Mississippi extreme cold

Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 78 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 338 extreme cold records in Mississippi from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 12 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 26, 2026 extreme cold/wind chill: 6 deaths and 2 injuries across 46 records. Mississippi ranks 36th of 51 states and territories by count and 40th of 50 per square mile.

Extreme cold in Mississippi, 1996 to 2026

Cold 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: 3381996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 12average
Deaths: 283 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $27Mas filed
Busiest year: 2026161 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 extreme cold records common in Mississippi?

Mississippi averages about 12 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 36th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2026 (161). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Mississippi records 72 extreme cold records since 1996, 40th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

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 extreme cold records?

Per square mile, DeSoto County leads Mississippi: 12 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 25.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, DeSoto County has the most cold records (15 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).

DeSoto County 25.2 (15)
Tate County 24.7 (11)
Benton County 24.6 (11)
Alcorn County 22.5 (12)
Tunica County 22.0 (11)
Tippah County 19.7 (10)
Prentiss County 19.3 (9)
Tishomingo County 18.9 (9)
Quitman County 17.3 (8)
Itawamba County 16.9 (10)
Union County 16.8 (8)
Yalobusha County 15.0 (8)

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 the cold season in Mississippi?

83% of its extreme cold records since 1996 fell in December and January. The busiest month is January (224 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 224 · Feb 37 · Mar 0 · Apr 22 · May 0 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 0 · Nov 0 · Dec 55 (records).

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

What were the deadliest extreme cold records in Mississippi?

Mississippi: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
Date	Record	Killed	Injured	Damage
2026-01-26	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillLeflore County · forecast zone Leflore One storm episode: 46 records in 46 places; the totals are the episode's. A historically damaging ice storm occurred from southwestern Mississippi northeast through the Delta region into North Mississippi. The corridor of heaviest ice accretion, with ice thickness measured at up to one inch, spanned from Sharkey and Issaquena counties and southern Washington County, through Humphreys, ...	6	2	–
2026-01-31	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillSharkey County · forecast zone Sharkey One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Cold temperatures and wind chills affected the region on January 30th and 31st. A few individuals died or were hospitalized due to hypothermia or house fires during this cold weather episode.	3	1	–
2010-01-01	Cold/Wind ChillLauderdale County · forecast zone Lauderdale One storm episode: 36 records in 36 places; the totals are the episode's. A prolonged cold snap, caused by a couple of strong arctic air masses, affected the ArkLaMiss region during the first two weeks of January. This resulted in some record temperatures across the region. Daily highs during that period were in the 20s, 30s and 40s with lows in the teens and 20s. The first ten days of 2010 ...	3	0	$19M
2026-01-27	Cold/Wind ChillTate County · forecast zone Tate One storm episode: 57 records in 22 places; the totals are the episode's. While the wintry precipitation created the initial impacts, it was the multi-day period of subfreezing temperatures that prolonged and, in many cases, worsened those impacts. The lack of meaningful thawing effectively extended the storm’s footprint from a 2 – 3 day event into a nearly week-long hazard across north ...	3	0	–
1996-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillDeSoto County · forecast zone De Soto One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A DeSoto county man died in Hernando from the cold weather.	2	0	–
2011-01-14	Cold/Wind ChillLowndes County · forecast zone Lowndes An elderly man in the city of Columbus died of hypothermia during the early morning hours of January 14th. The low temperature on the city of Columbus was 19 degrees, far below normal for early January.	1	0	–
2026-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillDeSoto County · forecast zone De Soto One storm episode: 22 records in 22 places; the totals are the episode's. A Canadian airmass encompassed the region on the morning of February 1. This airmass intensified to 1040mb allowing temperatures to fall below freezing to kick off the month. Clear skies and a light northerly wind resulted in wind chill values at 10 degrees or less across north Mississippi.	1	0	–
2026-01-31	Cold/Wind ChillLafayette County · forecast zone Lafayette One storm episode: 22 records in 22 places; the totals are the episode's. A dry, mid-level shortwave aid in the push of another cold front in late January. Another arctic airmass residing behind this boundary resulting in another bitterly cold period. Cold temperatures combined with elevated northerly winds resulted in sub zero wind chill values across north Mississippi.	1	0	$5.8M
1996-02-02	Cold/Wind ChillAmite County · forecast zone Amite An arctic airmass overspread much of S Mississippi bringing the longest extended period of cold weather since 1989. In Amite County, 4SW Gillsburg, A 67 year old man died from hypothermia on the 4th after the fire in a wood burning heater went out. Considerable property damage resulted from broken pipes due to the ...	1	0	–
2024-01-14	Cold/Wind ChillRankin County · forecast zone Rankin A continuous period of below-freezing temperatures in the area began on the evening of January 14th and did not end until the afternoon of January 17th, and temperatures fell below freezing again the night of January 17th. Wind chills as low as 9 degrees were measured by the ASOS site KJAN at Jackson-Medgar Wiley ...	1	0	–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest extreme cold records in Mississippi

Mississippi: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2010-01-01	Cold/Wind ChillLauderdale County · forecast zone Lauderdale One storm episode: 36 records in 36 places; the totals are the episode's.		3	0	$19M
2026-01-31	Cold/Wind ChillLafayette County · forecast zone Lafayette One storm episode: 22 records in 22 places; the totals are the episode's.		1	0	$5.8M

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

Are extreme cold 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.

Extreme cold: Mississippi and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Mississippi	United States	Mississippi's share
1996-99	18	5,539	0.3%
2000s	25	14,792	0.2%
2010s	51	18,162	0.3%
2020-26	244	15,329	1.6%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent extreme cold records in Mississippi

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Damage
2026-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillYalobusha County · forecast zone Yalobusha	–
2026-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillUnion County · forecast zone Union	–
2026-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillTunica County · forecast zone Tunica	–
2026-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillTishomingo County · forecast zone Tishomingo	–
2026-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillTippah County · forecast zone Tippah	–
2026-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillTate County · forecast zone Tate	–
2026-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillTallahatchie County · forecast zone Tallahatchie	–
2026-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillQuitman County · forecast zone Quitman	–
2026-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillPrentiss County · forecast zone Prentiss	–
2026-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillPontotoc County · forecast zone Pontotoc	–
2026-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillPanola County · forecast zone Panola	–
2026-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe	–

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.

Federal disaster declarations for extreme cold records in Mississippi

FEMA has declared 2 disasters in Mississippi for extreme cold, counting its incident type and declarations that name freez in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); one was a major disaster, the latest on January 25, 1999.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
1999-01-25	DR-1265	Severe Winter Storms, Ice and Freezing Rain	34
1977-02-22	EM-3032	Drought & Freezing	72

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.