Tornadoes and Hail in Mississippi, January 23, 1969

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Mississippi, January 23, 1969
Start: 1969-01-23T05:00
End: 1969-01-23T07:45
Location: Mississippi

January 23, 1969 · 8 events in 7 counties and zones

6 tornado, 2 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 32
Injuries: 241
Property damage: $1.5 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

6 tornado, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Jefferson

When: January 23, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Jefferson County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 31.700, -91.080

Hail, Franklin

When: January 23, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Franklin County
Measured: 2 in hail
Coordinates: 31.600, -91.000

Tornado, Jefferson

When: January 23, 5:25 AM CST
Where: Jefferson County
Rating: F4
Path length: 19.5 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 31.680, -91.050

Tornado, Copiah

When: January 23, 6:25 AM CST
Where: Copiah County
Rating: F4
Path length: 34.5 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Deaths: 11 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 140 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 31.770, -90.730

Tornado, Simpson

When: January 23, 6:40 AM CST
Where: Simpson County
Rating: F4
Path length: 23 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Deaths: 12 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 65 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 31.900, -90.170

Tornado, Rankin

When: January 23, 7:15 AM CST
Where: Rankin County
Rating: F4
Path length: 5.6 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 32.050, -89.820

Tornado, Smith

When: January 23, 7:25 AM CST
Where: Smith County
Rating: F4
Path length: 14.9 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Deaths: 9 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 35 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 32.080, -89.730

Tornado, Scott

When: January 23, 7:45 AM CST
Where: Scott County
Rating: F4
Path length: 20.3 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 32.220, -89.530

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Mississippi in 1969 Every state in 1969 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Mississippi, 1969

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10049735, 10049736, 10049737, 10049738, 10049739, 10049740, 10049741, 10049742.