NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Starkville, 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
22 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Starkville, Mississippi since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Olga in 2019. Since 1950, 122 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 15 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 22
- Tornadoes
- 122
- EF3 or stronger
- 15
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
47 deaths in all
What the records show for Starkville
None of the 22 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Starkville; the strongest was Frederic in 1979, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 33 miles away. The record near Starkville begins with an unnamed storm in 1855; the most recent system was Olga in 2019, a tropical storm 52 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1910s, with 4 systems. Of the 22 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site, 54% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Starkville. The highest rating among the 122 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 5 times; the most recent, on April 28, 2014, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on November 21, 1992, killed 12 people. Of the 122, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 68 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 35. The most recent tornado was on March 31, 2025. Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 50% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Starkville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 58 times since 1971, with stones up to 2.25 inches. Starkville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 49% of the 232 Mississippi cities.
Compare Starkville's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Starkville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 30 | overhead | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1969 | CamilleAug 18 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1950 | BakerAug 31 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 20 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 2 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 18 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 7 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormSep 15 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormAug 16 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormSep 9 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 29 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormSep 2 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormOct 3 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormSep 16 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1855 | Unnamed 1855 stormSep 17 | 43 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 Starkville: 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 Starkville
By decade
- 2020s17
- 2010s31(4 EF3+)
- 2000s20(2 EF3+)
- 1990s9(1 EF3+)
- 1980s13(1 EF3+)
- 1970s10(3 EF3+)
- 1960s9(2 EF3+)
- 1950s13(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 1992 | F4 | 20 mi | 128 mi | 12 / 122 |
| Apr 28, 2014 | EF4 | 21 mi | 33.39 mi | 10 / 84 |
| Apr 24, 2010 | EF4 | 13 mi | 148.97 mi | 10 / 146 |
| Feb 23, 1977 | F4 | 23 mi | 15 mi | 2 / 5 |
| Mar 11, 1963 | F4 | 13 mi | 45.2 mi | 2 / 7 |
| Feb 23, 2019 | EF3 | 23 mi | 9.74 mi | 1 / 11 |
| Mar 20, 1976 | F3 | 19 mi | 49.4 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Jun 28, 1957 | F3 | 21 mi | 5.4 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Feb 20, 1951 | F3 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 20 mi | 58.74 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Jan 10, 2008 | EF3 | 22 mi | 23.59 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F3 | 13 mi | 29.2 mi | 0 / 55 |
The strongest 12 of 122, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Starkville
The Storm Prediction Center has 58 hail reports within 10 miles of Starkville since 1971, made on 47 separate days. Of these, 36 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.25 inches, fell on May 8, 2025, the most recent report. March and April have the most reports, 14 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Starkville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is State Univ, MS, 3 miles northeast of Starkville at 185 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 54°F and 33°F. February is the wettest at 6.2 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.7 inches; the year adds up to 58.0 inches over 80 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 44% of the year's precipitation (25.3 of 58.0 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 22 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (10); a normal September there has highs of 87°F and 3.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 78 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 58 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 58.0 inches is more than at 29 of the 87 Mississippi stations used on this site (33%). Maben, 18 miles northwest, has its own station (Eupora 2 E, MS): 58.9 inches a year, 0.9 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 54 | 33 | 5.5 | 8 | 0.3 |
| Feb | 59 | 36 | 6.2 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Mar | 67 | 43 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 75 | 51 | 6.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 83 | 61 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 69 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 72 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 92 | 71 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 87 | 64 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 77 | 52 | 3.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 65 | 42 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 57 | 36 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Year | 75 | 53 | 58.0 | 80 | 0.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at State Univ, MS (185 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 Starkville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 198 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Starkville: 151 thunderstorm wind reports, 38 flash floods, 4 lightning strikes, 3 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $5.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on January 13, 2005. April has had the most flash floods, 11 of 38. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 193 have had fewer than Starkville.
March 3, 2023: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Starkville — 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “In addition to wind damage from preceding high gradient winds, several trees in the Starkville area were also blown down as a line of strong rain showers moved through the city. A tree fell onto a house and injured one occupant.”
May 8, 2025: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Starkville — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “A swath of 60-75 mph winds occurred on the flank of an intense supercell as it moved across the norther side of Starkville. Numerous trees were uprooted or had portions snapped or limbs broken off.”
April 20, 2011: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Starkville — $700,000 damage.
NWS: “Several inches of heavy rain caused flash flooding across Starkville. Several homes were flooded and multiple vehicles were submerged due to high water.”
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 Starkville's ZIP code 39759 have filed 35 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $600,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 29% 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, 49 have fewer than Starkville.
Oktibbeha County, which includes Starkville, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1979, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 6 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 Oktibbeha County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $19.2 million a year, the 23rd highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.0 million (31%), 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 Starkville
- Mississippi State, MS2 mi
- West Point, MS15 mi
- Maben, MS18 mi
- Mathiston, MS19 mi
- Ackerman, MS21 mi
- Columbus, MS25 mi
- Louisville, MS26 mi
- Macon, MS27 mi
- Eupora, MS29 mi
- Weir, MS30 mi
- Hamilton, MS31 mi
- Aberdeen, MS31 mi
All Mississippi cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Starkville with another place →