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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kiln, 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

73 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Kiln, Mississippi since 1851, 20 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Francine in 2024. Since 1950, 184 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
20

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
53

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
184

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
7

6 deaths in all

What the records show for Kiln

The strongest storm to pass near Kiln was Camille in 1969, a Category 5 hurricane with 161 mph winds when its centre passed 2 miles away. The record near Kiln begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Francine in 2024, a tropical storm 52 miles away. The busiest decade was the 2000s, with 8 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 73 systems, 16 have come since 2000. Kiln has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 92% of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site. The highest rating among the 184 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 7 times; the most recent, on December 25, 2012, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on October 30, 1967, killed 4 people. Of the 184, 17 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 95 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 41. The most recent tornado was on December 27, 2024. Kiln has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 80% of the 232 Mississippi cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 46 times since 1971, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 63% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Kiln.

Compare Kiln's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kiln

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Kiln, Mississippi, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2024FrancineSep 1252 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 2
2021ClaudetteJun 1928 miTropical storm (39 mph)Tropical storm
2020ZetaOct 2912 miCategory 1 (94 mph)Category 3
2020CristobalJun 848 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
2019OlgaOct 2661 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
2018GordonSep 545 miTropical storm (55 mph)Tropical storm
2017NateOct 826 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 1
2011LeeSep 530 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2009IdaNov 1066 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
2005KatrinaAug 2910 miCategory 3 (114 mph)Category 5
2005CindyJul 67 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 1
2003BillJul 141 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2002IsidoreSep 2627 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 3
2002HannaSep 1448 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
2002BerthaAug 559 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2001AllisonJun 1114 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1998GeorgesSep 2928 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1997DannyJul 1857 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 1
1988FlorenceSep 1045 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 1
1988BerylAug 950 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1985JuanOct 3173 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 1
1985ElenaSep 25 miCategory 2 (108 mph)Category 3
1979FredericSep 1361 miCategory 3 (110 mph)Category 4
1979BobJul 1152 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 1
1969CamilleAug 182 miCategory 5 (161 mph)Category 5
1964HildaOct 418 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 4
1960EthelSep 1523 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 3
1956Unnamed 1956 stormJun 1369 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1955Unnamed 1955 stormAug 2726 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1955BrendaAug 130 miTropical storm (59 mph)Tropical storm
1948Unnamed 1948 stormSep 416 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 1
1947Unnamed 1947 stormSep 1953 miCategory 2 (105 mph)Category 4
1947Unnamed 1947 stormSep 848 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 1055 miTropical storm (60 mph)Tropical storm
1939Unnamed 1939 stormSep 269 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
1936Unnamed 1936 stormJul 2846 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1932Unnamed 1932 stormOct 1612 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 164 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 1
1926Unnamed 1926 stormSep 212 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1826 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1923Unnamed 1923 stormJun 2631 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 655 miCategory 1 (89 mph)Category 3
1915Unnamed 1915 stormSep 3042 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 4
1914Unnamed 1914 stormSep 1841 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1912Unnamed 1912 stormSep 1459 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
1912Unnamed 1912 stormJun 1358 miTropical storm (54 mph)Tropical storm
1911Unnamed 1911 stormAug 1229 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 1
1907Unnamed 1907 stormSep 2132 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1906Unnamed 1906 stormSep 2742 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 3
1905Unnamed 1905 stormOct 1065 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1901Unnamed 1901 stormAug 1536 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 1
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1337 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1895Unnamed 1895 stormAug 1639 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormAug 859 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 230 miCategory 2 (109 mph)Category 4
1893Unnamed 1893 stormSep 738 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 2
1892Unnamed 1892 stormSep 123 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
1890Unnamed 1890 stormAug 2772 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1889Unnamed 1889 stormSep 2366 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 2
1887Unnamed 1887 stormOct 1925 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 1
1887Unnamed 1887 stormJun 1447 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1885Unnamed 1885 stormSep 2630 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1881Unnamed 1881 stormAug 365 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1879Unnamed 1879 stormOct 716 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
1877Unnamed 1877 stormSep 1956 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormJul 1126 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1869Unnamed 1869 stormSep 569 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1863Unnamed 1863 stormOct 112 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1860Unnamed 1860 stormSep 1510 miCategory 1 (94 mph)Category 2
1860Unnamed 1860 stormAug 1219 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 3
1859Unnamed 1859 stormSep 1572 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 1
1855Unnamed 1855 stormSep 167 miCategory 2 (107 mph)Category 3
1852Unnamed 1852 stormAug 2652 miCategory 3 (113 mph)Category 3

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Kiln: 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 Kiln

By decade

  • 2020s35
  • 2010s29(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s31
  • 1990s22
  • 1980s26(4 EF3+)
  • 1970s26
  • 1960s10(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s5
Strongest tornadoes near Kiln, Mississippi
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Oct 30, 1967F321 mi2 mi4 / 17
Dec 25, 2012EF321 mi24.05 mi0 / 8
May 19, 1980F316 mi10.6 mi0 / 4
May 19, 1980F38 mi13.1 mi0 / 8
May 16, 1980F317 mi11.5 mi0 / 0
Apr 13, 1980F320 mi15.9 mi0 / 25
Nov 3, 1968F322 mi2 mi0 / 5
Apr 12, 1994F223 mi2 mi2 / 16
Apr 10, 2024EF212 mi7.85 mi0 / 0
Apr 10, 2024EF215 mi10.98 mi0 / 0
Mar 9, 2011EF219 mi1.86 mi0 / 0
Nov 24, 2004F221 mi1.5 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 184, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Kiln

The Storm Prediction Center has 46 hail reports within 10 miles of Kiln since 1971, made on 35 separate days. Of these, 35 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 11 days, most recently March 12, 2023. The most recent report is from April 10, 2024. March has the most reports, 13.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Kiln

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Waveland, MS, 10 miles south of Kiln at 8 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 74°F; January is the coolest, at 59°F and 42°F. July is the wettest at 7.7 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.5 inches; the year adds up to 65.0 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (33.4 of 65.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 73 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (32); a normal September there has highs of 86°F and 5.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 47 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 17 nights a year. That 65.0 inches is more than at 79 of the 87 Mississippi stations used on this site (91%). Picayune, 15 miles northwest, has its own station (Picayune, MS): 66.8 inches a year, 1.8 more than here, and an August average high of 91°F against 89°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Bay Waveland Yacht Club, MS, 10 miles southeast, averaged 87°F in July and August and 54°F in January over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from June to September. Sea level at the Bay Waveland tide gauge, 10 miles from Kiln, has risen 1.81 ± 0.13 inches per decade from 1978 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 18.1 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 112 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Waveland, MS
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Water °F
Jan59425.8754
Feb63444.7659
Mar69515.3566
Apr75585.6572
May82665.8579
Jun87726.5984
Jul89747.71087
Aug89745.9887
Sep86705.7683
Oct78593.5475
Nov68494.1567
Dec61434.4659
Year755965.07673

Averages for 1991–2020 at Waveland, MS (8 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Bay Waveland Yacht Club, MS, from NOAA Tides & Currents. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.

Mississippi weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Kiln

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 90 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kiln: 63 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 flash floods, 2 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $319,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on April 19, 2020. June has had the most flash floods, 10 of 22. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 145 have had fewer than Kiln.

  • June 24, 2024: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Kiln — $100,000 damage.

    NWS: “Lightning struck and damaged to 2 homes on Red Bud Drive. Time estimated by radar and lightning data network.”

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 Kiln's ZIP code 39556 have filed 747 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $36.0 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Katrina in 2005: 260 claims (35% of all) and $31.1 million, then Hurricane Isaac in 2012 with 80 and Tropical Storm Isidore in 2002 with 73. 80% 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, 116 have fewer than Kiln.

Flood insurance claims in Kiln by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Hurricane Katrina2005260$31.1 million
Hurricane Isaac201280$780,000
Tropical Storm Isidore200273$235,000
2026-06-Arthur-TS202661$652,000
Hurricane Gustav200848$658,000
Hurricane Ida202123$200,000

Hancock County, which includes Kiln, has been named in 33 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 21 hurricanes, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 winter storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Arthur, on August 3, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Hancock County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hurricanes, coastal flooding and lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $38.2 million a year, the 10th highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.1 million (47%), is from hurricanes.

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 Kiln