Skip to content

NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lexington, MS

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

19 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Lexington, Mississippi since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 133 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
19

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
133

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
13

49 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lexington

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Lexington, Mississippi, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaAug 3068 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
2019OlgaOct 2617 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
2005KatrinaAug 3064 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 5
2002IsidoreSep 2665 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1969CamilleAug 181 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 5
1957AudreyJun 2849 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 3
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1717 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 2
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 2014 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 220 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1856 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1661 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 77 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1915Unnamed 1915 stormSep 3067 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 4
1906Unnamed 1906 stormSep 2834 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 3
1905Unnamed 1905 stormSep 3065 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1893Unnamed 1893 stormSep 869 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2041 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1879Unnamed 1879 stormSep 243 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 3
1860Unnamed 1860 stormOct 34 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 2

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

By decade

  • 2020s28(2 EF3+)
  • 2010s27(3 EF3+)
  • 2000s20(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s25(3 EF3+)
  • 1980s13
  • 1970s11(3 EF3+)
  • 1960s4
  • 1950s5(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Lexington, Mississippi
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Mar 24, 2023EF410 mi59.23 mi17 / 165
Feb 21, 1971F41 mi65.2 mi13 / 182
Apr 24, 2010EF49 mi148.97 mi10 / 146
Mar 24, 2023EF314 mi29.43 mi3 / 5
Nov 7, 1957F314 mi31.2 mi2 / 1
Dec 21, 1990F310 mi20 mi1 / 15
Apr 27, 2011EF32 mi23 mi0 / 0
Jan 1, 2011EF316 mi23.45 mi0 / 2
Jan 10, 2008EF315 mi9.73 mi0 / 3
May 2, 1997F36 mi20 mi0 / 0
Dec 21, 1990F324 mi11 mi0 / 0
Mar 28, 1977F324 mi24.5 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 133, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Lexington while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in Mississippi