NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Columbus, 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
18 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Columbus, Mississippi since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 158 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 16 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 18
- Tornadoes
- 158
- EF3 or stronger
- 16
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
32 deaths in all
What the records show for Columbus
None of the 18 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Columbus; the strongest was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm with 69 mph winds when its centre passed 71 miles away. The record near Columbus begins with an unnamed storm in 1855; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020. The busiest decade was the 1910s, with 4 systems. Of the 18 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site, 62% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Columbus. The highest rating among the 158 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 21 miles. Of the 158, 19 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 98 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 40. The most recent tornado was on March 31, 2025. Columbus has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 68% of the 232 Mississippi cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 100 times since 1970, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Columbus has more hail reports within 10 miles than 85% of the 232 Mississippi cities.
Compare Columbus's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Columbus
Of the 18 tracks on the map, 8 were moving north as they passed Columbus, 7 northeast and 2 northwest. Zeta (2020), the strongest pass, was heading northeast; its centre passed 71 miles southeast of Columbus. None made landfall within 75 miles of Columbus; 16 of the 18 were hurricanes at their peak, none at their closest to the city. In the last 30 seasons (1996–2025), 2 came near Columbus: 0.7 a decade, against 1.1 a decade from 1851 to 1995.
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 30 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1950 | BakerAug 31 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 18 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 8 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormSep 15 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormAug 16 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormSep 9 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 29 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormSep 2 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormSep 16 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1855 | Unnamed 1855 stormSep 17 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Columbus: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Check hail and hurricane history for any address
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Columbus
By decade
- 2020s25
- 2010s44(4 EF3+)
- 2000s29(3 EF3+)
- 1990s10
- 1980s15(2 EF3+)
- 1970s12(2 EF3+)
- 1960s9(3 EF3+)
- 1950s14(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 21 mi | 127.8 mi | 13 / 54 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 20 mi | 110.6 mi | 3 / 178 |
| Nov 24, 2001 | F3 | 20 mi | 38.9 mi | 2 / 1 |
| Mar 12, 1986 | F3 | 14 mi | 16 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Feb 23, 2019 | EF3 | in town | 9.74 mi | 1 / 11 |
| Apr 11, 2013 | EF3 | 13 mi | 66.35 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Jun 28, 1957 | F3 | 17 mi | 5.4 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Feb 16, 1956 | F3 | 24 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 55 |
| Jan 1, 2011 | EF3 | 25 mi | 9.63 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 10, 2008 | EF3 | 11 mi | 13.25 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F3 | 2 mi | 29.2 mi | 0 / 55 |
| Mar 12, 1986 | F3 | 20 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 158, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Columbus
The Storm Prediction Center has 100 hail reports within 10 miles of Columbus since 1970, made on 77 separate days. Of these, 52 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on June 16, 2023. The most recent report is from May 2, 2025. April has the most reports, 23.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Columbus
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Columbus, MS, 2 miles south of Columbus at 145 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 56°F and 36°F. April is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.2 inches; the year adds up to 56.7 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 44% of the year's precipitation (24.8 of 56.7 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 18 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal September there has highs of 88°F and 3.2 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 83 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 50 nights a year. That 56.7 inches is more than at 17 of the 87 Mississippi stations used on this site (20%). West Point, 17 miles northwest, has its own station (State Univ, MS): 58.0 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56 | 36 | 5.5 | 8 |
| Feb | 61 | 39 | 5.7 | 7 |
| Mar | 70 | 46 | 5.3 | 8 |
| Apr | 78 | 53 | 5.8 | 7 |
| May | 85 | 62 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Jun | 91 | 69 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Jul | 94 | 73 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Aug | 93 | 72 | 4.5 | 6 |
| Sep | 88 | 66 | 3.2 | 5 |
| Oct | 78 | 54 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Nov | 67 | 43 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Dec | 58 | 38 | 5.6 | 7 |
| Year | 77 | 54 | 56.7 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Columbus, MS (145 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 Columbus
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 265 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Columbus: 213 thunderstorm wind reports, 41 flash floods, 8 lightning strikes, 2 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 2 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $26.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on March 9, 2006. April has had the most flash floods, 11 of 41. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 199 have had fewer than Columbus.
July 15, 2000: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Columbus — 1 killed, 1 injured, $1.2 million damage.
NWS: “A large tree limb fell on a car in Columbus and one woman in the car was killed. A man in the car was injured.”
July 20, 2000: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Columbus — 1 killed, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “A man was killed when a large tree was blown onto and through his house. Many other trees were blown down and caused damage to several homes and vehicles.”
March 9, 2006: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Columbus — 3 injured, $15.0 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 Columbus's 3 ZIP codes have filed 1,081 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $6.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1990: 424 claims (39% of all) and $2.5 million, then Hurricane Katrina in 2005 with 14. The year with the most claims was 1983, with 221. 41% 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, 118 have fewer than Columbus.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1990 | 424 | $2.5 million |
| Hurricane Katrina2005 | 14 | $107,000 |
Lowndes County, which includes Columbus, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 6 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 Lowndes County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $33.6 million a year, the 12th highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $13.7 million (41%), 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.