Mississippi, 1997

Flash Flooding and Hail in Mississippi, May 2, 1997

May 2, 1997 · NWS MEG · 18 events in 11 counties and zones

9 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 3 lightning, 2 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
$70,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
18

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.

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 161 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:58 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 3 lightning, 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Tallahatchie

When
May 2, 10:58 AM CST to 11:10 AM CST
Where
Tallahatchie County, Webb
Measured
0.75 in hail
Property damage
$10
Coordinates
33.950, -90.350

Hail, Panola

When
May 2, 11:20 AM CST to 11:25 AM CST
Where
Panola County, 2 mi W of Batesville
Measured
0.75 in hail
Property damage
$100
Coordinates
34.320, -89.980

A patrol car was damaged by dime size hail.

Thunderstorm Wind, Tallahatchie

When
May 2, 12:30 PM CST to 12:35 PM CST
Where
Tallahatchie County, Charleston
Property damage
$1,000
Coordinates
34.000, -90.050

Some power lines were blown down.

Lightning, Tishomingo

When
May 2, 2:00 PM CST to 2:10 PM CST
Where
Tishomingo County, Burnsville
Property damage
$10,000
Coordinates
34.740, -88.239 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A church in Burnsville was damaged by a fire started by lightning. A funeral home in Belmont suffered damage to electrical equipment and telephones by a lightning strike.

Hail, Lee

When
May 2, 2:08 PM CST to 2:25 PM CST
Where
Lee County, Tupelo
Measured
0.75 in hail
Property damage
$10
Coordinates
34.270, -88.720

Thunderstorm Wind, Prentiss

When
May 2, 2:40 PM CST to 2:45 PM CST
Where
Prentiss County, Marietta
Property damage
$1,000
Coordinates
34.500, -88.470

Several trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Itawamba

When
May 2, 2:40 PM CST to 2:45 PM CST
Where
Itawamba County, Fulton
Property damage
$500
Coordinates
34.270, -88.420

Some large tree limbs were knocked down.

Hail, Clay

When
May 2, 2:40 PM CST to 2:45 PM CST
Where
Clay County, Pheba
Measured
0.88 in hail
Property damage
$60
Coordinates
33.580, -88.950

Dime to nickel size hail fell in the town of Pheba.

Thunderstorm Wind, Monroe

When
May 2, 2:40 PM CST to 2:50 PM CST
Where
Monroe County, Amory to Aberdeen
Property damage
$2,000
Coordinates
33.980, -88.500

Several trees and large tree limbs were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Clay

When
May 2, 2:40 PM CST to 2:45 PM CST
Where
Clay County, Pheba
Property damage
$1,000
Coordinates
33.580, -88.950

A couple of trees were blown down across some power lines.

Lightning, Lee

When
May 2, 2:45 PM CST to 2:50 PM CST
Where
Lee County, Tupelo
Property damage
$5,000
Coordinates
34.290, -88.680 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A house was damaged by a fire started by lightning.

Thunderstorm Wind, Itawamba

When
May 2, 3:00 PM CST to 3:05 PM CST
Where
Itawamba County, 1 mi W of Fulton
Property damage
$1,000
Coordinates
34.270, -88.430

Some large tree limbs were blown down.

Flash Flood, Clay

When
May 2, 3:00 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where
Clay County, West Pt
Property damage
$3,000
Coordinates
33.656, -88.782 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Nearly 25 homes had between 8 and 12 inches of water in them forcing families to evacuate.

Lightning, Tishomingo

When
May 2, 4:00 PM CST to 4:05 PM CST
Where
Tishomingo County, 2 mi E of Iuka
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
34.740, -88.239 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A home was destroyed by a fire started by lightning.

Thunderstorm Wind, Chickasaw

When
May 2, 5:00 PM CST to 5:05 PM CST
Where
Chickasaw County, Woodland
Property damage
$10,000
Coordinates
33.780, -89.070

A trailer was knocked down. A couple of buildings lost some aluminum siding. Several trees were also blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Calhoun

When
May 2, 5:00 PM CST to 5:05 PM CST
Where
Calhoun County, Calhoun City
Property damage
$5,000
Coordinates
33.850, -89.320

Several large trees were blown down.

Flash Flood, Calhoun

When
May 2, 9:00 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
Where
Calhoun County, Calhoun City
Property damage
$1,000
Coordinates
33.937, -89.336 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rainfall caused several creeks in the area to flood. Several roads and fields were flooded.

Thunderstorm Wind, Yalobusha

When
May 2, 9:00 PM CST to 9:05 PM CST
Where
Yalobusha County, Water Vly
Property damage
$5,000
Coordinates
34.170, -89.630

Several power poles were knocked down.

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.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Mississippi in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Mississippi, May 1997

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: 5597481, 5597482, 5597608, 5597486, 5597484, 5597483, 5597485, 5597487, 5597488, 5597491, 5597490, 5597489, 5597492, 5597609, 5597493, 5597494, 5597495, 5597496.