TORNADOES IN MISSISSIPPI

MISSISSIPPI TORNADOES BY COUNTY Annual Mississippi Tornado Statistics 1950-2007 Average Number . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Greatest Number . . . . . 99 in 2005 Least Number . . . . . . . . 5 in 1964 Average Number of Deaths . . . . 7 Tornado Frequency: 4.82 per 10,000 sq. mi.

For the period from 1950 through 2007, there have been a total of 1526 reported tornadoes in the state of Mississippi. Several other states across the nation have a greater yearly number of tornadoes, however, since 1950 Mississippi has had 404 tornado deaths. The reason for this is that Mississippi has a higher percentage of strong or violent tornadoes. Also, tornadoes are not as easily spotted in Mississippi as they are in the Midwest where flat land and few trees make tornadoes visible from many miles away. Many times tornadoes in Mississippi are associated with heavy precipitation thunderstorms, and this adds to the spotting difficulty. Tornadoes have occurred in every month of the year, but have a higher frequency during the period from February through May, as well as the month of November. They can also occur at any time of the day or night, but are most frequent during the late afternoon and early evening hours. This is when the earth's surface heating is at a maximum, and it is this heating that fuels the thunderstorms that produce tornadoes.