NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Prentiss, 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
49 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Prentiss, Mississippi since 1851, 5 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 199 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 27 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 5
- Tropical storms
- 44
- Tornadoes
- 199
- EF3 or stronger
- 27
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
41 deaths in all
What the records show for Prentiss
The strongest storm to pass near Prentiss was Camille in 1969, a Category 2 hurricane with 100 mph winds when its centre passed 3 miles away. The record near Prentiss begins with an unnamed storm in 1855; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 52 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1930s, with 5 systems. Of the 49 systems, 9 have come since 2000. Prentiss has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 74% of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site. The highest rating among the 199 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 6 times; the most recent, on March 15, 2025, came within 9 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on January 10, 1975, killed 9 people. Of the 199, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 131 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 39. The most recent tornado was on April 6, 2025. Prentiss has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 83% of the 232 Mississippi cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 77 times since 1972, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Prentiss has more hail reports within 10 miles than 71% of the 232 Mississippi cities.
Compare Prentiss's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Prentiss
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaAug 30 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2021 | ClaudetteJun 19 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 58 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2018 | GordonSep 5 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2011 | LeeSep 5 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 29 | 24 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2002 | IsidoreSep 26 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2001 | AllisonJun 11 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1995 | ErinAug 4 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1992 | AndrewAug 27 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1985 | ElenaSep 2 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 73 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | BobJul 11 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1971 | EdithSep 17 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1969 | CamilleAug 18 | 3 mi | Category 2 (100 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1964 | HildaOct 4 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | EthelSep 16 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1957 | EstherSep 19 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1956 | Unnamed 1956 stormJun 14 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormSep 5 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1948 | Unnamed 1948 stormSep 4 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormSep 26 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 16 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 20 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 1 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 16 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 6 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 13 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1911 | Unnamed 1911 stormAug 12 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 27 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormOct 10 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 30 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormSep 8 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 12 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1890 | Unnamed 1890 stormAug 28 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 20 | 67 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 15 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormOct 7 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormSep 2 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormJul 12 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormOct 1 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormOct 3 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormSep 15 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 12 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1855 | Unnamed 1855 stormSep 16 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Prentiss: 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 Prentiss
By decade
- 2020s51(5 EF3+)
- 2010s42(3 EF3+)
- 2000s38(3 EF3+)
- 1990s19(5 EF3+)
- 1980s8(1 EF3+)
- 1970s18(9 EF3+)
- 1960s14
- 1950s9(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 10, 1975 | F4 | 16 mi | 56.5 mi | 9 / 210 |
| Apr 12, 2020 | EF4 | 11 mi | 67.43 mi | 7 / 98 |
| Mar 15, 2025 | EF4 | 9 mi | 67.16 mi | 6 / 6 |
| Apr 12, 2020 | EF4 | 14 mi | 22.12 mi | 4 / 3 |
| Apr 18, 1978 | F4 | 3 mi | 19.1 mi | 4 / 31 |
| Mar 26, 1976 | F4 | 15 mi | 18.5 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Dec 23, 2014 | EF3 | 23 mi | 12.51 mi | 3 / 50 |
| Nov 27, 1994 | F3 | 20 mi | 40 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 2025 | EF3 | 18 mi | 26.05 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Apr 14, 1999 | F3 | 24 mi | 25.5 mi | 1 / 33 |
| Apr 4, 1957 | F3 | 20 mi | 40.2 mi | 1 / 75 |
| Apr 12, 2020 | EF3 | 4 mi | 83.22 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 199, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Prentiss
The Storm Prediction Center has 77 hail reports within 10 miles of Prentiss since 1972, made on 62 separate days. Of these, 48 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on March 25, 2021. The most recent report is from June 14, 2023. May has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Prentiss
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Monticello, MS, 15 miles west of Prentiss at 191 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 62°F and 36°F. January and February are the wettest at 6.0 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 60.5 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 45% of the year's precipitation (27.3 of 60.5 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 49 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (21); a normal September there has highs of 91°F and 3.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 105 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 45 nights a year. That 60.5 inches is more than at 55 of the 87 Mississippi stations used on this site (63%). Newhebron, 11 miles northwest, has its own station (D'Lo 2 SW, MS): 57.6 inches a year, 2.9 less than here, and a July average high of 95°F against 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 62 | 36 | 6.0 | 7 |
| Feb | 67 | 40 | 6.0 | 6 |
| Mar | 74 | 46 | 5.7 | 6 |
| Apr | 81 | 53 | 5.8 | 5 |
| May | 88 | 61 | 4.5 | 6 |
| Jun | 94 | 69 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Jul | 96 | 71 | 5.9 | 8 |
| Aug | 96 | 71 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Sep | 91 | 66 | 3.6 | 4 |
| Oct | 82 | 54 | 4.2 | 4 |
| Nov | 72 | 44 | 4.7 | 5 |
| Dec | 64 | 39 | 5.2 | 6 |
| Year | 80 | 54 | 60.5 | 73 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Monticello, MS (191 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 Prentiss
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 199 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Prentiss: 170 thunderstorm wind reports, 23 flash floods, 4 lightning strikes and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $4.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on April 6, 2005. August has had the most flash floods, 9 of 23. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 152 have had fewer than Prentiss.
April 30, 2017: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Prentiss — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
April 6, 2005: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Prentiss — $600,000 damage.
April 12, 2009: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Prentiss — $500,000 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
Jefferson Davis County, which includes Prentiss, has been named in 33 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 16 hurricanes, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jefferson Davis 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 $4.7 million a year, the 72nd highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.6 million (35%), 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.