Mississippi lightning
Every recorded lightning record since 1996 · 77 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 393 lightning records in Mississippi from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 13 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the May 16, 2009 lightning in Yazoo County: 1 death and 2 injuries. Mississippi ranks 18th of 52 states and territories by count and 22nd of 51 per square mile.
Lightning in Mississippi, 1996 to 2026
Lightning 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
- 3931996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 13average
- Deaths
- 2153 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $30Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 201226 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 lightning records common in Mississippi?
Mississippi averages about 13 lightning records a year since 2000, 18th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2012 (26). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Mississippi records 84 lightning records since 1996, 22nd of 51 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 lightning records?
Per square mile, Forrest County leads Mississippi: 23 days with a lightning record since 1996, 49.4 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Forrest County has the most lightning records (26 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 the lightning season in Mississippi?
43% of its lightning records since 1996 fell in July and August. The busiest month is July (88 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 11 · Feb 5 · Mar 26 · Apr 41 · May 49 · Jun 52 · Jul 88 · Aug 81 · Sep 16 · Oct 8 · Nov 5 · Dec 11 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest lightning records in Mississippi?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-05-16 | LightningValley, Yazoo County Three teenagers were struck by lighting on Eagle Bend Road, in southwest Yazoo County. One teenager was seriously injured and passed away a few days later on May 20th. | 1 | 2 | – | |
| 2001-06-07 | LightningGulfport, Harrison County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. A lightning strike killed a 25 year old women in Gulfport shortly after lightning injured a 53 year old man in the nearby community of Pass Christian. Lightning also started a fire at a business in Oceans Springs which resulted in $60,000 damage. | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2016-08-26 | LightningBruce Jct, Yalobusha County A woman was killed by lightning at Grenada Lake near the Bryant boat landing. Another person was injured by the strike. | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2014-07-11 | LightningDe Soto, Clarke County A 23 year old female was struck and killed by a lightning strike while riding a horse. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2011-07-31 | LightningPascagoula, Jackson County Broadcast media reported that a person was struck and killed by lightning while on the pier at Pascagoula Beach Pier. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2011-03-29 | LightningYazoo City Barrier A, Yazoo County A lightning strike caused a house fire. The fire did severe damage to the house causing a fatality. | 1 | 0 | $131K | |
| 2008-07-13 | LightningCentreville, Wilkinson County One person was killed and at least two others were injured when lightning struck a tree that they were standing under. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1998-08-08 | LightningLakeshore, Hancock County Lightning killed a man as he attempted to run for cover from the thunderstorm. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1996-06-13 | LightningHattiesburg, Forrest County A National Guard sargent was killed when lightning deflected off a tree and struck him while loading a truck. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-04-22 | LightningBarnett Res East, Rankin County A man was struck and killed by lightning while fishing on the Ross Barnett Reservoir. | 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 lightning records in Mississippi
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-03-13 | LightningMadison County | 0 | 0 | $3.0M | |
| 2005-08-12 | LightningFlorence, Rankin County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $2.3M | |
| 2010-08-13 | LightningRaleigh, Smith County | 0 | 0 | $1.5M | |
| 2011-06-16 | LightningSouth Haven, DeSoto County | 0 | 0 | $918K | |
| 2006-08-09 | LightningFannin, Rankin County | 0 | 0 | $439K | |
| 2007-08-30 | LightningLouisville, Winston County | 0 | 0 | $427K | |
| 2012-07-21 | LightningSharon, Madison County | 0 | 0 | $386K | |
| 2007-06-19 | LightningPreston, Kemper County | 0 | 0 | $356K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are lightning 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 | 48 | 3,521 | 1.4% |
| 2000s | 149 | 8,052 | 1.9% |
| 2010s | 148 | 5,103 | 2.9% |
| 2020-26 | 48 | 1,544 | 3.1% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent lightning records in Mississippi
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-01 | LightningLove, DeSoto County | 0 | 0 | $10K | |
| 2026-06-01 | LightningLurline, Tate County | 0 | 0 | $100K | |
| 2026-05-06 | LightningTylertown, Walthall County | 0 | 0 | $50K | |
| 2026-04-28 | LightningForreston, Lowndes County | 0 | 0 | $40K | |
| 2025-07-01 | LightningMagnolia Heliport, Warren County | 0 | 0 | $15K | |
| 2025-07-01 | LightningLeesburg, Rankin County | 0 | 0 | $30K | |
| 2025-07-01 | LightningYazoo City Barrier A, Yazoo County | 0 | 0 | $50K | |
| 2025-05-25 | LightningCleveland, Bolivar County | 0 | 0 | $30K | |
| 2025-05-24 | LightningPurvis, Lamar County | 0 | 0 | $30K | |
| 2025-05-02 | LightningSteens, Lowndes County | 0 | 0 | $100K | |
| 2025-04-22 | LightningBarnett Res East, Rankin County | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-04-06 | LightningCleary, Rankin County | 0 | 0 | $100K |
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.
Next
- Forrest County: the county's whole recordThe Mississippi county with the most lightning records per square mile
- Lightning 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