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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ripley, MS

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

15 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Ripley, Mississippi since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Olga in 2019. Since 1950, 84 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 16 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
15

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
84

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
16

104 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Ripley

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Ripley, Mississippi, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2019OlgaOct 2634 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
2005KatrinaAug 3031 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 5
1979FredericSep 1372 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 4
1969CamilleAug 1955 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 5
1957AudreyJun 28overheadTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1950BakerAug 3114 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1711 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1814 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1916Unnamed 1916 stormOct 1961 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 2
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 768 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1906Unnamed 1906 stormSep 2855 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2148 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 3
1881Unnamed 1881 stormAug 2946 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 2
1879Unnamed 1879 stormSep 275 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 3
1860Unnamed 1860 stormOct 310 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2

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

By decade

  • 2020s8
  • 2010s14(2 EF3+)
  • 2000s13(2 EF3+)
  • 1990s13(3 EF3+)
  • 1980s10(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s14(6 EF3+)
  • 1960s6(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s6(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Ripley, Mississippi
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Feb 21, 1971F412 mi202.1 mi58 / 795
Dec 23, 2015EF414 mi75.09 mi9 / 36
Apr 19, 1970F4in town47.6 mi4 / 78
Apr 21, 1984F313 mi71 mi15 / 76
Feb 24, 2001F321 mi52 mi6 / 73
Mar 22, 1991F324 mi22 mi4 / 45
May 2, 2010EF313 mi29.58 mi3 / 9
Jan 3, 2000F313 mi43.2 mi0 / 0
Mar 1, 1997F312 mi30 mi0 / 16
Mar 22, 1991F310 mi23 mi0 / 3
Mar 23, 1975F322 mi17.2 mi0 / 0
Feb 22, 1975F34 mi26.3 mi0 / 2

The strongest 12 of 84, 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 Ripley 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.

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