Mississippi winter storms

Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 82 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,854 winter storm records in Mississippi from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 75 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 14, 2024 winter storm: 6 deaths, 22 injuries and $282,000 in damage in 2025 dollars across 7 records. Mississippi ranks 41st of 51 states and territories by count and 40th of 50 per square mile.

Winter storms in Mississippi, 1996 to 2026

Winter storm 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: 1,8541996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 75average
Deaths: 33115 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $142Mas filed
Busiest year: 2021234 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 winter storm records common in Mississippi?

Mississippi averages about 75 winter storm records a year since 2000, 41st of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2021 (234). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Mississippi records 395 winter storm 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 winter storm records?

Per square mile, Benton County leads Mississippi: 45 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 110.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, DeSoto County has the most winter storm records (68 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).

Benton County 110.7 (45)
DeSoto County 102.9 (68)
Tate County 101.3 (41)
Alcorn County 100.0 (58)
Tunica County 99.1 (45)
Tippah County 93.9 (43)
Union County 81.8 (34)
Tishomingo County 75.4 (32)
Prentiss County 74.7 (31)
Quitman County 74.1 (30)
Choctaw County 64.6 (27)
Webster County 64.1 (37)

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 winter storm season in Mississippi?

75% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (802 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 802 · Feb 596 · Mar 164 · Apr 0 · May 0 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 0 · Nov 9 · Dec 283 (records).

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

What were the deadliest winter storm records in Mississippi?

Mississippi: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
Date	Record	Killed	Injured	Damage
2024-01-14	Winter StormLeflore County · forecast zone Leflore One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places, 2024-01-14 to 2024-01-15; the totals are the episode's. As an Arctic air mass moved south through Mississippi, light to moderate precipitation was quick to freeze as it fell through the cold surface air. Although light accumulations of freezing rain, and sleet fell across much of the state of Mississippi, more significant accumulations of sleet over one half inch fell ...	6	22	$282K
2026-01-23	Ice StormTippah County · forecast zone Tippah One storm episode: 22 records in 22 places, 2026-01-23 to 2026-01-24; the totals are the episode's. A significant winter weather event impacted the Mid-South from January 23rd through January 25th, 2026, driven by a classic southern-stream cyclone interacting with entrenched Arctic air across the region. A broad, positively tilted trough extending from the Central Plains into the Desert Southwest emerged on January ...	5	0	$28M
2011-02-03	Ice StormLincoln County · forecast zone Lincoln One storm episode: 37 records in 37 places; the totals are the episode's. An ice storm developed across the area on February 3rd into the early morning hours of the 4th. While this icing event was not devastating, the impact to travel was a major issue across the region. Thousands of accidents occurred from slick roads. As a result of the accidents, three fatalities occurred along with a ...	4	9	$18M
2010-12-15	Winter WeatherMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A low pressure system developed over the Southern Plains during the late evening hours of December 14th, 2010. The system moved east into the Mid-South during the early morning hours of December 15th, 2010 and continued throughout the morning. Precipitation associated with the system fell in the form of freezing rain ...	3	18	–
2015-02-23	Winter WeatherHinds County · forecast zone Hinds One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Multiple rounds of wintry weather had occurred prior to this snowfall event. A cold front had moved through the region four days earlier on February 21st with a cold airmass in its wake. Several waves of upper level disturbances moved through Mid-South, over the course of the next three days. The first, on the night ...	3	0	$37K
2018-11-14	Winter WeatherDeSoto County · forecast zone De Soto Less than one inch of sleet and snow fell. A traffic accident involving a tour bus occurred on a slippery bridge resulting in two deaths.	2	44	–
2015-02-20	Winter WeatherAlcorn County · forecast zone Alcorn Around a tenth of an inch of ice fell with trace amounts of sleet and snow. Two deaths and one injury occurred from a car accident. Two vehicles collided with each other and slid into a nearby ditch. While passengers of the accident were getting out of their vehicles to access the damage, an eighteen wheeler lost ...	2	1	–
2014-11-13	Winter WeatherMarshall County · forecast zone Marshall Over 140 accidents occurred in the Memphis area after a light sleet and snow band moved through before sunrise and the morning commute. A few hundredths accumulated on bridges and overpasses.	2	1	–
2008-01-25	Winter WeatherPontotoc County · forecast zone Pontotoc One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. An upper level disturbance moved over North Mississippi during the evening hours of January 25th through the morning hours of January 26th. Freezing rain or drizzle fell over the area as a result with some ice accumulation occurring.	1	3	–
2008-01-25	Winter WeatherGrenada County · forecast zone Grenada One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. A small ice storm occurred across the region on January 25 with freezing rain observed across the northern half of the service area. This occurred as a arctic high pressure settled over the Ohio Valley and shallow cold air filtered into region. While the cold air was moving in, an area of low pressure was taking shape ...	1	2	$2.1M

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 winter storm records in Mississippi

Mississippi: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Killed	Injured	Damage
2026-01-23	Ice StormTippah County · forecast zone Tippah One storm episode: 22 records in 22 places, 2026-01-23 to 2026-01-24; the totals are the episode's.	5	0	$28M
1998-12-23	Ice StormLeflore County · forecast zone Leflore One storm episode: 22 records in 22 places; the totals are the episode's.	0	0	$28M
2010-02-11	Heavy SnowHinds County · forecast zone Hinds One storm episode: 27 records in 27 places; the totals are the episode's.	0	0	$20M
2011-02-03	Ice StormLincoln County · forecast zone Lincoln One storm episode: 37 records in 37 places; the totals are the episode's.	4	9	$18M
2011-02-09	Heavy SnowOktibbeha County · forecast zone Oktibbeha One storm episode: 24 records in 24 places; the totals are the episode's.	0	0	$11M
2008-01-25	Winter WeatherGrenada County · forecast zone Grenada One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's.	1	2	$2.1M
2021-02-17	Heavy SnowPrentiss County · forecast zone Prentiss	0	0	$1.3M
2006-02-20	Ice StormWinston County · forecast zone Winston One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's.	0	0	$1.2M

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

Are winter 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.

Winter storms: Mississippi and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Mississippi	United States	Mississippi's share
1996-99	155	32,893	0.47%
2000s	368	88,805	0.41%
2010s	796	103,626	0.77%
2020-26	535	62,015	0.86%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent winter storm records in Mississippi

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Damage
2026-03-16	SleetNeshoba County · forecast zone Neshoba	–
2026-03-16	SleetAdams County · forecast zone Adams	–
2026-03-16	SleetHinds County · forecast zone Hinds	–
2026-03-16	SleetJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson	–
2026-03-16	SleetRankin County · forecast zone Rankin	–
2026-01-25	Winter WeatherScott County · forecast zone Scott	–
2026-01-25	Winter WeatherRankin County · forecast zone Rankin	–
2026-01-25	Winter WeatherLincoln County · forecast zone Lincoln	–
2026-01-25	Winter WeatherFranklin County · forecast zone Franklin	–
2026-01-25	Winter WeatherCopiah County · forecast zone Copiah	–
2026-01-25	Ice StormCarroll County · forecast zone Carroll	–
2026-01-25	Winter StormWilkinson County · forecast zone Wilkinson	–

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 winter storm records in Mississippi

FEMA has declared 6 disasters in Mississippi for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 4 were major disasters, the latest on February 6, 2026.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2026-02-06	DR-4899	Severe Winter Storm	83
2026-01-24	EM-3640	Severe Winter Storm	83
2021-05-04	DR-4598	Severe Winter Storms	37
1999-01-25	DR-1265	Severe Winter Storms, Ice and Freezing Rain	34
1994-02-18	DR-1009	Severe Winter Storm, Freeezing Rain and Sleet	26
1977-02-22	EM-3032	Drought & Freezing	72

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