The final tallies are complete, and it’s time to do the numbers on tornadoes in Mississippi in 2019.
In 2019, 115 confirmed tornadoes touched down in the Magnolia State, the most since 108 touched down in 2008. In the county-by-county count, Leake and Rankin tied for the most with 12 tornadoes each.
The distribution of tornadoes throughout the year varied wildly from month-to-month. April and December are some of the most active months for tornadoes, and they did not disappoint. April saw 67 tornadoes, which tied the record previously set in 2011. December saw 24 tornadoes, which smashed the previous record of 16, set in 1988 and 2006.
Unusually, all other months saw five tornadoes or fewer, so 2019’s tornado events were concentrated in only a few tornado events.
2019 also saw records set in the number of EF-1 and EF-2 tornadoes that touched down in Mississippi. Sixty-three EF-1 tornadoes, and 19 EF-2 tornadoes touched down, breaking the previous records of 51 and 18, respectively.
Of note, however, is that no violent tornadoes (EF-4 or EF-5) touched down in 2019. The strongest tornadoes were rated EF-3, one of which killed two and injured 11 people near Columbus.
Mississippians were prepared for the stormy weather, though. Despite the record-breaking numbers of tornadoes, only three people were killed and 48 injured, emphasizing the importance of being weather aware, and being prepared in advance for severe weather.
