Tornadoes · United States · Mississippi

Tornadoes in Pike County, Mississippi

38 tornadoes have crossed Pike County since 1950, 4 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 42nd of the 82 counties in Mississippi with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.0 years. They have killed 15 people and injured 229. 2 were rated F4 or EF4 and 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
38
Deaths
15
Injuries
229
F4 and above
2
Worst on record
F4, January 10, 1975

The deadliest in Pike County

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 24 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Pike County. Each year links to every tornado in Mississippi that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20264EF1
2025166EF4
20243EF1
20221EF1
20203EF2
20192EF1
20173EF1
20091EF0
20081EF0
200512F2
20001F0
19993F0
19952F0
19931F0
199215F1
19881F1
19871F0
198624F2
19811F2
197712F3
197519210F4
19701F1
19631F2
19621F2

Every tornado that crossed Pike County

38 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than Mississippi. The 4 at the top are this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and their ratings are marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 11, 20267:48 PM CDTEF1Pike1.6375
March 11, 20267:48 PM CDTEF1Pike8.4300
March 11, 20267:51 PM CDTEF1Pike1.0175
May 6, 20265:45 PM CDTEF1Pike7.4175
March 15, 202512:17 PM CDTEF4Tylertown tornado67.21,40066$5.5 million
December 28, 20246:48 PM CSTEF1Pike6.475$10,000
December 28, 20246:42 PM CSTEF1Amite8.6100$5,000
June 4, 20244:55 PM CDTEF1Amite15.6275
November 30, 202212:38 AM CSTEF1Amite18.4250$200,000
November 27, 20202:56 PM CSTEF1Pike4.250
April 23, 20203:20 AM CDTEF2Pike6.8700$100,000
April 23, 20203:04 AM CDTEF2Pike20.0700
May 9, 201911:21 AM CDTEF1Pike3.4150
April 13, 20198:10 PM CDTEF1Pike7.5125
October 22, 20175:20 AM CDTEF0Pike3.625
January 21, 20173:13 AM CSTEF1Pike7.5150
January 2, 20171:49 PM CSTEF1Pike10.075
April 2, 200912:40 PM CDTEF0Pike0.120
February 12, 20081:21 PM CSTEF0Pike0.120
April 6, 20057:50 AM CDTF2Pike16.01002$500,000
April 3, 20009:00 AM CDTF0Pike0.220$20,000
March 9, 199912:20 AM CSTF0Pike0.110
March 9, 199912:18 AM CSTF0Pike0.110
January 22, 19995:15 PM CSTF0Pike0.120$10,000
April 22, 19957:05 PM CDTF0Pike5.020
April 22, 19955:00 PM CDTF0Pike0.120
December 4, 19936:30 AM CSTF0Pike2.050$5,000 to $50,000
April 20, 19925:15 AM CDTF1Pike24.08805$50,000 to $500,000
November 4, 19887:15 PM CSTF1Pike0.350$5,000 to $50,000
February 15, 198712:10 PM CSTF0Pike0.630$5,000 to $50,000
November 20, 19864:15 AM CSTF1Pike0.5404$50,000 to $500,000
March 12, 19869:25 AM CSTF2Pike8.0250$50,000 to $500,000
March 31, 19816:40 PM CSTF2Pike13.7127$50,000 to $500,000
December 13, 19773:50 PM CSTF3Amite20.43502$5,000 to $50,000
January 10, 19758:14 AM CSTF4Pike56.52009210$5 million to $50 million
June 1, 19706:30 AM CDTF1Pike3.8100
June 21, 19637:04 PM GMT-5F2Pike3.350$500 to $5,000
November 11, 19629:30 PM GMT-6F2Pike0.110$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Pike CountyThe forecast for Pike CountyThe live radar over Pike 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.