County EF1 0.85 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $50K
2022-12-14 Norris, Scott County EF1 5.16 mi x 400 yd 0 0 $50K
2022-04-13 Norris, Scott County EF1 2.32 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $2K
2022-04-13 Independence, Scott County EF1 6.13 mi x 670 yd 0 0 $25K
2022-04-05 Lake, Scott County EF1 0.49 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $5K
2022-04-05 Otho, Scott County EF1 4.67 mi x 300 yd 0 0 $25K
2022-04-05 Independence, Scott County EF1 7.59 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $40K
2022-03-22 Lillian, Scott County EF0 1.57 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $10K
2020-01-11 Forest, Scott County EF0 2.96 mi x 250 yd 0 0 $34K
2019-04-18 Pulaski, Scott County EF1 1.41 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $12K
2019-04-18 Lillian, Scott County EF1 5.52 mi x 1,760 yd 0 0 $139K
2019-04-18 Ludlow, Scott County EF1 10.3 mi x 900 yd 0 0 $156K
2019-04-18 Ludlow, Scott County EF1 2.85 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $127K
2019-04-18 Morton, Scott County EF2 6.02 mi x 560 yd 0 0 $693K
2019-04-18 Independence, Scott County EF1 2.57 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $17K
2019-04-18 Independence, Scott County EF0 0.41 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $1K
2018-11-01 Sun, Scott County EF1 3.35 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $12K
2018-11-01 Groveton, Scott County EF1 9.41 mi x 550 yd 0 0 $18K
2017-04-30 Piketown, Scott County EF0 4.28 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $60K
2017-02-07 Hillsboro, Scott County EF2 4.83 mi x 880 yd 0 0 $421K
2016-11-29 Groveton, Scott County EF1 18.55 mi x 300 yd 0 0 $148K
2016-01-21 Homewood, Scott County EF0 2.09 mi x 75 yd 0 0 $11K
2015-11-17 Beach, Scott County EF1 3.54 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $12K
2015-11-17 Groveton, Scott County EF1 7.7 mi x 440 yd 0 0 $93K
2015-11-17 Branch, Scott County EF1 2.98 mi x 250 yd 0 0 $15K
2015-04-13 Lillian, Scott County EF1 0.55 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $12K
2014-04-28 Forest, Scott County EF3 4.27 mi x 150 yd 0 3 $873K
2014-04-28 Morton, Scott County EF1 0.15 mi x 300 yd 0 0 $5K
2012-10-17 Steel, Scott County EF3 7.59 mi x 880 yd 0 1 $1.9M
2011-04-15 Sun, Scott County EF1 1.52 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $66K
2011-04-15 Ludlow, Scott County EF1 3.94 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $984K
2010-03-11 Hillsboro, Scott County EF1 1.31 mi x 250 yd 0 0 $203K
2010-03-11 Raworth, Scott County EF1 5.27 mi x 400 yd 0 0 $406K
2008-09-01 Steel, Scott County EF1 6.04 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $27K
2008-03-03 Lake, Scott County EF1 3.71 mi x 175 yd 0 0 $1.6M
2008-03-03 Otho, Scott County EF1 2.15 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $7K
2005-04-06 Branch, Scott County F1 6 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $1.1M
2005-04-06 Pulaski, Scott County F1 1.5 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $60K
2004-12-09 Homewood, Scott County F0 3 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $31K
2004-11-24 Ludlow, Scott County F0 0.5 mi x 40 yd 0 0 $2K
2003-05-07 Forest, Scott County F0 0.3 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $24K
2003-02-15 Pulaski, Scott County F0 2.5 mi x 75 yd 0 0 $27K
2002-10-03 Morton, Scott County F0 0.5 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $2K
2002-10-03 Forest, Scott County F0 0.5 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $5K
1998-06-15 Morton, Scott County F0 1 mi x 40 yd 0 0 –
1997-02-21 Lillian, Scott County F2 5 mi x 200 yd 0 1 $276K
1992-11-22 Scott County F4 8 mi x 880 yd 0 0 $2.5M step
1990-04-27 Scott County F0 1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
1989-06-05 Scott County F1 5 mi x 73 yd 0 0 $25K step
1989-05-04 Scott County F1 0.5 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $25K step
1988-12-28 Scott County F1 3 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $250K step
1988-11-19 Scott County F2 1.5 mi x 90 yd 0 0 $250K step
1983-05-19 Scott County F1 2 mi x 77 yd 0 0 $250K step
1970-08-18 Scott County 0 0 –
1969-01-23 Scott County F4 20.3 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $250K step
1967-12-02 Scott County F4 7.6 mi x 300 yd 2 10 $25K step
1966-04-18 Scott County 0 5 $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 Scott County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 18, 2026 flash flood ($10,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The 12 most recent records kept for Scott County
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-18 Flash FloodLake, Scott County 0 0 $10K
2026-06-18 Flash FloodForest, Scott County 0 0 $65K
2026-05-01 DroughtScott County · forecast zone Scott 0 0 –
2026-04-24 HailLake, Scott County 1.75 in hail 0 0 –
2026-03-07 Thunderstorm WindMorton, Scott County 55 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-01-25 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillScott County · forecast zone Scott 0 0 –
2026-01-25 Winter WeatherScott County · forecast zone Scott 0 0 –
2025-09-16 HailHomewood, Scott County 1.50 in hail 0 0 –
2025-07-13 Thunderstorm WindMorton, Scott County 50 kt wind 0 0 –
2025-06-17 FloodMorton, Scott County 0 0 $1K
2025-06-16 Thunderstorm WindBeach, Scott County 50 kt wind 0 0 $3K
2025-06-09 Flash FloodDamascus, Scott County 0 0 $100K

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 Scott County, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1967-12-02 TornadoScott County F4 7.6 mi x 300 yd 2 10 $25K step
2024-04-09 Thunderstorm WindForest, Scott County A line of severe thunderstorms produced a swath of significant damaging winds starting northeast of Forest in Scotty County. In this swath, thousands of trees and numerous power lines and power poles were blown down. Trees were uprooted and snapped. Over 50 homes were damaged by both fallen trees and wind, including ... 87 kt wind 1 7 $1.4M
2003-04-06 Flash FloodCountywide, Scott County Continued heavy rains dumped 7 to 12 inches of rain over Scott county. Numerous roads were flooded with several feet of water covering the the roads. This very large amount of water washed out numerous roads and bridges. Due to a washed out bridge, one person was killed when he drove his car into flooded waters around ... 1 0 $80M
1966-04-18 TornadoScott County 0 5 $250K step
2014-04-28 TornadoForest, Scott County This tornado developed just east of Forest, and quickly became intense along Old Highway 80. Just south of this road, it nearly destroyed a wood frame home, downing all but the most interior walls and carrying the debris away from the foundation. Three people were injured in this home, one seriously. It also ... EF3 4.27 mi x 150 yd 0 3 $873K
2012-10-17 TornadoSteel, Scott County This tornado began along Old Jackson Road east of Hillsboro. Initially the tornado tracked southeast downing multiple trees as it crossed Harrison Road and MS Highway 21. There were also a few homes with roof damage in this area and outbuildings were damaged by fallen trees. The tornado then began a more easterly ... EF3 7.59 mi x 880 yd 0 1 $1.9M
2006-03-09 Thunderstorm WindHillsboro, Scott County Several trees were blown down around the Hillsboro Community and just north of Forest. One tree fell on a house and destroyed the structure and caused and injury. 55 kt wind 0 1 $146K
1997-02-21 TornadoLillian, Scott County The tornado touched down 2 miles southwest of the Midway community. As the tornado tracked northeast through the community of Midway, it destroyed three mobile homes and caused significant roof damage to two residences. In addition the Midway Community Center was nearly totally destroyed. Just to the northeast of ... F2 5 mi x 200 yd 0 1 $276K

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 Scott County since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2005-08-29 Hurricane (Typhoon)Scott County · forecast zone Scott 0 0 $219M
2003-04-06 Flash FloodCountywide, Scott County 1 0 $80M
2013-03-18 HailMorton, Scott County 1.75 in hail 0 0 $6.3M
2002-01-24 Thunderstorm WindCountywide, Scott County 69 kt wind 0 0 $3.3M
2008-08-02 Thunderstorm WindSebastopol, Scott County 65 kt wind 0 0 $3.2M
2001-11-29 Thunderstorm WindCountywide, Scott County 78 kt wind 0 0 $2.5M
2008-08-02 Thunderstorm WindRaworth, Scott County 65 kt wind 0 0 $2.2M
2012-10-17 TornadoSteel, Scott County EF3 7.59 mi x 880 yd 0 1 $1.9M

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 $2.5M, in the dollars of the day) holds: November 22, 1992 (tornado, Scott 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 Scott 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).

Scott County: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Severe thunderstorm wind06610361077956
Hail020616443517
Tornadoes16154112412
Floods––––0143314
Winter storms––––3296
Drought––––0664

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 Scott County. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 43 · Feb 48 · Mar 69 · Apr 115 · May 62 · Jun 62 · Jul 56 · Aug 63 · Sep 19 · Oct 18 · Nov 27 · Dec 27 (records).

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

Federal disaster declarations for Scott County

FEMA's register lists 22 declarations that include Scott County: 17 major disasters, 5 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (8) and hurricane (7).

Declarations including Scott County, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2026-02-06DR-4899Winter StormSevere Winter Storm
2026-01-24EM-3640Winter StormSevere Winter Storm
2024-06-10DR-4790Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding
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
2020-04-05DR-4528BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3474BiologicalCovid-19
2019-12-06DR-4470Severe StormSevere Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding
2012-08-29DR-4081HurricaneHurricane Isaac
2011-04-29DR-1972Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Associated Flooding
2008-08-30EM-3291HurricaneHurricane Gustav
2005-08-29DR-1604HurricaneHurricane Katrina
2005-07-10DR-1594HurricaneHurricane Dennis
2004-09-15DR-1550HurricaneHurricane Ivan
2003-04-24DR-1459Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Floods
2001-12-07DR-1398Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2001-02-23DR-1360Severe StormSevere Storms and Tornadoes
1992-11-25DR-968TornadoSevere Storms, High Winds & Tornadoes
1979-04-16DR-577Severe StormStorms, Tornadoes, Floods
1977-02-22EM-3032SnowstormDrought & Freezing

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 Scott County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 61 flood or flash flood records for Scott County from 2001 to 2026, on 37 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Scott County ranks 1823rd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

Named storms on Scott County's flood and tropical record
StormBeganRecordsDeaths in the county
Hurricane Gustav2008-09-0210
Hurricane Katrina2005-08-2920

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.1 million on 36 claims filed in Scott County; the most in one year was 5 in 2017. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1979: 1 · 1983: 1 · 1984: 1 · 1990: 2 · 1991: 1 · 1993: 3 · 1994: 1 · 1996: 2 · 1997: 2 · 2011: 4 · 2013: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2017: 5 · 2019: 1 · 2022: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2026: 4; 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 Scott County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Scott County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $11.6 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 Scott County (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
HailRelatively Moderate$1.1M4.6 a year (modeled)
HurricaneRelatively Moderate$1.4Monce in about 9 years (modeled)
TornadoRelatively Moderate$2.3Mabout once a year (modeled)
Strong WindRelatively Moderate$748K3.8 a year (modeled)
LightningRelatively Moderate$295K72 a year (modeled)
Ice StormRelatively Moderate$119K1.1 a year (modeled)
Heat WaveRelatively Low$654K12 modeled event-days a year
EarthquakeRelatively Low$434Konce in about 503 years (modeled)

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

Counties that share a border with Scott County

  1. Rankin County 1,435
  2. Madison County 909
  3. Newton County 689
  4. Smith County 671
  5. Jasper County 649
  6. Leake County 610
  7. Scott County 609

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

Next