NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Brookhaven, 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
40 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Brookhaven, Mississippi since 1851, 4 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Francine in 2024. Since 1950, 144 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 14 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 4
- Tropical storms
- 36
- Tornadoes
- 144
- EF3 or stronger
- 14
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
45 deaths in all
What the records show for Brookhaven
The strongest storm to pass near Brookhaven was Camille in 1969, a Category 2 hurricane with 98 mph winds when its centre passed 37 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1888, whose centre came within 32 miles. The record near Brookhaven begins with an unnamed storm in 1856; the most recent system was Francine in 2024, a tropical storm 75 miles away. The 1910s and the 2020s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 40 systems, 9 have come since 2000. Brookhaven has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 69% of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site. The highest rating among the 144 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 18, 1978, came within 20 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on January 23, 1969, killed 32 people. Of the 144, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 75 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on January 5, 2025. Brookhaven has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 232 Mississippi cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 127 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Brookhaven has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 232 Mississippi cities.
Compare Brookhaven's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Brookhaven
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | FrancineSep 12 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 2021 | IdaAug 30 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2021 | ClaudetteJun 19 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2020 | CristobalJun 8 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2011 | LeeSep 5 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 29 | 57 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2003 | BillJul 1 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2002 | IsidoreSep 26 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1992 | AndrewAug 27 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1985 | ElenaSep 2 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | BobJul 11 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1971 | EdithSep 16 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1969 | CamilleAug 18 | 37 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1964 | HildaOct 4 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | EstherSep 19 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1956 | Unnamed 1956 stormJun 14 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1955 | BrendaAug 2 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormSep 5 | overhead | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1948 | Unnamed 1948 stormSep 4 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 20 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1926 | Unnamed 1926 stormSep 22 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 16 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 6 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 13 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1911 | Unnamed 1911 stormAug 12 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 72 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormOct 10 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 30 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormSep 8 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1890 | Unnamed 1890 stormAug 28 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 20 | 32 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 15 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormOct 7 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormSep 2 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormJul 12 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormOct 3 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 12 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Brookhaven: 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 Brookhaven
By decade
- 2020s28(2 EF3+)
- 2010s25(1 EF3+)
- 2000s22
- 1990s25(1 EF3+)
- 1980s19
- 1970s12(8 EF3+)
- 1960s12(2 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 1969 | F4 | 20 mi | 117.8 mi | 32 / 241 |
| Jan 10, 1975 | F4 | 12 mi | 56.5 mi | 9 / 210 |
| Apr 18, 1978 | F4 | 20 mi | 19.1 mi | 4 / 31 |
| Mar 29, 1976 | F4 | 17 mi | 126.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Dec 28, 2024 | EF3 | 9 mi | 25.98 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 12, 2020 | EF3 | 24 mi | 83.22 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 16, 2019 | EF3 | 10 mi | 30.32 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Feb 27, 1999 | F3 | 13 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 24, 1977 | F3 | 17 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 13, 1977 | F3 | 24 mi | 20.4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 30, 1976 | F3 | 19 mi | 31.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 21, 1974 | F3 | 15 mi | 9.8 mi | 0 / 13 |
The strongest 12 of 144, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Brookhaven
The Storm Prediction Center has 127 hail reports within 10 miles of Brookhaven since 1968, made on 101 separate days. Of these, 66 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 4 days, most recently October 27, 1995. The most recent report is from May 24, 2025. April has the most reports, 28.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Brookhaven
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Brookhaven City, MS, 2 miles south of Brookhaven at 435 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 57°F and 36°F. January is the wettest at 6.5 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 61.4 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 45% of the year's precipitation (27.5 of 61.4 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 40 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (15); a normal September there has highs of 86°F and 4.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 69 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 47 nights a year. That 61.4 inches is more than at 61 of the 87 Mississippi stations used on this site (70%). Wesson, 10 miles north, has its own station (Hazlehurst 5 SW, MS): 61.7 inches a year, 0.3 more than here, and the same July average high, 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57 | 36 | 6.5 | 8 |
| Feb | 62 | 40 | 5.9 | 7 |
| Mar | 69 | 46 | 5.7 | 7 |
| Apr | 75 | 52 | 5.8 | 5 |
| May | 82 | 61 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Jun | 88 | 69 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Jul | 90 | 71 | 5.7 | 9 |
| Aug | 90 | 70 | 5.1 | 7 |
| Sep | 86 | 65 | 4.3 | 5 |
| Oct | 78 | 53 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Nov | 67 | 43 | 4.2 | 5 |
| Dec | 59 | 39 | 5.6 | 7 |
| Year | 75 | 54 | 61.4 | 77 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Brookhaven City, MS (435 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 Brookhaven
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 229 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Brookhaven: 195 thunderstorm wind reports, 27 flash floods, 4 lightning strikes, 2 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $11.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on March 26, 2009. February has had the most flash floods, 8 of 27. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 168 have had fewer than Brookhaven.
June 25, 2008: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Brookhaven — 1 injured, $700,000 damage.
July 2, 2005: thunderstorm wind in Brookhaven — 1 injured, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “A few trees were blown down along with numerous large limbs. One large limb fell through a sunroom and caused an injury.”
April 6, 2003: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Brookhaven — $1.0 million 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Brookhaven's ZIP code 39601 have filed 57 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $384,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1979, with 11. 11% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 133 Mississippi cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 67 have fewer than Brookhaven.
Lincoln County, which includes Brookhaven, has been named in 32 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 14 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 3 floods, 3 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lincoln County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.0 million a year, the 43rd highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.7 million (34%), 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 Brookhaven
- Bogue Chitto, MS9 mi
- Wesson, MS10 mi
- Hazlehurst, MS18 mi
- Monticello, MS19 mi
- Summit, MS19 mi
- Smithdale, MS22 mi
- Jayess, MS22 mi
- Mccomb, MS24 mi
- Silver Creek, MS26 mi
- Meadville, MS27 mi
- Crystal Springs, MS29 mi
- Newhebron, MS30 mi
All Mississippi cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Brookhaven with another place →