NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Macon, 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
25 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Macon, Mississippi since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 119 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 17 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 25
- Tornadoes
- 119
- EF3 or stronger
- 17
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
96 deaths in all
What the records show for Macon
None of the 25 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Macon; the strongest was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm with 71 mph winds when its centre passed 63 miles away. The record near Macon begins with an unnamed storm in 1855; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020. The busiest decade was the 1910s, with 5 systems. Of the 25 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Macon has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 49% of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site. The highest rating among the 119 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5 or EF5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 9 miles. The deadliest, an F5 on March 3, 1966, killed 58 people. Of the 119, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 80 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 46. The most recent tornado was on January 5, 2025. Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 54% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Macon. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 35 times since 1970, with stones up to 4.88 inches. Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 83% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Macon.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Macon
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2017 | NateOct 8 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 30 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1995 | ErinAug 4 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1971 | EdithSep 17 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1950 | BakerAug 31 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1948 | Unnamed 1948 stormSep 5 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 2 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 18 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 8 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormSep 15 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 13 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormAug 16 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormSep 8 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 29 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormSep 1 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormSep 2 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormSep 16 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1855 | Unnamed 1855 stormSep 17 | 18 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 Macon: 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 Macon
By decade
- 2020s14
- 2010s40(7 EF3+)
- 2000s26(2 EF3+)
- 1990s7
- 1980s10(1 EF3+)
- 1970s8(3 EF3+)
- 1960s4(3 EF3+)
- 1950s10(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 3, 1966 | F5 | 12 mi | 202.5 mi | 58 / 518 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF5 | 9 mi | 28.28 mi | 3 / 6 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF4 | 25 mi | 127.8 mi | 13 / 54 |
| Apr 28, 2014 | EF4 | 25 mi | 33.39 mi | 10 / 84 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 25 mi | 110.6 mi | 3 / 178 |
| Mar 12, 1986 | F3 | 23 mi | 16 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 2013 | EF3 | 6 mi | 66.35 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Nov 24, 2004 | F3 | 9 mi | 21 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Jun 28, 1957 | F3 | 7 mi | 5.4 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 19 mi | 23.74 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 15, 2011 | EF3 | 21 mi | 48.52 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jan 1, 2011 | EF3 | 8 mi | 9.63 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 119, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Macon
The Storm Prediction Center has 35 hail reports within 10 miles of Macon since 1970, made on 29 separate days. Of these, 20 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.88 inches, fell on June 14, 2023, the most recent report. March has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Macon
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Macon 3N, MS, 3 miles northeast of Macon at 250 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 54°F and 33°F. April is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and May and October the driest at 3.9 inches; the year adds up to 57.2 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 45% of the year's precipitation (25.8 of 57.2 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 25 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (13); a normal September there has highs of 86°F and 4.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 75 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 58 nights a year. That 57.2 inches is more than at 19 of the 87 Mississippi stations used on this site (22%). Aliceville, AL, 23 miles east, has its own station (Gainesville 2 NE, AL): 60.0 inches a year, 2.8 more than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 54 | 33 | 5.5 | 7 |
| Feb | 59 | 35 | 5.6 | 7 |
| Mar | 66 | 43 | 5.1 | 7 |
| Apr | 75 | 50 | 5.8 | 6 |
| May | 82 | 60 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Jun | 88 | 68 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Jul | 90 | 70 | 4.8 | 7 |
| Aug | 91 | 70 | 4.2 | 6 |
| Sep | 86 | 63 | 4.0 | 4 |
| Oct | 76 | 51 | 3.9 | 4 |
| Nov | 65 | 40 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Dec | 57 | 34 | 5.5 | 6 |
| Year | 74 | 51 | 57.2 | 72 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Macon 3N, MS (250 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 Macon
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 90 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Macon: 74 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 flash floods, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $1.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on January 13, 2005. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 79 have had fewer than Macon.
January 13, 2005: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Macon — 2 injured, $35,000 damage.
NWS: “A mobile home was rolled over and destroyed on Baldwyn Road where two people were injured. On Cooksville Road a barn was destroyed.”
February 17, 2022: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Macon — 2 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “Strong winds caused a partially demolished building to collapse onto another one in Macon. Two women were injured.”
May 24, 2008: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Macon — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “A swath of 70 to 80 mph winds occurred from an intense thunderstorm which moved south across central Noxubee County from near Brooksville to Macon. Numerous trees along with several power lines and power poles were blown down along the path and around Macon.”
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
Noxubee County, which includes Macon, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Noxubee County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $5.5 million a year, the 68th highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.6 million (29%), 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 Macon
- Aliceville, AL23 mi
- Carrollton, AL26 mi
- Louisville, MS26 mi
- Mississippi State, MS26 mi
- De Kalb, MS27 mi
- Starkville, MS27 mi
- Columbus, MS29 mi
- West Point, MS35 mi
- Reform, AL38 mi
- Steens, MS38 mi
- Ackerman, MS39 mi
- Eutaw, AL39 mi
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