Washington County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Washington County: 3.
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.

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

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.

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.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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. Jan 10, 2009Tornado$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-1 tonado developed near the intersection of Topton Road and U.S. Highway 43. The tornado traveled northeast for about 1.6 miles and ended near the Ciba industrial plant. Numerous pine trees were snapped at their bases along the entire path and extensive roof damage was observed to single family residence homes. The Ciba plant experienced damage to several of its building's roofs. The high winds also blew through the glass door entry-ways of several buildings. High winds also blew out the rear windshields of an entire row of pickup trucks. One truck in the parking lot was flipped upside down and extensive tree damage occurred near the entrance to the plant.

2. Apr 15, 2011Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado moved into southwest Washington county from the Leakesville area of Greene County Mississippi. The tornado tracked near County Road 8 where several mobile homes were damaged or destroyed. Three fatalities and three injuries occurred in a destroyed mobile home in Deer Park on Box Road. The tornado lifted just prior to reaching Highway 45. Extensive tree damage nearly 400 yards wide was noted in several areas along the path.

3. Jun 5, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of severe thunderstorms moved through the county between 1025 pm and 1110 pm. Trees and power lines were blown down throughout the county. The hardest hit area was Millry. County Road 34 leading into Millry from the west had trees down all along it as did most of the city of Millry. A spokesman for the local electric utility company said it was one of the worst storms in years in terms of damage and outages. Many of the trees fell onto houses and businesses causing extensive damage to the structures. It took more than a week for the county to get the trees off the highways and homes. No one was seriously injured during the storm.

4. May 2, 2003Hail$1.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Golfball to Tennis Ball sized hail fell between Chatom and Wagarville. Numerous automobiles and roofs were damaged by the large hail. Two automobile dealerships in Chatom sustained major damage to their automobile inventory.

5. Jan 2, 2017Flash Flood$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant flash flooding occurred near the Leroy area of Washington County. The flash flooding was the result of over 6 inches of rain falling over just a couple of hours of time, with most of the rainfall occurring in just 90 minutes. Roads were washed out near Highway 43, including Lower Ferry Road, Sullivan Lane, Powell Cutoff Road, and Upper Ferry Roadway. The washouts also exposed and damaged a water main and natural gas line. Over a foot of water was reported on Luke River Road.

6. Mar 12, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of severe thunderstorms produced a microburst, with winds estimated in excess of 80 mph, in the vicinity of McIntosh. The severe winds completely destroyed several trailer homes in the area, injuring 6 individuals. Significant tree and structural damage to buildings occurred over a widespread area around McIntosh. Many automobiles were heavily damaged or destroyed as well.

7. Nov 15, 2006Tornado$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado first touched down west of County Road 15 just south of Sleepy Hollow Lane. Tree and roof damage was observed in this area. The tornado moved northeast crossing State Highway 17 near Jordan. This is where most of the damage from the tornado was found. Numerous homes had roof damage and with several trees down. A well constructed horse stable was damaged and several valuable horses were injured with one killed. The tornado continued northeast for several miles over open land crossing County Road 31 south of CC Trail Road. Mostly tree damage occurred in this area. The tornado dissipated near CC Trail Road.

8. Apr 14, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The large bow echo that moved across southeast Mississippi continued into southwest Alabama. Numerous trees and powerlines were blown down near Yarbo. Several of the trees landed on homes causing roof damage. A well-built garage was completely destroyed by the high winds. It appeared that the highest winds along the bow struck the garage broadside. No injuries were reported. This same area was struck by a tornado a few months before.

9. Jun 22, 2017Flash Flood$460,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding caused significant damage to County Road 36 and County Road 11 west of Millry.

10. Apr 15, 2011Tornado$300,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The tornado continued east from the State Line, Mississippi area. As the tornado crossed into Washington County, Alabama, it strengthened to EF-1 intensity as it moved into the Laton Hill area along Highway 56, producing damage to several homes, outbuildings, and trees along a 200 yard wide path. One home had a chimney collapse with significant damage to the garage. Other single family homes had sections of the roofing material removed. One manufactured home in the Laton Hill area off Highway 56 and County Road 11 was reported by EMA officials to be completely destroyed.

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 24, 2023

All-time low

3°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

80°FAug 7, 2023

Coldest day

21°FDec 22, 1989

Wettest day

10.18 inDec 10, 1961

Snowiest day

5.5 inJan 1, 1964

Hottest year

1990mean 68.0°F

Coldest year

2014mean 63.5°F

Wettest year

197598.85 in

Driest year

200038.09 in

Station Jackson (USC00014193), 220 ft elevation, 17.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1965 to October 27, 2026; 93.4% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USC00014193.
• 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.