NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hazlehurst, 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 Hazlehurst, Mississippi since 1851, 4 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 162 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 18 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 4
- Tropical storms
- 30
- Tornadoes
- 162
- EF3 or stronger
- 18
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
121 deaths in all
What the records show for Hazlehurst
The strongest storm to pass near Hazlehurst was Camille in 1969, a Category 1 hurricane with 89 mph winds when its centre passed 33 miles away. The record near Hazlehurst begins with an unnamed storm in 1856; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 15 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1910s, with 4 systems. Of the 34 systems, 6 have come since 2000. Hazlehurst has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 69% of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site. The strongest of the 162 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on March 3, 1966; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 58 people. Of the 162, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 89 have come since 2000. April and December have had the most tornadoes, 31 each. The most recent tornado was on March 31, 2025. Hazlehurst has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 71% of the 232 Mississippi cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 66 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Hazlehurst has more hail reports within 10 miles than 57% of the 232 Mississippi cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Hazlehurst
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaAug 30 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | DeltaOct 10 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 29 | 61 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2003 | BillJul 1 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2002 | IsidoreSep 26 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1992 | AndrewAug 27 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1985 | ElenaSep 2 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | BobJul 11 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1971 | EdithSep 17 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1969 | CamilleAug 18 | 33 mi | Category 1 (89 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1957 | EstherSep 19 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1956 | Unnamed 1956 stormJun 14 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormSep 5 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1948 | Unnamed 1948 stormSep 4 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 20 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 16 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 6 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 13 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1911 | Unnamed 1911 stormAug 12 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 71 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 27 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 30 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormSep 8 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1890 | Unnamed 1890 stormAug 28 | overhead | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 20 | 33 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 15 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormOct 7 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormSep 2 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormJul 12 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormOct 3 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 12 | 50 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 Hazlehurst: 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 Hazlehurst
By decade
- 2020s32(1 EF3+)
- 2010s33
- 2000s24
- 1990s22(2 EF3+)
- 1980s17
- 1970s15(10 EF3+)
- 1960s13(3 EF3+)
- 1950s6(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 3, 1966 | F5 | 24 mi | 202.5 mi | 58 / 518 |
| Jan 23, 1969 | F4 | 3 mi | 117.8 mi | 32 / 241 |
| Nov 21, 1992 | F4 | 15 mi | 128 mi | 12 / 122 |
| Jan 10, 1975 | F4 | 21 mi | 56.5 mi | 9 / 210 |
| Mar 29, 1976 | F4 | in town | 126.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Mar 26, 1976 | F4 | 24 mi | 18.5 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Feb 26, 1958 | F3 | 11 mi | 69.7 mi | 8 / 26 |
| Feb 26, 1958 | F3 | 21 mi | 71 mi | 1 / 34 |
| Dec 28, 2024 | EF3 | 13 mi | 25.98 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Feb 27, 1999 | F3 | 19 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 17, 1978 | F3 | 21 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 24, 1977 | F3 | 7 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 162, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hazlehurst
The Storm Prediction Center has 66 hail reports within 10 miles of Hazlehurst since 1968, made on 58 separate days. Of these, 45 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 8, 1978. The most recent report is from April 22, 2025. May has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hazlehurst
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hazlehurst 5 SW, MS, 2 miles west of Hazlehurst at 600 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 58°F and 39°F. January is the wettest at 6.2 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.8 inches; the year adds up to 61.7 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 46% of the year's precipitation (28.3 of 61.7 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 87°F and 3.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 78 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 33 nights a year. That 61.7 inches is more than at 65 of the 87 Mississippi stations used on this site (75%). Crystal Springs, 11 miles north, has its own station (Crystal Spgs Exp Stn, MS): 62.6 inches a year, 0.9 more than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58 | 39 | 6.2 | 8 |
| Feb | 63 | 42 | 5.8 | 7 |
| Mar | 70 | 48 | 5.8 | 8 |
| Apr | 76 | 54 | 5.4 | 6 |
| May | 83 | 63 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Jun | 88 | 69 | 4.9 | 7 |
| Jul | 90 | 71 | 6.1 | 9 |
| Aug | 90 | 71 | 5.0 | 7 |
| Sep | 87 | 66 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Oct | 78 | 56 | 3.9 | 5 |
| Nov | 67 | 46 | 4.6 | 6 |
| Dec | 60 | 41 | 5.8 | 7 |
| Year | 76 | 56 | 61.7 | 81 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hazlehurst 5 SW, MS (600 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 Hazlehurst
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 183 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hazlehurst: 163 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 flash floods and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $6.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on April 22, 2020. January has had the most flash floods, 6 of 19. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 121 have had fewer than Hazlehurst.
May 31, 2012: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Hazlehurst — 4 injured, $30,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous trees were blown down in and southwest of Hazlehurst, as well as across the southern portion of the county. Four people sustained minor injuries when a large branch crashed through the window of a home.”
June 25, 2008: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Hazlehurst — 1 injured, $700,000 damage.
February 12, 2008: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Hazlehurst — $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
Copiah County, which includes Hazlehurst, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 hurricanes, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Copiah County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.5 million a year, the 32nd highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.5 million (31%), is from tornadoes.
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 Hazlehurst
- Wesson, MS9 mi
- Crystal Springs, MS11 mi
- Brookhaven, MS18 mi
- Terry, MS20 mi
- Utica, MS21 mi
- Raymond, MS27 mi
- Florence, MS27 mi
- Monticello, MS27 mi
- Bogue Chitto, MS28 mi
- Newhebron, MS28 mi
- Braxton, MS29 mi
- Silver Creek, MS30 mi
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