NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Houston, 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
19 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Houston, Mississippi since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Olga in 2019. Since 1950, 101 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 19
- Tornadoes
- 101
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
41 deaths in all
What the records show for Houston
None of the 19 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Houston; the strongest was Frederic in 1979, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 51 miles away. The record near Houston begins with an unnamed storm in 1855; the most recent system was Olga in 2019, a tropical storm 39 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1910s, with 3 systems. Of the 19 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site, 59% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Houston. The highest rating among the 101 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 29, 1963, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 21, 1984, killed 15 people. Of the 101, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 48 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 24. The most recent tornado was on June 7, 2025. Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 72% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Houston. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 34 times since 1980, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 84% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Houston.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Houston
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 30 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1969 | CamilleAug 18 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1950 | BakerAug 31 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 2 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 7 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormSep 15 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormAug 16 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormSep 9 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 29 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormSep 2 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormOct 3 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1855 | Unnamed 1855 stormSep 17 | 73 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 Houston: 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 Houston
By decade
- 2020s20(1 EF3+)
- 2010s15(3 EF3+)
- 2000s13(1 EF3+)
- 1990s11
- 1980s11(3 EF3+)
- 1970s11(2 EF3+)
- 1960s9(2 EF3+)
- 1950s11(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 29, 1963 | F4 | 21 mi | 4.7 mi | 3 / 20 |
| Mar 11, 1963 | F4 | 25 mi | 45.2 mi | 2 / 7 |
| Apr 21, 1984 | F3 | 16 mi | 71 mi | 15 / 76 |
| Feb 24, 2001 | F3 | 21 mi | 52 mi | 6 / 73 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 4 mi | 51.45 mi | 4 / 25 |
| Mar 24, 2023 | EF3 | 13 mi | 36.56 mi | 2 / 55 |
| Nov 19, 1988 | F3 | 24 mi | 12.5 mi | 2 / 11 |
| Mar 20, 1976 | F3 | 12 mi | 49.4 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Feb 16, 1956 | F3 | 19 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 55 |
| Apr 28, 2014 | EF3 | 24 mi | 30.97 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 9 mi | 58.74 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Jan 19, 1988 | F3 | 10 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 101, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Houston
The Storm Prediction Center has 34 hail reports within 10 miles of Houston since 1980, made on 31 separate days. Of these, 20 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on June 8, 2014. The most recent report is from December 9, 2023. April has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Houston
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Houston, MS, 2 miles southwest of Houston at 290 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 53°F and 32°F. April is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.4 inches; the year adds up to 59.4 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 43% of the year's precipitation (25.8 of 59.4 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 19 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal September there has highs of 86°F and 3.5 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 54 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 70 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 59.4 inches is more than at 48 of the 87 Mississippi stations used on this site (55%). Houlka, 10 miles north, has its own station (Pontotoc Exp Stn, MS): 60.9 inches a year, 1.5 more than here, and the same July average high, 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 53 | 32 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.6 |
| Feb | 58 | 35 | 5.8 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Mar | 66 | 43 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 74 | 50 | 6.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 82 | 59 | 5.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 67 | 5.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 70 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 69 | 4.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 86 | 62 | 3.5 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 76 | 50 | 3.4 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 64 | 40 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 55 | 35 | 5.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Year | 74 | 51 | 59.4 | 76 | 0.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Houston, MS (290 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 Houston
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 80 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Houston: 74 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 flash floods and 1 flood. They killed 2 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $652,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on March 15, 2025. March has had the most flash floods, 4 of 5. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 15 have had fewer than Houston.
August 6, 2023: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Houston — 2 killed, 2 injured.
NWS: “A large tree fell on a vehicle along Highway 8, killing two occupants and injuring two others.”
April 20, 2011: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Houston — 1 injured.
April 14, 2007: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Houston — $110,000 damage.
NWS: “Straight line winds knocked down many trees and power lines in and around Houston causing widespread power outages. At least six homes sustained roof damage along with two commercial buildings.”
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
Chickasaw County, which includes Houston, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 5 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 Chickasaw County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.6 million a year, the 50th highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.1 million (22%), 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 Houston
- Houlka, MS10 mi
- Vardaman, MS13 mi
- Okolona, MS13 mi
- Shannon, MS20 mi
- Calhoun City, MS21 mi
- Maben, MS22 mi
- Pontotoc, MS23 mi
- Bruce, MS24 mi
- Aberdeen, MS24 mi
- Nettleton, MS25 mi
- Mathiston, MS27 mi
- Plantersville, MS27 mi
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