NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Waynesboro, 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
50 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Waynesboro, Mississippi since 1851, 9 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 94 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 9
- Tropical storms
- 41
- Tornadoes
- 94
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Waynesboro
The strongest storm to pass near Waynesboro was Camille in 1969, a Category 2 hurricane with 104 mph winds when its centre passed 68 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Frederic in 1979, whose centre came within 2 miles. The record near Waynesboro begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a Category 1 hurricane 6 miles away. The 1930s and the 2000s were the busiest decades, with 6 systems each. Of the 50 systems, 10 have come since 2000. Waynesboro has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 84% of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site. The strongest of the 94 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on February 28, 1987; its path came within 16 miles, and it killed 6 people. Of the 94, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 59 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on March 4, 2025. Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 77% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Waynesboro. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 38 times since 1972, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 232 Mississippi cities, 78% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Waynesboro.
Compare Waynesboro's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Waynesboro
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 6 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2018 | GordonSep 5 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2017 | NateOct 8 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | LeeSep 5 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 29 | 42 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2005 | DennisJul 11 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2005 | CindyJul 6 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2004 | IvanSep 16 | 59 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2002 | IsidoreSep 26 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2001 | AllisonJun 11 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1995 | ErinAug 4 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 13 | 2 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1971 | EdithSep 17 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1969 | CamilleAug 18 | 68 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1964 | HildaOct 4 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | EthelSep 16 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1950 | BakerAug 31 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1948 | Unnamed 1948 stormSep 4 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormSep 8 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormSep 11 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormSep 26 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormAug 14 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormJun 16 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1936 | Unnamed 1936 stormAug 1 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 16 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 1 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormJun 26 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 6 | 34 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 30 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormSep 14 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 13 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1911 | Unnamed 1911 stormAug 12 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 22 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 27 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormAug 16 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1895 | Unnamed 1895 stormAug 17 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormAug 8 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 2 | 55 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormSep 8 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 12 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormOct 19 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 3 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormSep 1 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormOct 16 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormJul 12 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormSep 15 | overhead | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormAug 12 | 61 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1855 | Unnamed 1855 stormSep 16 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 26 | 47 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Waynesboro: 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 Waynesboro
By decade
- 2020s25(1 EF3+)
- 2010s25(2 EF3+)
- 2000s9(1 EF3+)
- 1990s8
- 1980s6(2 EF3+)
- 1970s12(3 EF3+)
- 1960s2
- 1950s7(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 28, 1987 | F4 | 16 mi | 35 mi | 6 / 350 |
| Feb 26, 1958 | F3 | 10 mi | 29.1 mi | 4 / 20 |
| May 27, 1973 | F3 | 20 mi | 15 mi | 1 / 35 |
| Feb 12, 2025 | EF3 | 7 mi | 27.49 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 16, 2019 | EF3 | 17 mi | 61.19 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 28, 2014 | EF3 | 16 mi | 10.46 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Nov 15, 2006 | F3 | 13 mi | 15.88 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 4, 1988 | F3 | 6 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 22 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 9, 1972 | F3 | 11 mi | 23.6 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Nov 18, 1957 | F3 | 21 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 28, 1954 | F3 | 25 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 25 |
The strongest 12 of 94, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Waynesboro
The Storm Prediction Center has 38 hail reports within 10 miles of Waynesboro since 1972, made on 30 separate days. Of these, 20 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 8 days, most recently June 17, 2023. The most recent report is from June 17, 2023. April has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Waynesboro
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Waynesboro 2 W, MS, 1 mile southwest of Waynesboro at 200 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 59°F and 36°F. January is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 60.3 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 46% of the year's precipitation (27.7 of 60.3 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 50 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (21); a normal September there has highs of 88°F and 4.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 86 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 50 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.6 inches a year, most of it in March. That 60.3 inches is more than at 51 of the 87 Mississippi stations used on this site (59%). Shubuta, 13 miles northwest, has its own station (P Harrison Archusa, MS): 61.5 inches a year, 1.2 more than here, and the same July average high, 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 59 | 36 | 6.1 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Feb | 63 | 39 | 5.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Mar | 71 | 45 | 5.9 | 7 | 0.5 |
| Apr | 77 | 52 | 4.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 84 | 60 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 90 | 68 | 5.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 71 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 92 | 70 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 88 | 65 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 79 | 53 | 3.6 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 68 | 42 | 4.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 61 | 38 | 6.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Year | 77 | 53 | 60.3 | 77 | 0.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Waynesboro 2 W, MS (200 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 Waynesboro
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 88 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Waynesboro: 69 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 flash floods and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $675,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on April 28, 2014. March has had the most flash floods, 6 of 18. Of the 232 Mississippi cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 111 have had fewer than Waynesboro.
June 10, 2022: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Waynesboro — 1 injured.
March 11, 2016: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Waynesboro — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain caused flooding which washed out several roads across Wayne County.”
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 Waynesboro's ZIP code 39367 have filed 49 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $669,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 22% 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, 60 have fewer than Waynesboro.
Wayne County, which includes Waynesboro, has been named in 32 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 16 hurricanes, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Arthur, on August 3, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Wayne County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.9 million a year, the 33rd highest of 82 Mississippi counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.7 million (36%), is from hurricanes.
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 Waynesboro
- Buckatunna, MS11 mi
- Shubuta, MS13 mi
- Millry, AL19 mi
- State Line, MS20 mi
- Heidelberg, MS24 mi
- Quitman, MS26 mi
- Richton, MS26 mi
- Ovett, MS27 mi
- Chatom, AL28 mi
- Laurel, MS28 mi
- Ellisville, MS34 mi
- Enterprise, MS35 mi
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