Tunica County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. May 1, 2011Flood$1.0 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Mississippi River rose to near record levels during the beginning and middle part of May. The area known as Tunica Cut-Off was flooded as many as 357 homes sustained damage. All nine casinos in Tunica County were closed and sustained some damage from flooding. Several roads were flooded and/or damaged. Several hundred acres of fields were flooded as well. The river remained above flood stage through the end of the month.

2. Mar 10, 2016Flood$1.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Continued heavy rainfall brought many road closures to Tunica County due to flooded roadways. Several homes were evacuated off Highway 3 in Robinsonville. A total of 118 homes were damaged. Forty-four roads suffered damage and 245 people were displaced.

3. Jan 11, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds moved across Tunica, MS and areas south and east of the community. Several industrial buildings were damaged south of town. The Tunica AWOS recorded a peak wind gust of 79 mph. East of the airport, an apartment roof, mobile home, and a large storage shed were damaged. In total, across Tunica County, there were four homes damaged, four businesses damaged and 17 farms damaged. There was widespread tree damage along with two injuries. A tractor-trailer was also blown over.

4. Jul 13, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two homes suffered major damage. Between 15 and 20 other homes as well as two churches and three businesses had minor damage. Numerous power lines were blown down.

5. Mar 31, 2023Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado formed just northeast of the Tunica airport and tracked northeast through rural Tunica and Desoto counties. A large number of homes and a church a few miles northeast of the airport suffered roof damage. Several sheds were displaced and destroyed. There was consistent damage for over 20 miles before lifting in DeSoto County, mainly snapped and uprooted trees. A few homes and mobile homes along Highway 3 south of Arkabutla Dam Road had shingles removed or portions of the metal roofing lifted. There were a number of trees snapped and uprooted along Highway 3 and in a wooded area along Woffolk Road. Several power poles were snapped and numerous trees along Arkabutla Dam…

6. Dec 21, 2013Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down on Flea Harbor Road in Southern Tunica County and traveled northeast. A church was pushed off its foundation by 10 feet or more. Multiple homes were damaged on Flea Harbor Road. A trailer was rolled and debris was thrown at least a mile from home. Power lines were snapped with large power lines snapped on Six Mile Lake Road. Peak winds were estimated at 90 to 100 mph.

7. Mar 28, 2008Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Mississippi River rose to 10 year historical levels in Tunica County. The high levels brought flood water into a few homes in the Tunica Cut-Off Lake area.

8. Apr 1, 2008Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Mississippi River rose to 10 year historical levels in Tunica County. The high levels brought flood water into a few homes in the Tunica Cut-Off Lake area. Voluntary evacuations orders were posted for the area. Two deaths occurred from the flooding. A 23 year old drowned when he fell into the flood water when attempting to secure his family's boat. A 63 year old man drowned when he fell into the flood water after leaving a bar.

9. May 18, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$160,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A couple of broken traffic lights on Casino Strip Blvd and Hwy 304 Scenic and Kirby Rd.

10. Feb 5, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Straight line winds knocked down numerous power poles and trees in the Tunica area. A tree was knocked onto a house causing moderate damage. Twenty to thirty residential homes had shingle damage and three apartment complexes had roof damage. The antenna was blown off the roof of the Tunica EMA building and an 86 mph gust was reported at the Tunica Airport. Structural damage to a few businesses occurred near the Resort District.

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°FJul 13, 1980

All-time low

−13°FDec 24, 1963

Warmest night

84°F4 times, most recently Aug 3, 2010

Coldest day

6°FJan 10, 1962

Wettest day

5.88 inNov 28, 2001

Snowiest day

14.3 inDec 22, 1963

Hottest year

2012mean 65.9°F

Coldest year

1958mean 59.8°F

Wettest year

195776.85 in

Driest year

200734.81 in

Snowiest season

23.8 in1967-68

Station Memphis International Airport (USW00013893), 251 ft elevation, 30.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00013893.
• 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.