Washington County, Mississippi

What hazards hit Washington County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 297 since 1955. 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.

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 Washington County had?

NOAA records 32 tornadoes in Washington County from 1953 to 2026, the strongest rated F5, with 1 death and 33 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 32 tornadoes whose track touched Washington County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 32, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 50 people, 1 of them in Washington County.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Mississippi.

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 Washington County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the January 24, 2026 ice storm (11 injuries).

Freezing rain with accumulation up to 0.5 inch resulted in numerous power lines down and poles snapped across the county. 11 individuals were hospitalized due to hypothermia during and after this event.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1311118)

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

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 Washington 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).

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 Washington County. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Washington County

FEMA's register lists 30 declarations that include Washington County: 23 major disasters, 7 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (11) and hurricane (5).

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 Washington County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 65 flood or flash flood records for Washington County from 1997 to 2025, on 57 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Washington County ranks 195th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $37.0 million on 1,955 claims filed in Washington County; the most in one year was 421 in 2008. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

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 Washington County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Washington County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $30.0 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.

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

Counties that share a border with Washington County

1. Bolivar County 682
2. Washington County 625
3. Chicot County, AR 555
4. Sunflower County 509
5. Humphreys County 282
6. Sharkey County 271
7. Issaquena County 228

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 MississippiEvery Mississippi tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in MississippiThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The Mississippi recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Washington CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Washington County's FEMA declarations (CSV)30 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis