A woman was killed after her SUV was swept away by floodwaters in Petal, Mississippi, as severe storms triggered widespread flooding across Forrest and Lamar counties on May 25, 2026. Up to 152 mm (6 inches) of rain fell over parts of southern Mississippi, with floodwaters rising up to 3.7 m (12 feet) in Petal at the storm’s peak.
The National Weather Service office in Jackson, Mississippi, determined after additional damage surveys that two EF3 tornado tracks documented during the May 6-7, 2026 severe weather outbreak were part of one continuous long-track tornado. Survey teams also confirmed an EF2 tornado near Purvis in Lamar County as assessments continued across southern Mississippi.
Nighttime tornadoes and severe thunderstorms tore across central and western Mississippi on Wednesday night, May 6, 2026, damaging hundreds of homes and injuring at least 17 people, according to state emergency officials. Authorities reported concentrated damage in Bogue Chitto, where a trailer park sustained heavy destruction.
A large, destructive tornado moved through the Brookhaven area of southern Mississippi during the evening of May 6, 2026, after the National Weather Service in Jackson issued a Tornado Emergency for communities including Brookhaven and Bogue Chitto. The event developed within an SPC Enhanced Risk severe weather setup and produced repeated radar-confirmed Tornado Debris Signatures as the storm moved from Franklin County into Lincoln County and toward Lawrence County.
An Enhanced Risk (Level 3/5) of severe thunderstorms has been issued for parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley on May 6, 2026, as forecasters warned that storms capable of producing damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes are expected to develop from the Southern Plains into the Southeast. Heavy rainfall rates of 25 to 50 mm (1 to 2 inches) per hour may also accompany stronger storms across the region.
Red Flag Warnings are in effect across the Central Plains and Southeast United States on March 28, 2026, as the National Weather Service (NWS) warns of critical fire weather conditions driven by strong winds, low relative humidity, and dry fuels. Wind gusts up to 80 km/h (50 mph) and humidity levels as low as 10–20% are expected to promote rapid fire ignition and spread. Outdoor burning is strongly discouraged across all warned regions.
Freeze Warnings and Watches have been issued for parts of eight southern U.S. states as sub-freezing temperatures are forecast from March 16 into March 17, 2026. Temperatures could fall as low as −12°C (10°F) in the coldest parts of Arkansas, while many other areas are expected to bottom out in the −7°C to −2°C (19 to 28°F) range. Frost, freeze conditions, and gusty post-frontal winds may damage sensitive vegetation and, in the coldest areas, affect exposed outdoor plumbing.
A bright fireball streaked across the skies of the southern U.S. around 01:19 UTC on March 3, 2026, disintegrating above the Georgia Pacific Wildlife Management Area.
Multiple tornadoes touched down across parts of the Southern Plains and the Southeast overnight on February 14, 2026. These include at least five EF-1 tornadoes that have been confirmed in Mississippi and Texas, along with others reported in Louisiana. The twisters were the result of a storm system that brought significant rainfall, localized flash floods, and widespread wind damage to the region over the Valentine’s weekend.
An ice storm brought dangerous conditions to northern Mississippi over the weekend, prompting authorities in Oxford to issue a shelter-in-place order on January 25, 2026. The storm caused extensive damage and left at least one person dead elsewhere in the state.
