NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Walnut Grove, 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
26 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Walnut Grove, Mississippi since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 192 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 18 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 25
- Tornadoes
- 192
- EF3 or stronger
- 18
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
131 deaths in all
What the records show for Walnut Grove
The strongest storm to pass near Walnut Grove was Camille in 1969, a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds when its centre passed 33 miles away. The record near Walnut Grove begins with an unnamed storm in 1855; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 69 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1910s, with 4 systems. Of the 26 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Walnut Grove has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 49% of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site. The highest rating among the 192 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5 or EF5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2011, came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an F5 on March 3, 1966, killed 58 people. Of the 192, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 126 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 59. The most recent tornado was on April 6, 2025. Walnut Grove has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 82% of the 232 Mississippi cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 58 times since 1973, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Walnut Grove has more hail reports within 10 miles than 49% of the 232 Mississippi cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Walnut Grove
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaAug 30 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 29 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2002 | IsidoreSep 26 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1995 | ErinAug 4 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1971 | EdithSep 17 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1969 | CamilleAug 18 | 33 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1948 | Unnamed 1948 stormSep 5 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 20 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 2 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 6 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormSep 14 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 13 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormAug 16 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormSep 8 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormSep 1 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormSep 2 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormJul 12 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormOct 3 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormSep 16 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1855 | Unnamed 1855 stormSep 17 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Walnut Grove: 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 Walnut Grove
By decade
- 2020s24
- 2010s62(5 EF3+)
- 2000s40
- 1990s10(2 EF3+)
- 1980s14(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15(3 EF3+)
- 1960s11(4 EF3+)
- 1950s16(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 3, 1966 | F5 | in town | 202.5 mi | 58 / 518 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF5 | 23 mi | 28.28 mi | 3 / 6 |
| Jan 23, 1969 | F4 | 24 mi | 117.8 mi | 32 / 241 |
| Nov 21, 1992 | F4 | 18 mi | 128 mi | 12 / 122 |
| Apr 28, 2014 | EF4 | 19 mi | 33.39 mi | 10 / 84 |
| Dec 2, 1967 | F4 | 7 mi | 7.6 mi | 2 / 10 |
| Nov 22, 1992 | F4 | 24 mi | 40 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Feb 26, 1958 | F3 | 19 mi | 69.7 mi | 8 / 26 |
| Apr 2, 1982 | F3 | 8 mi | 42 mi | 3 / 40 |
| Feb 18, 1976 | F3 | 3 mi | 27.3 mi | 1 / 27 |
| May 9, 1971 | F3 | 20 mi | 1 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Feb 26, 1958 | F3 | in town | 71 mi | 1 / 34 |
The strongest 12 of 192, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Walnut Grove
The Storm Prediction Center has 58 hail reports within 10 miles of Walnut Grove since 1973, made on 46 separate days. Of these, 43 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently March 29, 2020. The most recent report is from May 2, 2025. March has the most reports, 15.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Walnut Grove
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Carthage, MS, 12 miles northwest of Walnut Grove at 370 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 57°F and 34°F. April is the wettest at 6.3 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.8 inches; the year adds up to 57.8 inches over 70 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 44% of the year's precipitation (25.7 of 57.8 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 26 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (14); a normal September there has highs of 88°F and 3.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 77 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 64 nights a year. That 57.8 inches is more than at 26 of the 87 Mississippi stations used on this site (30%). Conehatta, 11 miles southeast, has its own station (Newton Exp Stn, MS): 58.3 inches a year, 0.5 more than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57 | 34 | 5.7 | 8 |
| Feb | 61 | 37 | 5.3 | 6 |
| Mar | 69 | 44 | 5.1 | 6 |
| Apr | 76 | 51 | 6.3 | 6 |
| May | 83 | 59 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Jun | 89 | 67 | 3.9 | 5 |
| Jul | 92 | 71 | 5.1 | 7 |
| Aug | 92 | 70 | 4.7 | 6 |
| Sep | 88 | 64 | 3.8 | 4 |
| Oct | 78 | 51 | 3.9 | 4 |
| Nov | 67 | 41 | 4.3 | 6 |
| Dec | 58 | 35 | 5.3 | 7 |
| Year | 76 | 52 | 57.8 | 70 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Carthage, MS (370 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 Walnut Grove
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 159 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Walnut Grove: 127 thunderstorm wind reports and 32 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $10.3 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, 9 of 32. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 182 have had fewer than Walnut Grove.
August 2, 2008: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Walnut Grove — $2.3 million damage.
NWS: “Hundreds of trees and power lines were blown down across the eastern half of Scott County as an intense line of storms moved through the area. Wind gusts ranged from 60 to 75 mph which downed many trees and power lines across area roads.”
November 29, 2001: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Walnut Grove — $2.0 million damage.
April 9, 2024: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Walnut Grove — $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “A line of severe thunderstorms produced a swath of significant damaging winds that was up to 3 to 4 miles wide and approximately 18 miles long across the southern half of Neshoba County. Along this swath, numerous trees and power lines were blown down.”
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
Leake County, which includes Walnut Grove, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 6 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Leake County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.9 million a year, the 44th highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.4 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 Walnut Grove
- Conehatta, MS11 mi
- Lena, MS12 mi
- Carthage, MS14 mi
- Forest, MS16 mi
- Union, MS17 mi
- Lake, MS19 mi
- Decatur, MS21 mi
- Philadelphia, MS21 mi
- Morton, MS24 mi
- Newton, MS25 mi
- Pelahatchie, MS29 mi
- Hickory, MS31 mi
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