Tornado and Hail in Mississippi, May 18, 1981

Name: Tornado and Hail in Mississippi, May 18, 1981
Start: 1981-05-18T13:45
End: 1981-05-18T21:05
Location: Mississippi

May 18, 1981 · NWS REP · 14 events in 9 counties and zones

7 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
Property damage: $250,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 14

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

7 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Sunflower

When: May 18, 1:45 PM CST
Where: Sunflower County
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Coordinates: 33.570, -90.650

Thunderstorm Wind, Leflore

When: May 18, 2:02 PM CST
Where: Leflore County
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Coordinates: 33.500, -90.080

Hail, Leake

When: May 18, 4:25 PM CST
Where: Leake County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 32.730, -89.530

Hail, Rankin

When: May 18, 6:59 PM CST
Where: Rankin County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 32.150, -90.130

Hail, Rankin

When: May 18, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Rankin County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 32.230, -90.080

Hail, Humphreys

When: May 18, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Humphreys County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 33.070, -90.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Washington

When: May 18, 7:05 PM CST
Where: Washington County
Coordinates: 33.400, -90.980

Hail, Washington

When: May 18, 7:15 PM CST
Where: Washington County
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Coordinates: 33.220, -91.050

Thunderstorm Wind, Madison

When: May 18, 7:22 PM CST
Where: Madison County
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph)
Coordinates: 32.420, -90.030

Hail, Madison

When: May 18, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Madison County
Measured: 2.5 in hail
Coordinates: 32.420, -90.030

Thunderstorm Wind, Attala

When: May 18, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Attala County
Coordinates: 33.100, -89.600

Thunderstorm Wind, Leake

When: May 18, 8:35 PM CST
Where: Leake County
Coordinates: 32.720, -89.520

Thunderstorm Wind, Choctaw

When: May 18, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Choctaw County
Coordinates: 33.270, -89.280

Tornado, Madison

When: May 18, 9:05 PM CST
Where: Madison County
Rating: F2
Path length: 7.1 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 32.670, -89.930

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
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 1981 Every state in 1981 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Mississippi, 1981

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: 10061149, 10061150, 10061151, 10061152, 10061153, 10061154, 10061155, 10061156, 10061157, 10061158, 10061159, 10061160, 10061161, 10061162.