Ocean Springs

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 Jackson County, the county that contains Ocean Springs.

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 Jackson County, the county that contains Ocean Springs.

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.

High tide flooding

Tide gauges in Jackson County.

1. High tide flooding days are days on which a NOAA tide gauge recorded water at or above NOAA's minor flood threshold, set from the gauge's tide range, counted by meteorological year (May to April). These are the counts in NOAA's annual high tide flooding reports; they are not National Weather Service flood stages. Years with less than 80 percent of data are left out.

NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, through April 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Jackson County, the county that contains Ocean Springs.

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.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Jackson County.

Mapped by NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 29, 2005Storm Surge/Tide, Jackson$2.3 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   Storm surge damage across coastal Mississippi was catastrophic and approached or exceeded the surge associated with Hurricane Camille and impacted a much more extensive area. Almost total destruction was observed along the immediate coast in Hancock and Harrison Counties with storm surge damage extending north along bays and bayous to Interstate Highway 10 in some instances. Thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed by the storm surge. Most tide gages were destroyed by the storm surge so storm surge was determined primarily by post storm high water mark surveys conducted by FEMA. An estimated storm surge of approximately 23.0 feet occurred at the Hancock County EOC…

2. Aug 28, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Jackson$1.1 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest and most destructive hurricanes on record to impact the coast of the United States. It will likely be recorded as one the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States to date resulting in catastrophic damage and numerous casualties in southeast Louisiana and along the Mississippi coast. Damage and casualties resulting from Hurricane Katrina extended as far east as Alabama and the panhandle of Florida. Katrina developed from a tropical depression southeast of the Bahamas on August 24th. After moving through the Bahamas as a tropical storm, Katrina strengthened to a category 1 hurricane prior to landfall in south Florida…

3. Sep 27, 1998Hurricane (Typhoon), Jackson$370 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Georges, a strong Category 2 hurricane moved slowly northwest across the Gulf of Mexico toward southeast Louisiana and coastal Mississippi on the September 25 and September 26. As the hurricane approached the mouth of the Mississippi River on September 27, it slowly turned toward the north making landfall along the Mississippi Coast just to the east of Biloxi, MS at 0400 CST on September 28. The hurricane moved only slowly north during the morning hours, at times becoming nearly stationary. The hurricane finally was downgraded to a tropical storm at 1500CST on September 28 when it was located north of Biloxi. The tropical storm then moved very slowly eastward into…

4. Oct 28, 2020Hurricane (Typhoon), Jackson$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Zeta produced sustained tropical storm force winds across much of the county, with a few unofficial reports of hurricane force wind gusts. Widespread damage to trees and power lines occurred, with several areas becoming inaccessible due to debris. At least minor damage was reported to over 1000 homes, with several suffering moderate to major damage, mainly as a result of falling trees.

5. Sep 25, 2002Tropical Storm, Jackson$6.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical Storm Isidore moved steadily northward across the central Gulf of Mexico on September 24th and September 25th before making landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana during the early morning of September 26th. The tropical storm moved north across southeast Louisiana and by the evening of the 26th was located in central Mississippi where it was downgraded to a tropical depression. Tropical Storm Isidore had a large circulation with tropical storm force winds extending several hundred miles from its center. Prior to moving onto the Yucatan Peninsula earlier in the week and weakening, Isidore was classified as a major hurricane.The large circulation caused a significant storm…

6. Sep 15, 2004Hurricane (Typhoon), Jackson$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Ivan moved steadily northward across the the north-central Gulf of Mexico on September 15th before turning north-northeast and making landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama as a Category 3 hurricane during the early morning of September 16th.Hurricane Ivan made landfall far enough to the east of the Mississippi Coast to minimize the damage to the coastal counties, however hurricane force winds did affect Jackson County. An anemometer on top of the Emergency Operation Center in downtown Pascagoula recorded a wind gust to 76 knots (88 mph) as the eye of the hurricane passed to the east of area. Tropical storm force winds occurred over Harrison and Hancock Counties with wind…

7. Oct 2, 2002Tropical Storm, Jackson$1.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Lili, a major hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico, during the daylight hours of October 2, 2002 moved steadily northwest around 15 mph toward the Louisiana coast during the evening hour. The hurricane weakened rapidly to a Saffir Simpson Scale Category 1 Hurricane by the time it made landfall during the morning of October 3rd along the south central Louisiana coast. The hurricane moved north northwest across south central Louisiana before turning northeast across the northern portion of the Louisiana. While Hurricane Lili made landfall in south central Louisiana, tropical storm force wind gusts affected nearly all of south Mississippi during October 3rd as rainbands moved…

8. May 1, 2013Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall of 7 to 8 inches resulted in flash flooding across portions of Jackson County. The Pascagoula Airport recorded slightly more than 7 inches of rain during the day. Many roadways and some homes were flooded. Emergency response crews rescued 20 people from flooded cars and 70 people were evacuated from Moss Point neighborhoods which flooded. Several residents were also rescued from flooded neighborhoods in Pascagaoula. In Gautier, two businesses and six homes flooded. Damage to county roads was estimated around $1.5 million. ||Evacuations occurred in portions of Moss Point due to flooding of a bayou and drainage canals.

9. Aug 30, 2012Flash Flood$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rainbands associated with Tropical Storm Isaac persisted over Jackson County during the overnight and morning hours producing torrential rainfall. Flooding of secondary routes was reported over much of the area. A number of high water rescues were necessary when neighborhoods in the Pascagoula and Escatawpa areas were flooded in the early to mid morning.

10. Sep 15, 2004Storm Surge/Tide, Jackson$1.2 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Hurricane Ivan moved steadily northward across the the north-central Gulf of Mexico on September 15th before turning north-northeast and making landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama as a Category 3 hurricane during the early morning of September 16th.Hurricane Ivan made landfall far enough to the east of the Mississippi Coast to minimize the damage to the coastal counties, however hurricane force winds did affect Jackson County. An anemometer on top of the Emergency Operation Center in downtown Pascagoula recorded a wind gust to 76 knots (88 mph) as the eye of the hurricane passed to the east of area. Tropical storm force winds occurred over Harrison and Hancock Counties with wind…

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

104°F5 times, most recently Aug 26, 2023

All-time low

1°FFeb 12, 1899

Warmest night

88°F2 times, most recently Aug 18, 1975

Coldest day

25°FFeb 12, 1899

Wettest day

11.30 inSep 28, 1998

Snowiest day

6.3 inFeb 15, 1895

Hottest year

2023mean 71.4°F

Coldest year

1895mean 64.9°F

Wettest year

202191.63 in

Driest year

193834.64 in

Station Biloxi (USC00220792), 10 ft elevation, 12.7 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 2, 2026; 96.4% 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 Jackson 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 USC00220792.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tide gauges NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.