Mississippi, 1997

Tornado and Hail in Mississippi, May 2, 1997

May 2, 1997 · NWS MEG · 11 events in 6 counties and zones

7 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 high wind, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$50,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

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 Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 70 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:52 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 high wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Chickasaw

When
May 2, 4:50 PM CST to 5:20 PM CST
Where
Chickasaw County, Woodland to 2 mi E of Houston
Measured
0.88 in hail
Property damage
$30
Coordinates
33.750, -89.070

Thunderstorm Wind, Calhoun

When
May 2, 5:00 PM CST to 5:05 PM CST
Where
Calhoun County, Vardaman
Property damage
$5,000
Coordinates
33.870, -89.180

Numerous trees were knocked down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Chickasaw

When
May 2, 5:10 PM CST to 5:35 PM CST
Where
Chickasaw County, Woodland to Egypt
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
33.780, -89.070

Thunderstorm winds damaged parts of Woodland and Egypt. In Woodland, One house lost a porch and a second house had a tree blown on top of it. A mobile home was damaged. Several trees were knocked down with one tree hitting a pick-up truck. In Egypt, several homes were damaged with some windows blown in. A shed was knocked down and several trees were also blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Clay

When
May 2, 5:15 PM CST to 5:20 PM CST
Where
Clay County, Montpelier
Property damage
$1,000
Coordinates
33.720, -88.950

Several trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Monroe

When
May 2, 5:30 PM CST to 5:35 PM CST
Where
Monroe County, Aberdeen
Property damage
$1,000
Coordinates
33.820, -88.550

A car was blown off the road. Several large tree limbs were blown down.

High Wind, Lee

When
May 2, 6:55 PM CST to 7:20 PM CST
Where
Lee forecast zone
Property damage
$5,000
Coordinates
34.290, -88.680 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High winds behind a line of thunderstorms produced damage in southern Lee county. A tractor trailer flipped over on a highway. Several trees were also knocked down.

Tornado, Lowndes

When
May 2, 8:00 PM CST to 8:10 PM CST
Where
Lowndes County, Caledonia
Rating
F0
Path length
5 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$5,000
Coordinates
33.680, -88.330

A tornado touched down near the town of Caledonia. The only damage reported with the storm was several downed trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Monroe

When
May 2, 8:00 PM CST to 8:05 PM CST
Where
Monroe County, Hamilton
Property damage
$10,000
Coordinates
33.730, -88.450

A widespread area of trees were knocked down.

Hail, Lowndes

When
May 2, 9:20 PM CST to 9:25 PM CST
Where
Lowndes County, Columbus
Measured
0.75 in hail
Property damage
$10
Coordinates
33.500, -88.430

Thunderstorm Wind, Chickasaw

When
May 2, 11:20 PM CST to 11:25 PM CST
Where
Chickasaw County, Houston
Property damage
$1,000
Coordinates
33.900, -89.000

A grain silo fell on top of a house.

Thunderstorm Wind, Monroe

When
May 2, 11:35 PM CST to 11:40 PM CST
Where
Monroe County, Aberdeen
Property damage
$2,000
Coordinates
33.820, -88.550

A few trees and power lines were blown 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.
High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
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

More

Every storm in Mississippi in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Mississippi, 1997Warnings 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: 5597613, 5597612, 5597615, 5597614, 5597616, 5597617, 5597618, 5597619, 5597620, 5597622, 5597621.