Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, July 20, 2000

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, July 20, 2000
Start: 2000-07-20T14:00
End: 2000-07-20T21:10
Location: Mississippi

July 20, 2000 · NWS JAN · 22 events in 14 counties and zones

16 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 high wind, 1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: 2
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $277,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 22

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 national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

16 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 high wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Bolivar

When: July 20, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Bolivar forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 33.796, -90.880 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High winds from a strong outflow boundary well ahead of a line of thunderstorms produced scattered damage in the county. A window was blown out of a shop in downtown Cleveland, several roofs received some damage, and some power lines were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Winston

When: July 20, 2:30 PM CST
Where: Winston County, 5 mi NE of Louisville
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 33.183, -88.983

Several trees were blown down onto power lines.

Hail, Noxubee

When: July 20, 2:33 PM CST
Where: Noxubee County, 10 mi E of Macon
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 33.117, -88.233

Thunderstorm Wind, Clarke

When: July 20, 2:35 PM CST
Where: Clarke County, Shubuta
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.850, -88.700

A few trees and large limbs were blown down and caused minor damage.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lauderdale

When: July 20, 2:37 PM CST
Where: Lauderdale County, 3 mi N of Meridian
Property damage: $4,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 32.417, -88.717

Many shingles were blown off of a house. A small shed was destroyed. Several trees were blown down.

Hail, Kemper

When: July 20, 2:40 PM CST
Where: Kemper County, Scooba
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 32.833, -88.433

Hail, Lauderdale

When: July 20, 2:55 PM CST
Where: Lauderdale County, Collinsville
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 32.500, -88.850

Thunderstorm Wind, Clay

When: July 20, 2:56 PM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where: Clay County, West Pt
Property damage: $4,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 33.600, -88.650

Many trees were blown down causing downed power lines and minor damage to a few buildings.

Thunderstorm Wind, Noxubee

When: July 20, 3:15 PM CST
Where: Noxubee County, Brooksville
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 33.233, -88.583

Several power lines were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lowndes

When: July 20, 3:18 PM CST to 3:45 PM CST
Where: Lowndes County, Countywide
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 33.500, -88.450

Numerous trees and power lines were blown down. Several buildings and vehicles sustained major damage.

Thunderstorm Wind, Oktibbeha

When: July 20, 3:40 PM CST
Where: Oktibbeha County, 8 mi SE of Starkville
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 33.383, -88.733

An open air hay barn was destroyed, and several pecan trees were blown down on one property. The storm also blew down a large tree and ripped the shingles off of a barn on an adjacent property.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lauderdale

When: July 20, 3:40 PM CST
Where: Lauderdale County, Countywide
Property damage: $30,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 32.400, -88.650

Many trees were blown down across the county and caused some damage to structures. Several power line poles were blown down and damaged some vehicles. Many power lines were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Clarke

When: July 20, 3:45 PM CST
Where: Clarke County, Quitman
Property damage: $4,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 32.050, -88.733

Several trees were blown down causing minor damage to a few structures and downing some power lines.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lowndes

When: July 20, 4:05 PM CST to 4:15 PM CST
Where: Lowndes County, Columbus
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 33.500, -88.433

A man was killed when a large tree was blown onto and through his house. Many other trees were blown down and caused damage to several homes and vehicles.

Thunderstorm Wind, Jones

When: July 20, 4:15 PM CST to 4:50 PM CST
Where: Jones County, Countywide
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 31.617, -89.183

Several trees were blown down and caused minor damage to several structures.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lawrence

When: July 20, 4:15 PM CST
Where: Lawrence County, Jayess
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.367, -90.200

Several trees were blown down and caused minor damage.

Hail, Forrest

When: July 20, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Forrest County, Petal
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 31.350, -89.267

Several roofs were damaged.

Lightning, Forrest

When: July 20, 5:15 PM CST
Where: Forrest County, Petal
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 31.189, -89.258 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A woman went into cardiac arrest and died the next day after being struck by lightning while feeding ducks at a pond. At the time, her husband said there was the sound of thunder in the distance, but not nearby.

Thunderstorm Wind, Jasper

When: July 20, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Jasper County, Heidelberg
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.883, -89.000

Several trees were blown down causing minor damage. Several power lines were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Jones

When: July 20, 6:05 PM CST
Where: Jones County, Sandersville
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 31.783, -89.033

Several trees were blown down and caused minor damage. Several power lines were knocked down by downed trees and tree limbs.

Thunderstorm Wind, Jones

When: July 20, 6:45 PM CST
Where: Jones County, Laurel
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 31.700, -89.133

Several trees were blown down and caused minor damage to several buildings.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lamar

When: July 20, 9:10 PM CST
Where: Lamar County, Lumberton
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 31.000, -89.450

A few trees were blown down and caused some minor damage.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Thunderstorm Wind, Lowndes	2000-07-20	89	Male	Permanent Home	Direct
Lightning, Forrest	2000-07-20	48	Female	Outside/Open Areas	Direct

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
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.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Mississippi in 2000 Every state in 2000 This day in weather history Warnings in Mississippi, July 2000

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: 5176245, 5175847, 5175848, 5175849, 5175850, 5175851, 5175852, 5175853, 5176162, 5176163, 5176166, 5176167, 5176165, 5176164, 5176169, 5176170, 5176168, 5176244, 5176242, 5176240, 5176241, 5176243.