Hurricane Season notes since 2000

Hurricane Katrina stands alone as the worst storm to strike the state this decade and in history, but what other storms of note have impacted the state since 2000?

There have been eight tropical systems since 2000, that have made a moderate to major impact on the state, excluding Hurricane Katrina.

Most of the tropical systems affected the state, after making landfall in Southern Louisiana.

In fact, Hurricane Katrina was the only hurricane to make a direct impact on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, since 2000.

The second most notable tropical system outside of Hurricane Katrina, since 2000 was Hurricane Rita.

Even though Rita made landfall near the Texas/Louisiana state line, outer bands brought heavy rains and a record breaking tornado outbreak across the state of Mississippi, over a 36 hour period.

Mississippi tropical impacts since 2000

(1) In 2002, Tropical Storm Isidore moved onshore along the Louisiana coast, early on September 26th. The weakening storm then moved northeast across eastern Mississippi, during the day.

The heavy rainfall associated with the storm, resulted in significant river and flash flooding across much of Mississippi. Twenty-four hour rainfall totals between 5 and 10 inches were common over much of Mississippi, especially in the southern part of the state, where twenty-four hour amounts exceeded 9 inches near Hattiesburg.

Gradient wind gusts between 35 and 45 miles per hour combined with the saturated ground to lead to numerous downed trees and powerlines over the state. Most of the damage was seen along and east of the Natchez Trace, near the path of the storm's diffuse center. One indirect fatality was reported just east of the Kalem community in Scott County. Here, a falling tree struck a truck driven by a 31 year-old male. Damage from Isidore was an estimated $500,000.

(2) On October 3, 2002, Hurricane Lili, once a category 4 hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico, made landfall as a category 1 storm, during the morning hours, along the South Central Louisiana Coast. The hurricane moved north northwest, before turning northeast across Northern Louisiana.

While Hurricane Lili made landfall in South Central Louisiana, tropical storm force wind gusts affected nearly all of south Mississippi on October 3rd, as rainbands moved across the southern portion of the state.

Storm surge flooding with tides, generally 3 to 5 feet above normal, caused some flooding in low lying coastal areas.

Thunderstorm bands, strong winds, and associated tornadoes created damage across Central Mississippi, from midday on the third through the early morning hours on the fourth. One band of thunderstorms produced 5 weak tornadoes across Smith and Scott counties on the afternoon.

Most of the damage in Central Mississippi was in form of (or caused by) downed trees. The highest actual wind gust measured through the entire event was 56 miles per hour. However, the ground over most of the area was saturated from the combined rainfall of Lili and Isidore (which affected the same areas a week earlier) and this situation allowed tropical storm force winds to easily push down trees area-wide.

Rainfall amounts were over 3 inches underneath the most persistent rainbands, but only a few instances of street flooding occurred in Bolivar and Clarke Counties. Estimated damage across Central Mississippi from Lili was $500,000.

(3) Tropical Storm Bill made landfall in southern Louisiana, just to the southwest of Houma, around 2 PM on June 30, 2003. The storm then moved to the northeast as it slowly weakened into a Tropical Depression. The center of the system tracked along Interstate 59, before moving into Alabama around 6 AM, July 1st.

Heavy rainfall with the system resulted in several reports of flash flooding. Forty-eight hour rainfall totals ranged between 3 and 7 inches, mainly across southeast portions of Mississippi. Gradient wind gusts between 30 and 40 mph combined with saturated soils to down numerous trees very close to center's track. Damage from Bill was an estimated $100,000.

(4) Hurricane Ivan moved northward across the the north-central Gulf of Mexico on September 15, 2004, before turning north-northeast and making landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama as a Category 3 hurricane, during the early morning hours on September 16th.

Hurricane Ivan made landfall far enough to the east of the Mississippi Coast to minimize the damage to the coastal counties, however hurricane force winds did affect Jackson County. An anemometer on top of the Emergency Operation Center in downtown Pascagoula recorded a wind gust to 76 knots (88 mph) as the eye of the hurricane passed to the east of area.

Tropical storm force winds occurred over Harrison and Hancock Counties with wind gusts approaching hurricane force in the coastal waters. A wind gust of 68 knots (78 mph) was recorded by an automated wind gage at Pointe Cadet in Biloxi Harbor, and 53 knot (61 mph) wind gust was recorded at the Emergency Operations Center in Waveland.

Jackson County experienced the greatest amount of damage on the coast. A roof was blown off of an apartment building in Pascagoula and at least a dozen homes suffered major damage either from wind or from fallen trees. Around 100 homes had some type of wind damage, along with 30 mobile homes and 25 businesses. Trees and large tree limbs were toppled in many areas contributing to power outages in Jackson County. Wind damage was much less over Harrison, Hancock, and Pearl River Counties. There were scattered reports of fallen trees and tree limbs, downing power lines and causing damage to some houses.

The western side of Ivan affected a large portion of Eastern Mississippi as the center moved north through Alabama.

Thousands of trees were blown down across Eastern Mississippi during the event, as well as hundreds of power lines. The strong wind itself did not cause much structural damage, however the fallen trees did. These downed trees accounted for several hundred homes, mobile homes and businesses, damaged and or destroyed.

Most locations across Eastern Mississippi reported sustained winds between 30 and 40 mph with tropical storm force gusts between 48 and 54 mph. The strongest reported winds occurred in Newton, Lauderdale and Oktibbeha counties. A Mississippi mesonet site in Newton, reported maximum sustained winds of 42 mph and peak gust of 54 mph. At Key Field in Meridian, maximum sustained winds were reported at 43 mph with a peak gust of 61 mph. The highest sustained and peak wind occurred at the Mississippi State Climate Lab in Starkville. This site reported maximum sustained winds of 52 mph and a peak gust of 64 mph.

Across Eastern Mississippi, Hurricane Ivan was responsible for one fatality. This fatality occurred in Brooksville, when a tree fell on a man. Damage from Ivan was estimated at $200 Million.

(5) Hurricane Cindy made landfall in Southeast Louisiana as a minimal hurricane, early on July 6th, just to the west of Grand Isle. Cindy then turned toward the northeast and weakened to a tropical storm as it moved onto the Mississippi Coast before dissipating inland over Central Alabama later in the day.

The long duration of tropical storm force winds and high gusts resulted in considerable wind damage to trees and foliage, as well as widespread power outages, due to downed electrical lines.

Gusty winds up to 40 mph occurred across portions of Lamar and Forrest Counties. These gusty winds uprooted several dozen trees. A few of these trees landed on homes, causing damage. Additionally, 2 to 4 inches of rain fell, as Cindy dissipated and moved inland into Alabama.

The highest maximum sustained wind at a land station was 49 mph, or 43 knots, at the Pascagoula Airport. The highest wind gust measured on the coast was 55 mph, or 48 knots, at the Pascagoula Airport. Heavy rainfall resulted in extensive street flooding, with rainfall amounts ranging from 3 inches to a little over 6 inches, across much of coastal Mississippi.

Overall, the tropical storm caused approximately $10 million in damage, with 1 million attributed to storm surge and the remainder wind damage.

(6) Hurricane Dennis made landfall during the afternoon of July 10th, near Navarre Beach, Florida, as a category 3 Hurricane. The storm moved north-northwest across Southwest Alabama, and then into East-Central Mississippi, and finally across Northeast Mississippi during the overnight hours.

Wind gusts over tropical storm force were common across areas east of a line from Starkville to Newton to Hattiesburg. These winds caused several hundred trees to uproot or snap and took down numerous power lines. Additionally, a total of 21 homes or businesses sustained minor to major damage from fallen trees or gusty winds.

Here are a few locations with the strongest measured wind gusts: Meridian (Key Field) 59 mph, Meridian Naval Air Station 55 mph, Newton 40 mph, Columbus Air Force Base 43 mph, and Pine Belt Airport 46 mph.

(7) Hurricane Rita made landfall during the morning of September 24th, near the Texas and Louisiana state line, at the Sabine Pass. The outer bands of Rita affected portions of Southwest Mississippi, all of Northeast Louisiana, and a portion of Southern Arkansas, early Saturday into Sunday.

The major impacts from this hurricane were the large severe weather/tornado outbreak, heavy rainfall and lastly, tropical storm force winds and gusts across the west and southwest portion of the area.

The severe weather outbreak, spawned from the outer edges of Rita, lasted about 36 hours from Saturday into Sunday evening.

Officially, 55 tornadoes occurred across the Jackson, MS, National Weather Service county warning area. This made the tornado outbreak during Rita, the largest tornado outbreak in the NWS Jackson county warning area, in recorded history.

Of the 55 total tornadoes, 1 was rated an F3 and 7 were rated F2. Additionally, 1 fatality occurred in Humphreys County and there were a total of 16 injuries.

Heavy rain became a problem, after a large area across Western Mississippi, Northeast Louisiana, and Southeast Arkansas received 4 to 7 inches of rain. A smaller corridor of the region, generally along the Big Black River, received 7 to 10 inches, early Sunday morning.

This heavy rain caused areas of flooding for many locations. The most significant flooding occurred in Warren and Yazoo counties were many homes were flooded, with some roads washed out.

Gradient winds from Rita were mainly confined to areas west of Interstate 55, from Grenada to Jackson, and then south-eastward from Jackson to Columbia. These winds were responsible for downing many trees and power lines across the western portion of the Jackson CWA. (Numerous trees fell on homes)

(8) Hurricane Gustav emerged into the southeast Gulf of Mexico as a major category 3 hurricane on August 31st, after developing in the Caribbean Sea and moving across western Cuba. Gustav tracked northwestward across the Gulf toward Louisiana and made landfall as a category 2 hurricane near Cocodrie Louisiana during the morning of September 1st.

Gustav continued to move northwest and weakened to a category 1 storm over South Central Louisiana later that day. The storm diminished to a tropical depression over northwestern Louisiana on September 2nd.

Hurricane Gustav affected 639 homes in the county with 17 being destroyed. A few businesses also received damage and numerous trees and utility poles were knocked down. The highest wind gust recorded in South Mississippi was 74 mph at the Gulfport-Biloxi Regional Airport, while the highest sustained wind of 54 mph was recorded at the Waveland Yacht Club. No official wind observations were available in far Southwest Mississippi, however wind gusts to hurricane force may have occurred.

Rainfall varied considerably, ranging from around 4 to 10 inches.

Gustav produced mainly light wind damage across coastal Mississippi, although more significant and concentrated damage occurred in Southwest Mississippi, closer to the track of center of the storm.

Widespread power outages occurred in Southwest Mississippi, especially in Wilkinson County. Approximately 640 homes and mobiles homes in Wilkinson County were damaged by wind and falling trees and tree limbs.

Storm surge ranged from of 4.5 to 6 feet in Jackson County to 8 to 11 feet in Hancock County.

Around 50 homes were flooded in Hancock County, along with minor to moderate coastal flooding and beach erosion. The worst coastal flooding from the storm surge was in Hancock County.