NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Blue Springs, MS
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
16 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Blue Springs, Mississippi since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Olga in 2019. Since 1950, 118 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 17 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 16
- Tornadoes
- 118
- EF3 or stronger
- 17
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
35 deaths in all
What the records show for Blue Springs
None of the 16 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Blue Springs; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 62 mph winds when its centre passed 67 miles away. The record near Blue Springs begins with an unnamed storm in 1860; the most recent system was Olga in 2019, a tropical storm 40 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1910s, with 3 systems. Of the 16 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site, 68% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Blue Springs. The highest rating among the 118 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 19, 1970, came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 21, 1984, killed 15 people. Of the 118, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 61 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on April 5, 2025. Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 56% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Blue Springs. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 124 times since 1958, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Blue Springs has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 232 Mississippi cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Blue Springs
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 30 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1969 | CamilleAug 18 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1950 | BakerAug 31 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 19 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 7 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 29 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormSep 2 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormOct 3 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Blue Springs: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Blue Springs
By decade
- 2020s25
- 2010s17(1 EF3+)
- 2000s19(3 EF3+)
- 1990s17(3 EF3+)
- 1980s12(3 EF3+)
- 1970s12(4 EF3+)
- 1960s7(2 EF3+)
- 1950s9(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 1970 | F4 | 22 mi | 47.6 mi | 4 / 78 |
| Apr 29, 1963 | F4 | 22 mi | 4.7 mi | 3 / 20 |
| Apr 21, 1984 | F3 | 8 mi | 71 mi | 15 / 76 |
| Feb 24, 2001 | F3 | 2 mi | 52 mi | 6 / 73 |
| Nov 19, 1988 | F3 | 17 mi | 12.5 mi | 2 / 11 |
| Apr 28, 2014 | EF3 | 12 mi | 30.97 mi | 0 / 32 |
| May 8, 2008 | EF3 | 11 mi | 7.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 3, 2000 | F3 | 17 mi | 43.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | F3 | 5 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 16 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | F3 | 11 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | F3 | 25 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 4, 1988 | F3 | 22 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 118, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Blue Springs
The Storm Prediction Center has 124 hail reports within 10 miles of Blue Springs since 1958, made on 81 separate days. Of these, 73 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 2, 1984. The most recent report is from April 5, 2025. April has the most reports, 38.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Blue Springs
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tupelo 2, MS, 12 miles southeast of Blue Springs at 350 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 51°F and 32°F. December is the wettest at 5.9 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.7 inches; the year adds up to 58.0 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 45% of the year's precipitation (26.1 of 58.0 inches); the other six months are wetter. August has brought the most of the 16 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (5); a normal August there has highs of 90°F and 4.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 66 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 57 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.8 inches a year, most of it in February. That 58.0 inches is more than at 29 of the 87 Mississippi stations used on this site (33%). Belden, 8 miles southeast, has its own station (Tupelo Regional Airport, MS): 57.8 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 51 | 32 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Feb | 55 | 36 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Mar | 64 | 43 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Apr | 73 | 51 | 5.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 81 | 60 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 68 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 72 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 71 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 85 | 64 | 3.7 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 75 | 52 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 63 | 41 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 54 | 35 | 5.9 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Year | 72 | 52 | 58.0 | 76 | 0.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Tupelo 2, MS (350 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Blue Springs
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 146 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Blue Springs: 121 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 flash floods, 3 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on April 5, 2025. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 111 have had fewer than Blue Springs.
May 24, 2015: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Blue Springs — 1 killed, 2 injured.
May 1, 2010: heavy rain event 9 miles from the centre of Blue Springs — 1 killed.
August 7, 2023: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Blue Springs — 1 injured, $5,000 damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Union County, which includes Blue Springs, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 4 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 winter storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Union County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.5 million a year, the 46th highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.5 million (33%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Blue Springs
- Belden, MS8 mi
- New Albany, MS9 mi
- Ecru, MS10 mi
- Saltillo, MS12 mi
- Guntown, MS12 mi
- Tupelo, MS14 mi
- Pontotoc, MS14 mi
- Baldwyn, MS15 mi
- Myrtle, MS17 mi
- Blue Mountain, MS19 mi
- Mooreville, MS19 mi
- Thaxton, MS20 mi
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