Preliminary tornado count in Mississippi

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) -

This week has been very quiet with no severe weather, thank goodness for that. However, over the past several weeks, we’ve had a series of severe weather events, and even some tornado outbreaks.

The National Weather Service recently released a preliminary tornado count for Mississippi. It shows that we’ve had an active spring thus far. March was a record month for tornadoes in the state...with a total of 56. So far this April, there’s been a preliminary total of 33 tornadoes (as of April 21).

March had two tornado outbreaks, and both of them made the top 10 list for the most tornadoes within an event. March 22nd is tied for 7th with 27 tornadoes, and March 30th is tied for 4th with 29 tornadoes.

The most tornadoes in a year for Mississippi was 115, and this record was set back in 2019. So far this year, we’ve had 89 tornadoes. Hopefully, we won’t reach the triple digits, but none-the-less, we’ve already surpassed last year’s tornado count. In 2021, there were 76 tornadoes in Mississippi.

So, in terms of breaking it down per county, it looks like Hinds County has the most tornadoes so far this year...with a total of 9. As far as our specific WTOK area, Lauderdale County has had 6 confirmed tornadoes so far this year, and Clarke County has had 5.

Hopefully, these numbers won’t go higher.