Tornadoes · United States · Mississippi

Tornadoes in Sunflower County, Mississippi

33 tornadoes have crossed Sunflower County since 1950, 46th of the 82 counties in Mississippi with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.3 years. They have killed 4 people and injured 17. 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
33
Deaths
4
Injuries
17
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, February 21, 1971

The deadliest in Sunflower County

  1. F3, Sunflower County, MississippiFebruary 21, 19713 killed
  2. F1, Humphreys and Sunflower counties, MississippiSeptember 24, 20051 killed, 2 injured

The strongest

  1. F3, Sunflower County, MississippiFebruary 21, 1971F3, 8.6 mi (14 km)
  2. F3, Sunflower County, MississippiNovember 19, 1988F3, 4.0 mi (6 km)
  3. F2, Sunflower, Leflore, Grenada and Yalobusha counties, MississippiApril 3, 1956F2, 124.9 mi (201 km)
  4. F2, Humphreys and Sunflower counties, MississippiSeptember 24, 2005F2, 18.0 mi (29 km)
  5. F2, Sunflower County, MississippiJanuary 21, 1999F2, 15.0 mi (24 km)
  6. F2, Sunflower and Washington counties, MississippiNovember 19, 1964F2, 11.9 mi (19 km)
  7. EF2, Sunflower County, MississippiApril 26, 2011EF2, 11.8 mi (19 km)
  8. EF2, Sunflower County, MississippiJanuary 11, 2020EF2, 5.5 mi (9 km)
  9. EF2, Sunflower County, MississippiJanuary 11, 2020EF2, 5.4 mi (9 km)
  10. F2, Sunflower County, MississippiNovember 26, 1988F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 20 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Sunflower County. Each year links to every tornado in Mississippi that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20202EF2
20151EF0
20131EF0
201133EF2
20072EF1
20061F0
2005615F2
20031F0
20011F1
19993F2
19912F1
198823F3
19831F2
19761F1
197113F3
19671F0
19661F1
19641F2
195616F2
19541F1

Every tornado that crossed Sunflower County

33 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 11, 20204:19 AM CSTEF2Sunflower5.4850$80,000
January 11, 20204:18 AM CSTEF2Sunflower5.51,700$700,000
May 29, 201510:40 AM CDTEF0Sunflower0.010
September 20, 20137:24 PM CDTEF0Sunflower0.4100$25,000
September 25, 20118:29 PM CDTEF1Sunflower1.4200$20,000
September 25, 20118:04 PM CDTEF1Bolivar10.2800$2.7 million
April 26, 201112:43 AM CDTEF2Sunflower11.84403$300,000
October 22, 20075:54 PM CDTEF1Sunflower3.5150$180,000
February 24, 20076:05 PM CSTEF1Sunflower12.0150$650,000
April 7, 20069:55 PM CDTF0Sunflower3.050$30,000
September 24, 20055:35 PM CDTF0Sunflower1.0100$10,000
September 24, 20055:02 PM CDTF1Sunflower1.0100$20,000
September 24, 20054:40 PM CDTF0Sunflower1.050
September 24, 20054:34 PM CDTF2Humphreys18.08003$2.5 million
September 24, 20054:25 PM CDTF1Humphreys3.510012$50,000
April 29, 20059:35 PM CDTF0Sunflower1.060$50,000
May 5, 20038:50 PM CDTF0Sunflower0.330$10,000
November 24, 20012:42 AM CSTF1Coahoma10.0400$130,000
January 21, 199911:15 PM CSTF0Sunflower15.0100
January 21, 199911:02 PM CSTF2Sunflower15.0100$100,000
January 21, 19999:34 PM CSTF0Sunflower15.550
April 19, 19911:30 PM CDTF0Sunflower2.050$50 to $500
April 19, 199112:30 PM CDTF1Sunflower1.040$5,000 to $50,000
November 26, 19889:28 AM CSTF2Sunflower2.040$500,000 to $5 million
November 19, 19886:25 PM CSTF3Sunflower4.01003$50,000 to $500,000
May 18, 19834:50 AM CDTF2Sunflower0.550$5,000 to $50,000
March 26, 19768:53 PM CSTF1Sunflower4.3250$5,000 to $50,000
February 21, 19715:30 PM CSTF3Sunflower8.6103
April 13, 19675:30 PM GMT-6F0Sunflower0.110
July 19, 19666:00 PM GMT-5F1Sunflower0.110$500 to $5,000
November 19, 19649:00 AM GMT-6F2Sunflower11.910$500 to $5,000
April 3, 19562:30 PM GMT-6F2Sunflower124.9106
July 24, 19547:00 PM GMT-5F1Sunflower0.110$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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