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.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
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, 134 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 19
- Tornadoes
- 134
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
49 deaths in all
What the records show for Lexington
None of the 19 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Lexington; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 69 mph winds when its centre passed 41 miles away. The record near Lexington begins with an unnamed storm in 1860; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 68 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1930s, with 3 systems. Of the 19 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site, 59% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Lexington. The highest rating among the 134 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 24, 2023, came within 10 miles. Of the 134, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 76 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 33. The most recent tornado was on March 14, 2025. Lexington has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 55% of the 232 Mississippi cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 43 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 67% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Lexington.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lexington
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaAug 30 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 30 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2002 | IsidoreSep 26 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1969 | CamilleAug 18 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 20 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 2 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 16 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 7 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 30 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormSep 8 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 20 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormSep 2 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormOct 3 | 4 mi | Tropical 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
- 2020s29(2 EF3+)
- 2010s27(3 EF3+)
- 2000s20(1 EF3+)
- 1990s25(3 EF3+)
- 1980s13
- 1970s11(3 EF3+)
- 1960s4
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 24, 2023 | EF4 | 10 mi | 59.23 mi | 17 / 165 |
| Feb 21, 1971 | F4 | 1 mi | 65.2 mi | 13 / 182 |
| Apr 24, 2010 | EF4 | 9 mi | 148.97 mi | 10 / 146 |
| Mar 24, 2023 | EF3 | 14 mi | 29.43 mi | 3 / 5 |
| Nov 7, 1957 | F3 | 14 mi | 31.2 mi | 2 / 1 |
| Dec 21, 1990 | F3 | 10 mi | 20 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 2 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 1, 2011 | EF3 | 16 mi | 23.45 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jan 10, 2008 | EF3 | 15 mi | 9.73 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 2, 1997 | F3 | 6 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 21, 1990 | F3 | 24 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 1977 | F3 | 24 mi | 24.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 134, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lexington
The Storm Prediction Center has 43 hail reports within 10 miles of Lexington since 1955, made on 38 separate days. Of these, 29 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 25, 1994. The most recent report is from May 27, 2020. April has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lexington
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lexington, MS, 2 miles east of Lexington at 285 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 54°F and 31°F. April is the wettest at 6.4 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 56.7 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 40% of the year's precipitation (22.7 of 56.7 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 3.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 63 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 60 nights a year. That 56.7 inches is more than at 15 of the 87 Mississippi stations used on this site (17%). Pickens, 17 miles south, has its own station (Canton 4N, MS): 57.0 inches a year, 0.3 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 | 54 | 31 | 5.4 | 7 |
| Feb | 58 | 34 | 5.8 | 6 |
| Mar | 66 | 42 | 5.8 | 7 |
| Apr | 74 | 49 | 6.4 | 6 |
| May | 81 | 59 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Jun | 87 | 65 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Jul | 90 | 69 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Aug | 90 | 68 | 2.7 | 5 |
| Sep | 86 | 61 | 3.8 | 4 |
| Oct | 76 | 49 | 4.1 | 5 |
| Nov | 65 | 39 | 4.1 | 6 |
| Dec | 56 | 33 | 5.9 | 7 |
| Year | 74 | 50 | 56.7 | 74 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lexington, MS (285 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 Lexington
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 98 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lexington: 88 thunderstorm wind reports and 10 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on June 14, 2023. July has had the most flash floods, 5 of 10. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 41 have had fewer than Lexington.
March 22, 2022: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Lexington — 1 injured, $15,000 damage.
NWS: “One female was injured when a tree blew over onto a home on Church Street in Lexington.”
June 14, 2023: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Lexington — $450,000 damage.
NWS: “High downburst winds from a supercell thunderstorm caused a swath of damage to trees and power lines focused across central portions of Holmes County. In the Lexington area a tree fell into a power line and then onto a house and caused a fire.”
September 25, 2005: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Lexington — $400,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Lexington's ZIP code 39095 have filed 64 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1983, and were paid $1.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2001, with 36. 2% 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, 70 have fewer than Lexington.
Holmes County, which includes Lexington, has been named in 30 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1971, 24 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 severe storms, 7 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 Holmes County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.1 million a year, the 52nd highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.5 million (28%), 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 Lexington
- Tchula, MS11 mi
- Durant, MS12 mi
- Pickens, MS17 mi
- Sallis, MS21 mi
- Benton, MS21 mi
- Belzoni, MS25 mi
- Vaiden, MS25 mi
- Yazoo City, MS28 mi
- Greenwood, MS29 mi
- Itta Bena, MS30 mi
- Carrollton, MS30 mi
- Kosciusko, MS31 mi
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