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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Benton, MS

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

24 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Benton, Mississippi since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 147 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
24

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
147

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
13

48 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Benton

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Benton, Mississippi, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaAug 3047 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
2020DeltaOct 1072 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
2019OlgaOct 2623 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
2005KatrinaAug 2967 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 5
2002IsidoreSep 2647 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1995ErinAug 475 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1971EdithSep 1770 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 5
1969CamilleAug 1812 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 5
1957AudreyJun 2860 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 3
1948Unnamed 1948 stormSep 575 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1717 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 2
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 2015 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 236 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 1
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1865 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1652 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 66 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1915Unnamed 1915 stormSep 3065 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1906Unnamed 1906 stormSep 2846 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 3
1905Unnamed 1905 stormSep 3054 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1893Unnamed 1893 stormSep 874 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2036 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 3
1879Unnamed 1879 stormSep 235 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 3
1872Unnamed 1872 stormJul 1271 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1860Unnamed 1860 stormOct 33 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 2

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Benton: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Benton

By decade

  • 2020s32(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s29(2 EF3+)
  • 2000s26(2 EF3+)
  • 1990s23(4 EF3+)
  • 1980s13
  • 1970s12(3 EF3+)
  • 1960s8(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s4
Strongest tornadoes near Benton, Mississippi
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Mar 24, 2023EF423 mi59.23 mi17 / 165
Feb 21, 1971F45 mi65.2 mi13 / 182
Apr 24, 2010EF44 mi148.97 mi10 / 146
Mar 29, 1976F416 mi22.3 mi3 / 177
Nov 24, 2001F421 mi11.5 mi2 / 21
Apr 27, 2011EF319 mi23 mi0 / 0
Jan 10, 2008EF314 mi9.73 mi0 / 3
Dec 9, 1999F310 mi6 mi0 / 1
May 2, 1997F323 mi20 mi0 / 0
Nov 11, 1995F320 mi15 mi0 / 2
Dec 21, 1990F313 mi11 mi0 / 0
Mar 28, 1977F316 mi24.5 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 147, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Benton while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

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