NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Horn Lake, 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
10 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Horn Lake, Mississippi since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Olga in 2019. Since 1950, 99 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 10
- Tornadoes
- 99
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
34 deaths in all
What the records show for Horn Lake
None of the 10 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Horn Lake; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 63 mph winds when its centre passed 6 miles away. The record near Horn Lake begins with an unnamed storm in 1860; the most recent system was Olga in 2019, a tropical storm 31 miles away. The 1900s and the 1920s were the busiest decades, with 2 systems each. Of the 10 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site, 97% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Horn Lake. The strongest of the 99 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 21, 1952; its path came within 21 miles, and it killed 16 people. Of the 99, 18 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 26 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on May 18, 2025. Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 74% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Horn Lake. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 121 times since 1958, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Horn Lake has more hail reports within 10 miles than 90% of the 232 Mississippi cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Horn Lake
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1969 | CamilleAug 19 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 16 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormOct 3 | 55 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 Horn Lake: 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 Horn Lake
By decade
- 2020s7(1 EF3+)
- 2010s8
- 2000s11
- 1990s20(1 EF3+)
- 1980s13(2 EF3+)
- 1970s20(4 EF3+)
- 1960s18
- 1950s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 21, 1952 | F4 | 21 mi | 29.6 mi | 16 / 74 |
| Dec 14, 1987 | F3 | 14 mi | 25 mi | 6 / 121 |
| Nov 27, 1994 | F3 | 14 mi | 16 mi | 3 / 25 |
| Apr 2, 2025 | EF3 | 21 mi | 12.22 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 21, 1984 | F3 | 13 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 24, 1970 | F3 | 8 mi | 10.4 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 24, 1970 | F3 | 2 mi | 12.3 mi | 0 / 18 |
| Apr 24, 1970 | F3 | 5 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 19, 1970 | F3 | 23 mi | 1.8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Feb 5, 2008 | EF2 | 2 mi | 10.24 mi | 3 / 13 |
| Nov 24, 2001 | F2 | 20 mi | 43.5 mi | 3 / 33 |
| Dec 21, 2013 | EF2 | 23 mi | 15.57 mi | 1 / 3 |
The strongest 12 of 99, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Horn Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 121 hail reports within 10 miles of Horn Lake since 1958, made on 85 separate days. Of these, 72 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 4 days, most recently June 11, 2023. The most recent report is from April 29, 2025. April has the most reports, 38.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Horn Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Memphis International Airport, TN, 7 miles northeast of Horn Lake at 254 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 74°F; January is the coolest, at 51°F and 33°F. April is the wettest at 5.9 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 55.0 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 43% of the year's precipitation (23.9 of 55.0 inches); the other six months are wetter. October has brought the most of the 10 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (4); a normal October there has highs of 75°F and 4.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 72 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 45 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 55.0 inches is more than at 6 of the 87 Mississippi stations used on this site (7%). Nesbit, 6 miles southeast, has its own station (Hernando, MS): 56.5 inches a year, 1.5 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 51 | 33 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Feb | 56 | 37 | 4.6 | 7 | 1.0 |
| Mar | 64 | 44 | 5.7 | 8 | 0.5 |
| Apr | 73 | 53 | 5.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 82 | 62 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 70 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 74 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 92 | 73 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 86 | 66 | 3.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 75 | 54 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 63 | 43 | 4.7 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 53 | 36 | 5.5 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Year | 73 | 54 | 55.0 | 74 | 2.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Memphis International Airport, TN (254 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 Horn Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 189 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Horn Lake: 128 thunderstorm wind reports, 53 flash floods, 5 lightning strikes and 3 floods. They killed 5 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $13.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on January 22, 2012. July has had the most flash floods, 13 of 53. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 212 have had fewer than Horn Lake.
March 31, 2023: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Horn Lake — 3 killed, $500,000 damage.
March 31, 2008: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Horn Lake — 1 killed.
April 4, 2011: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Horn Lake — 1 killed.
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 Horn Lake's ZIP code 38637 have filed 92 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2014, with 21. 12% 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, 81 have fewer than Horn Lake.
DeSoto County, which includes Horn Lake, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives DeSoto County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $85.9 million a year, the 4th highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $21.8 million (25%), 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 Horn Lake
- Southaven, MS4 mi
- Walls, MS5 mi
- Nesbit, MS6 mi
- Lake Cormorant, MS9 mi
- Hernando, MS10 mi
- Olive Branch, MS12 mi
- Memphis, TN12 mi
- West Memphis, AR15 mi
- Germantown, TN17 mi
- Robinsonville, MS17 mi
- Coldwater, MS19 mi
- Marion, AR19 mi
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