Prentiss County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Prentiss County: 2.
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.

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.

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 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. Feb 24, 2001Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado continued from Lee county into Prentiss county finally lifting up near the town of Wheeler. The most significant damage occurred in Baldwyn along the Lee/Prentiss county line. Nearly 100 homes were damaged or destroyed. The Baldwyn High School lost the roof to its gymnasium and had another building damaged. Six homes were damaged in Wheeler.

2. Feb 17, 2021Heavy Snow, Prentiss$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three to five inches of snow fell. Area transportation was greatly impacted. The covering on the Bay Springs Lake Marina collapsed due to the weight of snow and sleet.

3. Jan 24, 2026Ice Storm, Prentiss$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sleet accumulation up to 1/2 inch, followed by 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ice.

4. May 2, 2010Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain produced flash flooding across Prentiss County. Ten roads and two bridges sustained major damage. One hundred additional roads received minor damage.

5. Jan 11, 2020Tornado$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado tracked from Lee County. Many trees were uprooted in Baldwyn, with a few trees falling on houses. The tornado damaged the roof of the high school and an industrial building on the northeast side of town. The last observed damage was to trees south of the Wheeler community. Peak winds were estimated at 90 mph. A total of 54 homes and five apartments were damaged by tornadoes and straight-line winds on this date across Prentiss County.

6. Dec 11, 2021Tornado$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS meteorologists surveyed storm damage in the area of Marietta, MS in Prentiss County and determined it was the result of a tornado. The tornado began in a field along HWY 371 just south of MS-4 East. As the tornado tracked northeastward, hardwood and softwood trees were uprooted with a few snapped trunks. The worst damage occurred along CR 4111, where a site-built home had a large section of roof blown off and a carport totally destroyed. Nearby damage consisted of a narrow path of uprooted trees and a few snapped trunks. It is along this portion of the track that the tornado was given a peak rating of EF-1. Just down the road, a mobile home had a section of peeled roof. The…

7. Dec 23, 2015Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado occurred in Western Prentiss County. The tornado damaged several mobile homes and uprooted trees. One home slid off its foundation.

8. Jan 31, 2026Cold/Wind Chill, Prentiss$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A dry, mid-level shortwave aid in the push of another cold front in late January. Another arctic airmass residing behind this boundary resulting in another bitterly cold period. Cold temperatures combined with elevated northerly winds resulted in sub zero wind chill values across north Mississippi.

9. Mar 15, 2025Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several county roads were damaged by floodwaters. CR 4274 was completely washed out.

10. Apr 22, 2017Tornado$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The tornado damage was spotty and intermittent along the path. Tree damage occurred along County roads 5141,5051,and 5091. A mobile home was damaged along County road 5091. A stand of pine trees was damaged north of Highway 4, approximately 1.5 miles northeast of Hobo Station. The last damage was observed west of New Site. Although the tornado was rated an EF1, the EF1 damage was confined to isolated areas. Peak winds were estimated at 90 mph. Other wind damage occurred across the county, especially in the Wheeler vicinity and just south of Booneville.

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

107°FAug 15, 2007

All-time low

−12°FJan 30, 1966

Warmest night

80°F3 times, most recently Jul 3, 2024

Coldest day

10°FDec 22, 1989

Wettest day

7.89 inMay 26, 1991

Snowiest day

8.0 inMar 22, 1968

Hottest year

2023mean 65.9°F

Coldest year

1976mean 59.2°F

Wettest year

199181.05 in

Driest year

198130.98 in

Snowiest season

11.0 in1967-68

Station Tupelo Regional Airport (USW00093862), 340 ft elevation, 28.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1962 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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 USW00093862.
• 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.