NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Vardaman, 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
20 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Vardaman, Mississippi since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Olga in 2019. Since 1950, 78 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 20
- Tornadoes
- 78
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
42 deaths in all
What the records show for Vardaman
None of the 20 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Vardaman; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 66 mph winds when its centre passed 71 miles away. The record near Vardaman begins with an unnamed storm in 1860; the most recent system was Olga in 2019, a tropical storm 27 miles away. The 1910s and the 1930s were the busiest decades, with 3 systems each. Of the 20 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site, 58% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Vardaman. The strongest of the 78 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 11, 1963; its path came within 25 miles, and it killed 2 people. The deadliest, an F3 on April 21, 1984, killed 15 people. Of the 78, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. March and April have had the most tornadoes, 18 each. The most recent tornado was on June 7, 2025. Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 86% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Vardaman. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 37 times since 1967, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 80% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Vardaman.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Vardaman
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 30 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1969 | CamilleAug 18 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1950 | BakerAug 31 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 20 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 2 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 7 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormSep 15 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormAug 16 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormSep 9 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 20 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 29 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormSep 2 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormOct 3 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Vardaman: 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 Vardaman
By decade
- 2020s16(1 EF3+)
- 2010s14(2 EF3+)
- 2000s10(1 EF3+)
- 1990s12(2 EF3+)
- 1980s8(2 EF3+)
- 1970s8(2 EF3+)
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 11, 1963 | F4 | 25 mi | 45.2 mi | 2 / 7 |
| Apr 21, 1984 | F3 | 5 mi | 71 mi | 15 / 76 |
| Feb 24, 2001 | F3 | 14 mi | 52 mi | 6 / 73 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 7 mi | 51.45 mi | 4 / 25 |
| Mar 24, 2023 | EF3 | 25 mi | 36.56 mi | 2 / 55 |
| Mar 20, 1976 | F3 | 17 mi | 49.4 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 16 mi | 58.74 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | F3 | 23 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | F3 | 19 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 19, 1988 | F3 | 19 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 26, 1973 | F3 | 15 mi | 54.4 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Feb 4, 1971 | F2 | 21 mi | 6.1 mi | 7 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 78, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Vardaman
The Storm Prediction Center has 37 hail reports within 10 miles of Vardaman since 1967, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 21 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on June 8, 2014. The most recent report is from May 2, 2025. April has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Vardaman
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Calhoun City, MS, 8 miles west of Vardaman at 268 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 54°F and 32°F. April is the wettest at 6.2 inches of precipitation on average and September and October the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 58.0 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 42% of the year's precipitation (24.5 of 58.0 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 20 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal September there has highs of 86°F and 3.6 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 64 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.8 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%). Houston, 13 miles east, has its own station (Houston, MS): 59.4 inches a year, 1.4 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 54 | 32 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Feb | 59 | 35 | 5.2 | 7 | 0.3 |
| Mar | 67 | 43 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 75 | 51 | 6.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 82 | 60 | 5.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 68 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 71 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 70 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 86 | 63 | 3.6 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 77 | 51 | 3.6 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 65 | 40 | 3.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 56 | 35 | 6.0 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Year | 74 | 51 | 58.0 | 73 | 0.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Calhoun City, MS (268 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 Vardaman
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 87 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Vardaman: 73 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods and 3 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $789,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on March 15, 2025. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 49 have had fewer than Vardaman.
April 20, 2011: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Vardaman — 1 injured.
NWS: “Straight line winds knocked down trees across Chickasaw County. One tree fell on a home in Houston resulting in minor injuries to a child.”
May 2, 2010: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Vardaman — $150,000 damage.
November 1, 2018: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Vardaman — $100,000 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
Calhoun County, which includes Vardaman, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 5 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 Calhoun 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 $6.6 million a year, the 63rd highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.1 million (32%), 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 Vardaman
- Calhoun City, MS9 mi
- Houston, MS13 mi
- Bruce, MS14 mi
- Houlka, MS14 mi
- Maben, MS20 mi
- Eupora, MS22 mi
- Mathiston, MS23 mi
- Okolona, MS25 mi
- Coffeeville, MS27 mi
- Pontotoc, MS27 mi
- Thaxton, MS31 mi
- Shannon, MS31 mi
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