Mississippi hurricanes and tropical storms
Every recorded hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996 · 80 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 552 hurricane and tropical storm records in Mississippi from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 35 a year since 2000. The deadliest was Hurricane Katrina (August 28, 2005): 181 deaths, 104 injuries and $37 billion in damage in 2025 dollars across 65 records. Mississippi ranks 6th of 34 states and territories by count and 12th of 33 per square mile.
Hurricanes and tropical storms in Mississippi, 1996 to 2026
Tropical 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
- 5521996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 35average
- Deaths
- 186108 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $38.0Bas filed
- Busiest year
- 2005160 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 hurricane and tropical storm records common in Mississippi?
Mississippi averages about 35 hurricane and tropical storm records a year since 2000, 6th of 34 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2005 (160). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Mississippi records 118 hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996, 12th of 33 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 hurricane and tropical storm records?
Per square mile, Hancock County leads Mississippi: 40 days with a hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996, 84.4 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Hancock County has the most tropical records (53 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).
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 hurricane season in Mississippi?
66% of its hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996 fell in August and September. The busiest month is September (182 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 0 · Feb 3 · Mar 0 · Apr 0 · May 0 · Jun 45 · Jul 59 · Aug 180 · Sep 182 · Oct 79 · Nov 4 · Dec 0 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest hurricane and tropical storm records in Mississippi?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-08-28 | Hurricane Katrina · Hurricane (Typhoon)Harrison County · forecast zone Harrison One named storm filed by several offices: 65 records in 5 episodes, 2005-08-28 to 2005-09-24; the totals are the storm's. Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest and most destructive hurricanes on record to impact the coast of the United States. It will likely be recorded as one the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States to date resulting in catastrophic damage and numerous casualties in southeast Louisiana and ... | 181 | 104 | $36.6B | |
| 2020-10-28 | Hurricane Zeta · Storm Surge/TideHarrison County · forecast zone Harrison One storm episode: 6 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. A tropical depression formed in the northwestern Caribbean on the afternoon of October 24th. 9 hours later, it became the twenty-seventh named storm and eleventh hurricane of the exceptionally active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. After meandering virtually in the same place, it finally began moving northwest and ... | 2 | 0 | $86M | |
| 2012-08-28 | Hurricane Isaac · Tropical StormPearl River County · forecast zone Pearl River One named storm filed by several offices: 21 records in 2 episodes, 2012-08-28 to 2012-08-29; the totals are the storm's. Hurricane Isaac entered the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm on August 26, moving northwest after crossing Haiti, Cuba and the Florida Straits. Isaac moved slowly north northwest over the eastern Gulf . Isaac strengthened into a hurricane on the morning of the 28th when it was 75 miles south southeast of the mouth ... | 1 | 2 | $12M | |
| 2002-09-25 | Tropical Storm Isidore · Tropical StormHarrison County · forecast zone Harrison One named storm filed by several offices: 12 records in 2 episodes, 2002-09-25 to 2002-10-02; the totals are the storm's. Tropical Storm Isidore moved steadily northward across the central Gulf of Mexico on September 24th and September 25th before making landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana during the early morning of September 26th. The tropical storm moved north across southeast Louisiana and by the evening of the 26th was located in ... | 1 | 0 | $13M | |
| 2004-09-16 | Hurricane Ivan · Hurricane (Typhoon)Winston County · forecast zone Winston One named storm filed by several offices: 8 records in 3 episodes; the totals are the storm's. Hurricane Ivan made landfall at 2:02 AM, September 16, near Gulf Shores, Alabama as a upper Category 3 hurricane. The western side of Ivan effected a large portion of Eastern Mississippi as the center moved north through Alabama. Thousands of trees were blown down across Eastern Mississippi during the event as well as ... | 1 | 0 | $16M |
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 hurricane and tropical storm records in Mississippi
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-08-28 | Hurricane Katrina · Hurricane (Typhoon)Harrison County · forecast zone Harrison One named storm filed by several offices: 65 records in 5 episodes, 2005-08-28 to 2005-09-24; the totals are the storm's. | 181 | 104 | $36.6B | |
| 1998-09-27 | Hurricane Georges · Hurricane (Typhoon)Jackson County · forecast zone Jackson One named storm filed by several offices: 9 records in 2 episodes; the totals are the storm's. | 0 | 0 | $1.2B | |
| 2020-10-28 | Hurricane Zeta · Storm Surge/TideHarrison County · forecast zone Harrison One storm episode: 6 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 0 | $86M | |
| 2008-09-01 | Hurricane Gustav · Hurricane (Typhoon)Wilkinson County · forecast zone Wilkinson One named storm filed by several offices: 21 records in 2 episodes; the totals are the storm's. | 0 | 0 | $39M | |
| 2004-09-16 | Hurricane Ivan · Hurricane (Typhoon)Winston County · forecast zone Winston One named storm filed by several offices: 8 records in 3 episodes; the totals are the storm's. | 1 | 0 | $16M | |
| 2002-09-25 | Tropical Storm Isidore · Tropical StormHarrison County · forecast zone Harrison One named storm filed by several offices: 12 records in 2 episodes, 2002-09-25 to 2002-10-02; the totals are the storm's. | 1 | 0 | $13M | |
| 2012-08-28 | Hurricane Isaac · Tropical StormPearl River County · forecast zone Pearl River One named storm filed by several offices: 21 records in 2 episodes, 2012-08-28 to 2012-08-29; the totals are the storm's. | 1 | 2 | $12M | |
| 2005-07-05 | Tropical StormHancock County · forecast zone Hancock One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $12M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are hurricane and tropical storm 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.
| Decade | Mississippi | United States | Mississippi's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 22 | 1,123 | 2.0% |
| 2000s | 323 | 4,928 | 6.6% |
| 2010s | 82 | 2,761 | 3.0% |
| 2020-26 | 125 | 2,697 | 4.6% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent hurricane and tropical storm records in Mississippi
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-08-30 | Tropical StormFranklin County · forecast zone Franklin | 0 | 0 | $272K | |
| 2021-08-29 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Wilkinson County · forecast zone Wilkinson | 0 | 0 | $545K | |
| 2021-08-29 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Walthall County · forecast zone Walthall | 0 | 0 | $1.1M | |
| 2021-08-29 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Pike County · forecast zone Pike | 0 | 0 | $1.1M | |
| 2021-08-29 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Pearl River County · forecast zone Pearl River | 0 | 0 | $1.1M | |
| 2021-08-29 | Tropical StormJackson County · forecast zone Jackson | 0 | 0 | $545K | |
| 2021-08-29 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Harrison County · forecast zone Harrison | 0 | 0 | $2.2M | |
| 2021-08-29 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Hancock County · forecast zone Hancock | 0 | 0 | $3.3M | |
| 2021-08-29 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Amite County · forecast zone Amite | 0 | 0 | $1.1M | |
| 2020-10-28 | Tropical StormPearl River County · forecast zone Pearl River | 0 | 0 | $17M | |
| 2020-10-28 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Jackson County · forecast zone Jackson | 0 | 0 | $11M | |
| 2020-10-28 | Storm Surge/TideHarrison County · forecast zone Harrison | 1 | 0 | $11M |
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 hurricane and tropical storm records in Mississippi
FEMA has declared 26 disasters in Mississippi for hurricane and tropical storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name hurricane or tropical storm or typhoon in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 16 were major disasters, the latest on August 3, 2026.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-03 | DR-4930 | Tropical Storm Arthur | 9 |
| 2021-10-22 | DR-4626 | Hurricane Ida | 82 |
| 2021-08-28 | EM-3569 | Hurricane Ida | 83 |
| 2020-12-31 | DR-4576 | Hurricane Zeta | 8 |
| 2020-10-28 | EM-3550 | Hurricane Zeta | 13 |
| 2020-10-08 | EM-3548 | Hurricane Delta | 29 |
| 2020-09-14 | EM-3544 | Hurricane Sally | 24 |
| 2020-08-23 | EM-3539 | Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Laura | 24 |
| 2017-11-22 | DR-4350 | Hurricane Nate | 6 |
| 2017-10-07 | EM-3393 | Hurricane Nate | 6 |
| 2012-08-29 | DR-4081 | Hurricane Isaac | 49 |
| 2012-08-28 | EM-3348 | Tropical Storm Isaac | 34 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Hancock County: the county's whole recordThe Mississippi county with the most hurricane and tropical storm records per square mile
- Hurricanes and tropical storms across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in MississippiTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Mississippi18,161 records
- Hail in Mississippi8,457 records
- Floods in Mississippi3,812 records