Mississippi, 2026

Hail in Mississippi, February 26, 2026

February 26, 2026 · NWS JAN · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A cold front pushing south across Mississippi produced a sufficiently sheared environment, while cold air aloft produced steep lapse rates. Resulting thunderstorms along the front produced quarter-sized hail in portions of north central Mississippi.

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
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS JAN wrote it up.

A cold front pushing south across Mississippi produced a sufficiently sheared environment, while cold air aloft produced steep lapse rates. Resulting thunderstorms along the front produced quarter-sized hail in portions of north central Mississippi.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Jackson, MS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 26, 12:38 PM CST, 4 hours 49 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 26, 12:38 PM CST, 4 hours 49 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 26, 5:20 PM CST, 7 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Jackson MS
520 PM CST Thu Feb 26 2026

MSZ032-037-262345-
Attala MS-Choctaw MS-
520 PM CST Thu Feb 26 2026

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT CENTRAL CHOCTAW AND NORTHEASTERN
ATTALA COUNTIES THROUGH 545 PM CST...

At 519 PM CST, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over
French Camp, or 13 miles west of Ackerman, moving east at 15 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and nickel size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to vegetation is
         possible.

This strong thunderstorm will be near...
  Weir and Mccool around 525 PM CST.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

&&

LAT...LON 3328 8911 3320 8911 3320 8921 3312 8922
      3325 8951 3328 8950 3329 8945 3339 8945
      3342 8944 3335 8909 3329 8909
TIME...MOT...LOC 2319Z 281DEG 15KT 3329 8940

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH

KP

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 42 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:24 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Lowndes

When
February 26, 5:27 PM CST
Where
Lowndes County, 1.38 mi N of Interstate City
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
33.520, -88.400

Hail fell at Lion Hills Golf Course, ranging from pea up to quarter size.

Hail, Sunflower

When
February 26, 8:16 PM CST
Where
Sunflower County, 0.69 mi S of Drew
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
33.810, -90.530

Hail ranging from penny to quarter size fell in Drew.

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Mississippi in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Mississippi, February 2026

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: 1314072, 1314073.