Tornadoes · United States · Mississippi

Tornadoes in Claiborne County, Mississippi

43 tornadoes have crossed Claiborne County since 1950, 37th of the 82 counties in Mississippi with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.8 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 9. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Now

Tornadoes
43
Deaths
0
Injuries
9
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, November 23, 2004

The strongest

  1. F3, Claiborne County, MississippiApril 17, 1978F3, 18.5 mi (30 km)
  2. F3, Jefferson and Claiborne counties, MississippiNovember 23, 2004F3, 18.0 mi (29 km)
  3. F2, Jefferson, Claiborne, Copiah and Hinds counties, MississippiApril 24, 1953F2, 96.7 mi (156 km)
  4. EF2, Tensas and Claiborne parishes, Louisiana and MississippiApril 4, 2011EF2, 28.0 mi (45 km)
  5. F2, Claiborne, Warren and Hinds counties, MississippiDecember 7, 2004F2, 26.0 mi (42 km)
  6. EF2, Claiborne and Warren counties, MississippiApril 30, 2017EF2, 19.9 mi (32 km)
  7. EF2, Claiborne and Warren counties, MississippiMarch 21, 2012EF2, 9.2 mi (15 km)
  8. F2, Claiborne County, MississippiApril 8, 1984F2, 8.0 mi (13 km)
  9. F2, Claiborne County, MississippiSeptember 25, 2005F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  10. F2, Claiborne County, MississippiDecember 4, 1973F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 26 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Claiborne County. Each year links to every tornado in Mississippi that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20242EF1
20211EF1
20192EF1
20184EF1
20173EF2
20121EF2
201111EF2
20102EF1
20091EF1
20082EF1
20055F2
20043F3
20031F0
19991F0
19981F1
19971F1
19941F1
19931F1
19921F0
19871F0
198416F2
197812F3
19732F2
19591F1
19572F1
19531F2

Every tornado that crossed Claiborne County

43 tornadoes, newest first. 2 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Mississippi.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 28, 20245:55 PM CSTEF1Jefferson11.1400$45,000
December 28, 20245:54 PM CSTEF1Claiborne4.9300$70,000
May 2, 20215:55 PM CDTEF1Jefferson14.0650$30,000
December 16, 201911:08 AM CSTEF1Claiborne to MS11.7600$84,000
April 18, 20191:13 PM CDTEF1Jefferson8.41,100$16,000
November 1, 20182:31 AM CDTEF1Claiborne3.5200$30,000
November 1, 20182:30 AM CDTEF1Claiborne1.1200$50,000
April 6, 20189:32 PM CDTEF1Claiborne5.8880$200,000
April 6, 20189:27 PM CDTEF1Claiborne1.2360$25,000
April 30, 20177:30 AM CDTEF2Claiborne19.9880$530,000
April 30, 20177:24 AM CDTEF1Jefferson14.4440$300,000
January 2, 20171:14 PM CSTEF1Claiborne5.6200$40,000
March 21, 201210:51 AM CDTEF2Claiborne9.2880$250,000
April 4, 20113:43 PM CDTEF2Tensas Parish to MS28.08801$4.0 million
November 29, 20109:25 PM CSTEF1Claiborne1.740$30,000
November 29, 20108:30 PM CSTEF0Claiborne0.730
May 3, 20099:55 AM CDTEF1Claiborne4.650$15,000
September 13, 20082:51 PM CDTEF0Claiborne1.950
January 10, 200811:27 AM CSTEF1Claiborne3.1250$20,000
September 25, 20058:02 AM CDTF1Claiborne0.750$70,000
September 25, 20053:54 AM CDTF2Claiborne2.0800$20,000
September 24, 200511:21 AM CDTF1Warren1.875
March 26, 20056:40 PM CSTF1Claiborne4.575$20,000
March 26, 20056:27 PM CSTF1Claiborne2.075$20,000
December 7, 20041:20 AM CSTF2Claiborne26.0400$550,000
November 23, 200411:40 PM CSTF3Jefferson18.0600$300,000
April 29, 20047:43 PM CDTF0Claiborne0.350$1,000
March 18, 20037:30 PM CSTF0Claiborne0.550$10,000
January 22, 19999:45 AM CSTF0Claiborne1.050$3,000
February 26, 199810:50 AM CSTF1Claiborne13.01,230$100,000
October 23, 199712:45 AM CDTF1Claiborne1.540$20,000
November 27, 19947:25 PM CSTF1Claiborne18.0150$50,000 to $500,000
February 21, 19939:05 AM CSTF1Claiborne4.073$5,000 to $50,000
August 26, 199211:25 AM CDTF0Claiborne2.0100$50 to $500
March 17, 19874:50 PM CSTF0Claiborne0.450$50,000 to $500,000
April 8, 19846:00 PM CSTF2Claiborne8.0106$50,000 to $500,000
April 17, 197811:00 PM CSTF3Claiborne18.51002$5 million to $50 million
December 4, 197312:35 AM CSTF2Claiborne0.130$500 to $5,000
November 27, 19731:00 PM CSTF1Claiborne0.110
January 20, 19593:00 PM GMT-6F1Claiborne17.310$5,000 to $50,000
November 18, 195710:30 AM GMT-6F0Claiborne0.110$500 to $5,000
November 7, 195711:05 PM GMT-6F1Claiborne4.1100$50,000 to $500,000
April 24, 19532:00 PM GMT-6F2Jefferson96.730$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Claiborne CountyThe forecast for Claiborne CountyThe live radar over Claiborne CountyEvery county in Mississippi

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.