NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fayette, 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
34 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Fayette, Mississippi since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 114 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 31
- Tornadoes
- 114
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
32 deaths in all
What the records show for Fayette
The strongest storm to pass near Fayette was Camille in 1969, a Category 1 hurricane with 90 mph winds when its centre passed 70 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1888, whose centre came within 3 miles. The record near Fayette begins with an unnamed storm in 1856; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 14 miles away. The 1910s and the 1930s were the busiest decades, with 3 systems each. Of the 34 systems, 6 have come since 2000. Fayette has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 61% of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site. The highest rating among the 114 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 29, 1976, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on January 23, 1969, killed 32 people. Of the 114, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 61 have come since 2000. November has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on December 28, 2024. Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 59% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Fayette. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 41 times since 1969, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 71% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Fayette.
Compare Fayette's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Fayette
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaAug 30 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | DeltaOct 10 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2012 | IsaacAug 30 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2002 | LiliOct 4 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2002 | IsidoreSep 26 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1992 | AndrewAug 27 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1985 | ElenaSep 2 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | DannyAug 16 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | BobJul 11 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1971 | EdithSep 16 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1969 | CamilleAug 18 | 70 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1965 | BetsySep 10 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | EstherSep 19 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1956 | Unnamed 1956 stormJun 14 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormSep 5 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 20 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1931 | Unnamed 1931 stormJul 16 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 16 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1920 | Unnamed 1920 stormSep 22 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 13 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1911 | Unnamed 1911 stormAug 13 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 36 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 29 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 21 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1890 | Unnamed 1890 stormAug 28 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 20 | 3 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 15 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormOct 7 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormSep 2 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormOct 3 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 12 | 28 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 Fayette: 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 Fayette
By decade
- 2020s9(1 EF3+)
- 2010s23
- 2000s29(2 EF3+)
- 1990s13(1 EF3+)
- 1980s16
- 1970s11(3 EF3+)
- 1960s7(2 EF3+)
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 1969 | F4 | 2 mi | 117.8 mi | 32 / 241 |
| Mar 29, 1976 | F4 | 24 mi | 126.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Dec 28, 2024 | EF3 | 24 mi | 25.98 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Sep 24, 2005 | F3 | 24 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 23, 2004 | F3 | 5 mi | 18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 21, 1990 | F3 | 20 mi | 18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 17, 1978 | F3 | 18 mi | 18.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 30, 1976 | F3 | in town | 31.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 29, 1969 | F3 | 22 mi | 29.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 16, 2019 | EF2 | 19 mi | 4.23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 1, 2018 | EF2 | 20 mi | 0.99 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 2017 | EF2 | 16 mi | 19.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 114, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fayette
The Storm Prediction Center has 41 hail reports within 10 miles of Fayette since 1969, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 24 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on January 23, 1969. The most recent report is from April 2, 2024. March has the most reports, 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fayette
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Natchez, MS, 19 miles southwest of Fayette at 195 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 6.2 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 4.0 inches; the year adds up to 60.1 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 45% of the year's precipitation (27.1 of 60.1 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 34 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (13); a normal September there has highs of 86°F and 4.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 67 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 39 nights a year. That 60.1 inches is more than at 50 of the 87 Mississippi stations used on this site (57%). Lorman, 8 miles north, has its own station (St Joseph 3 N, LA): 58.5 inches a year, 1.6 less than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57 | 36 | 6.2 | 8 |
| Feb | 61 | 39 | 5.5 | 8 |
| Mar | 68 | 47 | 6.0 | 7 |
| Apr | 75 | 53 | 4.9 | 6 |
| May | 82 | 62 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Jun | 87 | 69 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Jul | 90 | 71 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Aug | 89 | 71 | 4.9 | 7 |
| Sep | 86 | 65 | 4.1 | 5 |
| Oct | 77 | 53 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Nov | 67 | 43 | 5.1 | 6 |
| Dec | 59 | 38 | 5.7 | 7 |
| Year | 75 | 54 | 60.1 | 81 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Natchez, MS (195 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 Fayette
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 119 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fayette: 107 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $4.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on March 9, 2006. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 41 have had fewer than Fayette.
September 25, 2005: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Fayette — $1.1 million damage.
February 5, 2004: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Fayette — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Five to seven inches of rain fell across Copiah county on February 5th. This heavy rain flooded 5 businesses, dozens of county roads and damaged 4 bridges across the county.”
August 2, 2008: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Fayette — $320,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Fayette's ZIP code 39069 have filed 23 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $200,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 30% 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, 35 have fewer than Fayette.
Jefferson County, which includes Fayette, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jefferson County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $3.2 million a year, the 81st highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.3 million (40%), 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 Fayette
- Lorman, MS8 mi
- Roxie, MS15 mi
- Port Gibson, MS19 mi
- Meadville, MS19 mi
- Natchez, MS21 mi
- Ferriday, LA27 mi
- Vidalia, LA28 mi
- Smithdale, MS34 mi
- Gloster, MS35 mi
- Brookhaven, MS37 mi
- Utica, MS38 mi
- Hazlehurst, MS38 mi
All Mississippi cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Fayette with another place →