PlainHazard

Mississippi drought

Every recorded drought record since 1996 · 82 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,382 drought records in Mississippi from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 89 a year since 2000. The costliest was the June 1, 2007 drought ($1.0 billion in 2025 dollars). Mississippi ranks 22nd of 51 states and territories by count and 21st of 50 per square mile.

Drought in Mississippi, 1996 to 2026

Drought records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
1,3821996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
89average
Deaths
00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$1.2Bas filed
Busiest year
2007315 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are drought records common in Mississippi?

Mississippi averages about 89 drought records a year since 2000, 22nd of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2007 (315). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Mississippi records 295 drought records since 1996, 21st of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 2624
  2. 2. New Jersey 1205
  3. 3. Delaware 1062
  4. 4. Oklahoma 971
  5. 5. Georgia 900
  6. 6. Texas 711
  7. 7. New Mexico 528
  8. 8. Alabama 527
  9. 9. Tennessee 477
  10. 10. Iowa 466
  11. 21. Mississippi 295

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Mississippi have the most drought records?

Per square mile, Quitman County leads Mississippi: 34 days with a drought record since 1996, 83.9 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Tallahatchie County has the most drought records (41 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Quitman County 83.9 (34)
  2. Yalobusha County 70.6 (33)
  3. Coahoma County 70.5 (39)
  4. Tunica County 70.5 (32)
  5. Tallahatchie County 63.5 (41)
  6. Tate County 59.3 (24)
  7. Chickasaw County 57.8 (29)
  8. Panola County 55.5 (38)
  9. Tishomingo County 51.9 (22)
  10. Calhoun County 51.1 (33)
  11. Lee County 51.1 (23)
  12. Benton County 49.2 (20)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is drought season in Mississippi?

Mississippi's drought records by month. The busiest month is October (325 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 36 · Feb 34 · Mar 31 · Apr 96 · May 119 · Jun 101 · Jul 104 · Aug 105 · Sep 142 · Oct 325 · Nov 182 · Dec 107 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The costliest drought records in Mississippi

Mississippi: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2007-06-01 DroughtWarren County · forecast zone Warren One storm episode: 44 records in 43 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $1.0B
2006-10-01 DroughtBolivar County and Washington County · forecast zone Washington One storm episode: 47 records in 47 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $36M
2023-11-01 DroughtMadison County · forecast zone Madison One storm episode: 19 records in 19 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $35M
2010-10-01 DroughtAdams County · forecast zone Adams One storm episode: 42 records in 42 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $28M
2007-05-01 DroughtNoxubee County · forecast zone Noxubee One storm episode: 43 records in 43 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $25M
2023-10-01 DroughtWashington County · forecast zone Washington One storm episode: 14 records in 14 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $14M
2015-09-01 DroughtSunflower County · forecast zone Sunflower One storm episode: 14 records in 14 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $7.0M
2015-09-15 DroughtWashington County · forecast zone Washington One storm episode: 8 records in 8 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $4.0M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are drought records becoming more frequent in Mississippi?

Mississippi's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Drought: Mississippi and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeMississippiUnited StatesMississippi's share
1996-9905,6000
2000s36218,5711.9%
2010s47531,4411.5%
2020-2654530,1471.8%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent drought records in Mississippi

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-01 DroughtYazoo County · forecast zone Yazoo 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtWinston County · forecast zone Winston 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtWebster County · forecast zone Webster 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtWashington County · forecast zone Washington 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtWarren County · forecast zone Warren 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtSunflower County · forecast zone Sunflower 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtSharkey County · forecast zone Sharkey 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtRankin County · forecast zone Rankin 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtOktibbeha County · forecast zone Oktibbeha 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtNoxubee County · forecast zone Noxubee 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtNeshoba County · forecast zone Neshoba 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtMontgomery County · forecast zone Montgomery 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

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