Laurel

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Jones County, the county that contains Laurel.

Claims by ZIP code

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).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Jones County, the county that contains Laurel.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Jones County, the county that contains Laurel.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 29, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Jones$750 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Katrina will likely go down as the worst and costliest natural disaster in United States history. The amount of destruction, the cost of damaged property/agriculture and the large loss of life across the affected region has been overwhelming. Catastrophic damage was widespread across a large portion of the Gulf Coast region. The devastation was not only confined to the coastal region, widespread and significant damage occurred well inland up to the Hattiesburg area and northward past Interstate 20. This hurricane has changed life as we know it across the Gulf Coast region which will take many years to return to normal.Hurricane Katrina was a very large and powerful storm…

2. Apr 12, 2020Tornado$11.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This violent, deadly tornado traveled 68 miles through parts of five counties including southeastern Jefferson Davis, central Covington, northwestern Jones, southeastern Jasper, and western Clarke counties. Locations impacted by this tornado include Bassfield, the areas between Collins and Seminary, Soso, Moss, Heidelberg, and Pachuta. This tornado is preliminarily rated EF4 with an estimated peak wind of 190 MPH east of Bassfield in southwestern Jefferson Davis County. Additional EF4 damage was noted near Soso in Jones County and at Moss in Jasper County. The maximum path width was 2.25 miles in the vicinity of Hughes Road west of Seminary in western Covington County. At this…

3. Apr 7, 2014Tornado$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado touched down just to the west of Sunset-Williamsburg Rd. Several trees were snapped at this location. The tornado moved northeast where it crossed Sunset Rd and Rock Hill Rd. Snapped & uprooted trees were the main damage. As the tornado neared and crossed Highway 49, the intensity increased to a high end EF-1.||Multiple power lines were downed along with numerous trees, two homes had minor damage along Rock Hill Rd. A home had a portion of the roof removed along Highway 49. As the tornado crossed Byrd Town Rd, more high end tree damage occurred with some minor damage to a home and a couple mobile homes. Several sheds and carports were destroyed here as well. The…

4. Sep 2, 2008Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Persistent bands of thunderstorms produced widespread 4 to 6 inches of rain across most of central Jones County. Many roads across the county as well as around Laurel were flooded. On the north side of Laurel, several cars were submerged in a flooded street. This heavy rainfall also flooded some homes and a few apartment complexes. Minor crop damage also occurred from flooded fields and water soaked crops.

5. Apr 14, 1999Tornado$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This strong tornado entered from Covington County and crossed northwest Jones County before entering Southwest Jasper county. One man was killed just north of Hebron when his mobile home was thrown more than fifty yards and destroyed. There were thirty injuries and many homes were destroyed. Tree and power line damage was widespread along the path of the tornado.

6. Mar 15, 2002Tornado$3.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado formed about three miles northwest of Laurel or between the cities of Laurel and Soso in northwest Jones County. The tornado moved northeast 1 mile, before dissipating two miles northwest of the Laurel. West Jones County High School and Middle School sustained significant, structural damage. Most of the roof had collapsed along with other, structural damage which made the facility inhabitable. Damage costs to the school alone exceeded 2.5 million dollars per one county official. One home and one mobile home were also destroyed. Otherwise, ten to twelve homes sustained major damage along with several trees that were uprooted by the tornado.

7. Dec 23, 2014Tornado$2.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado started along Maxey Rd and tracked northeast for a little over 5 miles. Initially the damage was light with only a tree or two snapped and large limbs broken. As the tornado crossed State Highway 28, the width of the tornado increased as well as the intensity. Here, several large pine trees were uprooted and snapped along with a few portions of wooden fence torn down. Along Gardner Rd, more trees were damaged along with some minor roof damage to some homes. A large barn had most of the roof removed with the tin scattered along the path. Similar tree damage occurred as the tornado crossed Hines Rd, Tim Holifield Rd and Service Rd. The tornado reached peak intensity as…

8. Dec 27, 2018Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding occurred on streets in Laurel. Water entered homes on Ferrell Place and Roberts Street in Laurel. Water entered a home on Triangle Drive in the Glade community and a boat rescue occurred. Water was up to the bottom of the stop sign. Water entered a home on Hoy Green Acres Circle. Five water rescues occurred in parts of the county. Three homes flooded in the Calhoun Community west of Laurel, which resulted in water rescues. Homes were also flooded on Susie B Ruffin Avenue at E. 24th Street near Laurel. Bridge was flooded on MS Highway 184 east of Laurel.

9. Nov 15, 2006Tornado$1.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This strong tornado touched down near the Glade and Tuckers Crossing Communities and tracked east northeast to near the Mill Creek Community before entering Wayne County near Highway 84. Around 25 homes suffered significant damage. The most intense damage was along a path from near the intersection of Highway 15 and Orange Drive northeast to the area along Township Road. Two metal high tension electric power truss towers were destroyed, hundreds of trees were snapped and uprooted, at least two mobile homes were destroyed, a travel trailer being used for post-Katrina housing was annihilated, and several houses suffered significant structural damage. Northeast of this area, the path…

10. Apr 28, 2014Tornado$1.5 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    This tornado developed just to the west of Interstate 59 southwest of Sandersville. The tornado crossed the interstate and moved northeast into areas along Dogwood Trail and Magnolia Roads, snapping hundreds of trees and heavily damaging a number of houses and mobile homes. The tornado then turned more to the east, continuing to cause heavy tree damage and destroying a mobile home. As the tornado moved near the intersection of Pleasant Grove and Davenport Road, it reached its maximum intensity in Jones County. It destroyed a wood frame home, leaving only some interior walls standing, and destroyed hundreds of trees, including leaving some denuded and partially debarked. After this…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

108°F3 times, most recently Aug 15, 2007

All-time low

3°F2 times, most recently Dec 24, 1989

Warmest night

83°FJun 22, 1904

Coldest day

18°FDec 23, 1989

Wettest day

9.20 inJun 5, 1928

Snowiest day

10.0 inJan 1, 1964

Hottest year

1911mean 68.1°F

Coldest year

1940mean 62.2°F

Wettest year

194980.61 in

Driest year

195433.89 in

Snowiest season

10.0 in1963-64

Station Laurel (USC00224939), 225 ft elevation, 1.8 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1891 to October 28, 2026; 88.5% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Jones County.

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).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00224939.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.