Tornadoes and Hail in Mississippi, May 19, 1980

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Mississippi, May 19, 1980
Start: 1980-05-19T00:00
End: 1980-05-19T20:45
Location: Mississippi

May 19, 1980 · NWS NG · 7 events in 5 counties and zones

6 tornado, 1 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: 0
Injuries: 12
Property damage: $28 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Jackson

When: May 19, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Jackson County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 30.420, -88.820

Tornado, Pearl River

When: May 19, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Pearl River County
Rating: F2
Path length: 0.3 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 30.830, -89.630

Tornado, Hancock

When: May 19, 6:40 PM CST
Where: Hancock County
Rating: F3
Path length: 13.1 mi
Path width: 800 yd
Injuries: 8 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 30.230, -89.450

Tornado, Harrison

When: May 19, 7:26 PM CST
Where: Harrison County
Rating: F3
Path length: 10.6 mi
Path width: 800 yd
Injuries: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 30.380, -89.180

Tornado, Harrison

When: May 19, 8:10 PM CST
Where: Harrison County
Rating: F2
Path length: 3.6 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 30.450, -88.920

Tornado, Jackson

When: May 19, 8:20 PM CST
Where: Jackson County
Rating: F2
Path length: 4.3 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 30.480, -88.880

Tornado, George

When: May 19, 8:45 PM CST
Where: George County
Rating: F3
Path length: 4.3 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 30.900, -88.650

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 1980 Every state in 1980 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Mississippi, 1980

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: 10061779, 10061780, 10061781, 10061782, 10061783, 10061784, 10061785.