Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, March 18, 1986

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, March 18, 1986
Start: 1986-03-18T14:10
End: 1986-03-18T23:55
Location: Mississippi

March 18, 1986 · 14 events in 10 counties and zones

13 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, 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: 0
Property damage: $2.1 million
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

13 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Yazoo

When: March 18, 2:10 PM CST
Where: Yazoo County
Rating: F2
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 32.870, -90.570

Tornado, Humphreys

When: March 18, 2:15 PM CST
Where: Humphreys County
Rating: F2
Path length: 5 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 32.950, -90.550

Tornado, Yazoo

When: March 18, 2:21 PM CST
Where: Yazoo County
Rating: F2
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 32.980, -90.420

Tornado, Humphreys

When: March 18, 2:25 PM CST
Where: Humphreys County
Rating: F2
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 32.980, -90.450

Tornado, Holmes

When: March 18, 2:35 PM CST
Where: Holmes County
Rating: F2
Path length: 5 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 33.030, -90.370

Tornado, Benton

When: March 18, 3:10 PM CST
Where: Benton County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1.3 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 34.830, -89.170

Tornado, Sharkey

When: March 18, 3:15 PM CST
Where: Sharkey County
Rating: F1
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 40 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 32.750, -90.770

Tornado, Yazoo

When: March 18, 3:19 PM CST
Where: Yazoo County
Rating: F1
Path length: 3 mi
Path width: 40 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 32.820, -90.700

Tornado, Holmes

When: March 18, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Holmes County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.6 mi
Path width: 40 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 33.170, -89.930

Tornado, Union

When: March 18, 4:35 PM CST
Where: Union County
Rating: F1
Path length: 3 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 34.400, -88.900

Tornado, Hinds

When: March 18, 5:25 PM CST
Where: Hinds County
Rating: F1
Path length: 2.5 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 32.120, -90.330

Tornado, Copiah

When: March 18, 7:10 PM CST
Where: Copiah County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1.2 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 31.870, -90.330

Tornado, Noxubee

When: March 18, 11:25 PM CST
Where: Noxubee County
Rating: F1
Path length: 10 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 33.170, -88.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Lauderdale

When: March 18, 11:55 PM CST
Where: Lauderdale County
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates: 32.550, -88.570

What these are

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.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Mississippi in 1986 Every state in 1986 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Mississippi, 1986 Warnings in Mississippi, March 1986

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: 10064204, 10064205, 10064206, 10064207, 10064208, 10064209, 10064210, 10064211, 10064212, 10064213, 10064214, 10064215, 10064216, 10064217.