NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Water Valley, 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
14 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Water Valley, Mississippi since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Olga in 2019. Since 1950, 58 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 14
- Tornadoes
- 58
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
66 deaths in all
What the records show for Water Valley
None of the 14 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Water Valley; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 64 mph winds when its centre passed 41 miles away. The record near Water Valley begins with an unnamed storm in 1860; the most recent system was Olga in 2019, a tropical storm directly overhead. The busiest decade was the 1930s, with 3 systems. Of the 14 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site, 78% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Water Valley. The strongest of the 58 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on February 21, 1971; its path came within 4 miles, and it killed 58 people. Of the 58, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 27 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 17. The most recent tornado was on April 5, 2025. Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 97% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Water Valley. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 43 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 67% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Water Valley.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Water Valley
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | overhead | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 30 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1969 | CamilleAug 18 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1950 | BakerAug 31 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 20 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 2 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 7 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 20 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 29 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormOct 3 | 6 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 Water Valley: 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 Water Valley
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s9(1 EF3+)
- 2000s10(3 EF3+)
- 1990s8(3 EF3+)
- 1980s5
- 1970s13(1 EF3+)
- 1960s2
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 1971 | F4 | 4 mi | 202.1 mi | 58 / 795 |
| Feb 24, 2001 | F3 | 18 mi | 52 mi | 6 / 73 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 6 mi | 13.57 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Feb 5, 2008 | EF3 | 19 mi | 7.15 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Jan 3, 2000 | F3 | 5 mi | 43.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | F3 | 24 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | F3 | 15 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | F3 | 13 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 2, 2010 | EF2 | 24 mi | 1.43 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Apr 5, 2025 | EF2 | 16 mi | 39.71 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 23 mi | 5.97 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2013 | EF2 | 16 mi | 0.79 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 58, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Water Valley
The Storm Prediction Center has 43 hail reports within 10 miles of Water Valley since 1962, made on 34 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 24, 2024. The most recent report is from May 17, 2025. May has the most reports, 15.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Water Valley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Water Valley, MS, in Water Valley at 310 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 53°F and 30°F. April is the wettest at 6.3 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 58.7 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 44% of the year's precipitation (25.9 of 58.7 inches); the other six months are wetter. August has brought the most of the 14 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (5); a normal August there has highs of 91°F and 4.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 69 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 76 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 58.7 inches is more than at 39 of the 87 Mississippi stations used on this site (45%). Oxford, 15 miles northeast, has its own station (University, MS): 60.6 inches a year, 1.9 more than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 53 | 30 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.8 |
| Feb | 57 | 32 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.3 |
| Mar | 66 | 40 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 74 | 48 | 6.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 82 | 58 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 66 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 70 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 68 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 86 | 61 | 3.6 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 76 | 49 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 64 | 38 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 55 | 33 | 5.7 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Year | 74 | 49 | 58.7 | 76 | 1.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Water Valley, MS (310 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 Water Valley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 58 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Water Valley: 46 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $545,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 79 mph, on April 5, 2025. June has had the most flash floods, 3 of 11. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 49 have had fewer than Water Valley.
June 8, 2021: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Water Valley — $200,000 damage.
NWS: “A creek running under County Road 224 east of Water Valley eroded the ground under the road. The roadbed was left intact.”
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 Water Valley's ZIP code 38965 have filed 38 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $345,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1983, with 15. 21% 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, 52 have fewer than Water Valley.
Yalobusha County, which includes Water Valley, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1971, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 4 hurricanes, 3 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 6, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Yalobusha County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $5.5 million a year, the 70th highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.8 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 Water Valley
- Coffeeville, MS15 mi
- Oxford, MS15 mi
- University, MS16 mi
- Pope, MS16 mi
- Oakland, MS16 mi
- Courtland, MS17 mi
- Bruce, MS18 mi
- Batesville, MS22 mi
- Sardis, MS24 mi
- Abbeville, MS25 mi
- Thaxton, MS27 mi
- Calhoun City, MS28 mi
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