Storm risk in Lee County, Mississippi

FEMA's overall hazard score for Lee County, MS is 81.27 (Relatively Moderate), 590th of 3,144 counties. Hail scores 65.46 (Relatively Low), strong wind 65.65 (Relatively Moderate) and tornado 86.77 (Relatively Moderate). Expected hail loss is $6.61 per $1 million of buildings a year; NOAA logged 53 hail reports in Lee County, MS from 2014 to June 2026.

FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026. NOAA hail reports 2014 to June 2026.

Lee County: expected yearly loss per $1 million of buildings for hail, strong wind and tornado, on a log scale, against all U.S. counties and the counties of MS$0.1$1$10$100$1,000Hail: $6.61 per $1 million, 2,313th of 3,126 rated counties$6.61Hail2,313th of 3,126 countiesStrong wind: $8.03 per $1 million, 2,364th of 3,121 rated counties$8.03Strong wind2,364th of 3,121 countiesTornado: $255 per $1 million, 1,254th of 3,144 rated counties$255Tornado1,254th of 3,144 counties
  • Lee County, MS, coloured by its FEMA rating
  • all U.S. counties
  • each county in the state
  • U.S. median
  • state median

Expected yearly loss per $1 million of buildings, log scale. Dot colour is FEMA’s rating band. The tornado lane counts everything exposed, not only buildings.

How FEMA rates Lee County, MS

HazardRatingScore (0 to 100)Rank in U.S.Rank in MS
OverallRelatively Moderate 81.27590 of 3,14412 of 82
HailRelatively Low 65.461,087 of 3,12636 of 82
Strong windRelatively Moderate 65.651,081 of 3,12632 of 82
TornadoRelatively Moderate 86.77417 of 3,12620 of 82

Expected yearly loss, in dollars

HazardThis county, total a yearPer $1M of buildingsState median countyU.S. median countyRank per $1M, U.S.Rank per $1M, state
Hail$125,941$6.61 $46$22 2,313 of 3,12674 of 82
Strong wind$153,073$8.03 $33$20 2,364 of 3,12177 of 82
Tornado$4,863,989$255 $478$199 1,254 of 3,14478 of 82

Rank 1 is the highest. Overall, hail and wind losses count buildings; the tornado row counts everything FEMA exposes, so it overstates building damage. Expected annual loss is an average over many years for the whole county, not a forecast for one roof.

What stands out in Lee County, MS

  • FEMA expects hail in Lee County, MS to cost $6.61 per $1 million of buildings a year: 0.30 times the U.S. median and 0.14 times the MS county median, ranked 2,313th of 3,126 counties nationally and 74th of 82 in Mississippi.
  • FEMA expects strong wind in Lee County, MS to cost $8.03 per $1 million of buildings a year: 0.39 times the U.S. median and 0.24 times the MS county median, ranked 2,364th of 3,121 counties nationally and 77th of 82 in Mississippi.
  • FEMA expects tornado in Lee County, MS to cost $255 per $1 million of buildings a year: 1.28 times the U.S. median and 0.53 times the MS county median, ranked 1,254th of 3,144 counties nationally and 78th of 82 in Mississippi.
  • Applying FEMA's estimate to a $187,800 home, the average yearly loss in Lee County, MS is about $1.24 for hail and $1.51 for wind before any deductible; at the U.S. median county rates it would be $4.20 and $3.83.
  • If the next years look like 2014 to 2025, a roof kept 20 years in Lee County, MS meets about 41.7 hail days of 1 inch or more; the median county in NOAA's file (1,275 counties) would give 35.0.
  • Built in 1987, the median home in Lee County, MS is 39 years old, so an original roof has outlived a 3-tab shingle (15 to 20 years) and an architectural one (25 to 30 years); 71.6% of its 37,507 homes are at least 26 years old.
  • March to June holds 34 of the 53 hail reports in Lee County, MS (64 percent); the quietest month is July, with 0 reports.

What hail and wind cost a home here in an average year

Enter a home value. The calculator applies Lee County, MS’s own loss rate: the county’s expected yearly loss divided by the value of its buildings. It starts at the Census median home value for the county.

$1.24hail, a year; $4.20 at the U.S. median county rate
$1.51strong wind, a year; $3.83 at the U.S. median county rate
$55hail and wind together over 20 years, at today’s rate

Formula: home value × Lee County, MS yearly loss ÷ building value. Hail: $125,941 ÷ $19,066,386,631 = 0.0000066. Wind: $153,073 ÷ $19,066,386,631 = 0.0000080. This is FEMA’s estimate of average damage to buildings and does not account for your deductible. Tornado is left out because FEMA’s tornado loss counts people and other exposure, not only buildings.

Read this as a yardstick. The rate is an average over every building in the county, from sheds to office towers, and over many years. Real losses come in rare, large storms; a roof with no damage in 19 years can need full replacement in the 20th. The figure is not a quote and not a prediction for one address.

Lee County, MS in plain numbers

  • Lee County, MS scores 81.27 in FEMA's overall hazard index (Relatively Moderate): 590th of 3,144 rated counties and 12th of 82 in Mississippi.
  • Hail scores 65.46 (Relatively Low). FEMA expects $125,941 of hail damage to buildings in Lee County, MS a year, which is $6.61 per $1 million of buildings, 0.30 times the U.S. median.
  • Strong wind scores 65.65 (Relatively Moderate) with $153,073 of expected yearly building loss in Lee County, MS: $8.03 per $1 million of buildings, 0.39 times the U.S. median.
  • Tornado scores 86.77 (Relatively Moderate) and FEMA's expected yearly tornado loss is $4,863,989, counting everything exposed, or $255 per $1 million of buildings in Lee County, MS.
  • FEMA's own event record for Lee County, MS averages 3.33 hail events and 2.12 strong-wind events a year.
  • NOAA logged 53 hail reports in Lee County, MS between 2014 and June 2026, on 26 days with stones of 1 inch or more; the largest was 2.5 inches.
  • In Lee County, MS, FEMA counts buildings worth 19.07 billion dollars and 83,269 residents.
  • Social vulnerability is Relatively High in Lee County, MS.
  • Community resilience there is Relatively High, for 83,269 residents.
  • 1 city in Lee County, MS is covered on this site: Tupelo. 8 Census ZIP areas have more than half of their land in the county.
  • Our guide range for a 2,000 sq ft asphalt roof in Tupelo is $5,530 to $12,245.
  • Lee County, MS ranks 153 of the 194 counties with a page here for hail loss per $1 million of buildings, 124 for wind and 82 for tornado.
  • In Lee County, MS, March is the busiest month with 14 of the 53 reports (26 percent), against 0 reports in September.
  • Lee County, MS's worst year was 2025, with 6 hail days at 1 inch or more and 9 reports. At the 2014 to 2025 pace that is 2.08 such days a year, one about every 5.8 months.
  • The median home in Lee County, MS was built in 1987; 39.2% of its 37,507 housing units date from before 1980, 71.6% from before 2000 and 12.4% from 2010 on.
  • Census puts the median home value in Lee County, MS at $187,800, and 70.2% of homes are lived in by their owners.
  • 1,600 single-family building permits were issued in Lee County, MS from 2014 to 2025, about 42.7 per 1,000 homes, peaking in 2016.
  • NOAA lists 19 tornado tracks in Lee County, MS since 2014; the strongest was an EF3 on April 28, 2014 near Bissell, 19.21 miles long.
  • The fastest gust in NOAA's records for Lee County, MS is 85 mph on April 5, 2025 at Saltillo.
  • The nearest county with a page here is De Soto County, 85 miles from the centre of Lee County, MS; its hail score is 61.26.
  • Across counties the median is one roofing firm for every 5,189 homes; Census counted 6 roofing contractor establishments in Lee County, MS in 2023, one for every 6,251 homes.

The hail record of Lee County, MS, year by year

NOAA logged 53 reports in Lee County, MS; hail of 1 inch or more fell on 26 days. That is 2.1 such days a year; the median county in NOAA’s file has 1.8.

Lee County: NOAA hail reports per year, 2014 to June 2026, with the number of days that had hail of 1 inch or more02468102014: 5 reports, 4 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch142015: 5 reports, 2 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch152016: 3 reports, 2 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch162017: 1 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch172018: 1 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch182019: 1 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch192020: 2 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0.88 inch202021: 1 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch212022: 6 reports, 2 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch222023: 7 reports, 4 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch232024: 8 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 2.5 inch242025: 9 reports, 6 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch252026: 4 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch26*
  • reports
  • days with hail of 1 inch or more
  • * 2026 runs to June only
Lee County: NOAA hail reports by calendar month, 2014 to June 2026January: 1 reports1JanFebruary: 4 reports4FebMarch: 14 reports14MarApril: 2 reports2AprMay: 9 reports9MayJune: 9 reports9JunJuly: 0 reports0JulAugust: 0 reports0AugSeptember: 0 reports0SepOctober: 8 reports8OctNovember: 3 reports3NovDecember: 3 reports3Dec

Reports by calendar month, all years together. Peak: March, 14 reports.

The same numbers as a table (years with at least one report)
YearReportsDays, 1 inch or moreDays, 1.75 inch or moreLargest stoneDamage reported
20145411.75 in–
20155211.75 in–
20163201 in–
20171101 in–
20181101 in–
20191101 in–
20202000.88 in–
20211111.75 in–
20226221.75 in–
20237421.75 in–
20248112.5 in–
20259621.75 in–
2026 (to June)4101 in–

Biggest hail days in Lee County, MS

DateLargest stoneReports that dayDamage reportedNear
June 9, 20242.5 in7none recordedSaltillo
October 12, 20221.75 in5none recordedSaltillo
March 31, 20151.75 in3none recordedBaldwyn
May 7, 20231.75 in2none recordedBaldwyn
May 8, 20251.75 in2none recordedBissell

Where large hail was reported

FEMA scores the county as a whole. NOAA’s reports show where inside Lee County, MS the big stones fell.

Reported hail locations, Lee County, MS

1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1.25 in hail1.25 in hail1.5 in hail1.5 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail2 in hail2.5 in hail Tupelo
  • 291 to 1.74 in
  • 141.75 to 2.74 in, golf ball to tennis ball
  • 02.75 in and up, baseball

Largest plotted stone: 2.5 in. Bigger dots are bigger stones.

43 reports of 1 inch or larger have coordinates. Each dot is a reported location, not a storm path.

Sources: NOAA, Census county outline

Wind and tornado records for Lee County, MS

Fastest gusts in Lee County, MS

DateGustNear
April 5, 202585 mphSaltillo
February 15, 202583 mphShannon
March 31, 202181 mphNettleton
March 15, 202481 mphShannon

Strongest tornado tracks in Lee County, MS

DateScaleLengthInjured / killedNear
April 28, 2014EF319.21 mi30 / 0Bissell
April 1, 2023EF21.61 mi0 / 0Baldwyn
March 31, 2023EF210.68 mi0 / 0Corrona
December 16, 2019EF29.42 mi0 / 0Blair

19 tornado tracks in all since 2014; the strongest 4 are listed.

How old the roofs are

Census counts homes by the decade they were built. Under each bar is the number of hail days of 1 inch or more that an original roof from that decade has met, at Lee County, MS’s 2014 to 2025 pace of 2.08 such days a year. Most roofs have been replaced since; the row shows what a roof that never was would have taken.

Lee County: share of homes by decade built, with the hail days at 1 inch or more that an original roof from each decade has met at the county's 2014 to 2025 ratepre-1940: 3.7% of homes3.7%<19401901940s: 2.6% of homes2.6%1940s1691950s: 6.7% of homes6.7%1950s1481960s: 8.8% of homes8.8%1960s1271970s: 17.4% of homes17.4%1970s1061980s: 15.4% of homes15.4%1980s851990s: 17.0% of homes17%1990s652000s: 16.0% of homes16%2000s442010s: 11.3% of homes11.3%2010s232020+: 1.1% of homes1.1%2020+6

Bars: share of 37,507 housing units by decade built. Figures under the decade: hail days met by an original roof, at the county’s 2014 to 2025 pace. The pace of earlier years is unknown.

Median year built1987
Built before 198039.2%
Built before 200071.6%
Built since 201012.4%
Owner-occupied70.2%
Median home value$187,800
Single-family permits, 2014 to 20251,600
Permits per 1,000 homes42.7

Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) and 25 to 30 years (architectural). Source: Census ACS 2019 to 2023 and Building Permits Survey.

Roofers and past disasters in Lee County, MS

Roofing firms in Lee County, MS

Roofing contractor establishments, 20236
Change since 2016+3 (+100%)
Homes per roofing firm6,251
Median across counties5,189
Employees, 202328

Source for Lee County, MS: Census County Business Patterns, NAICS 238160.

Nearby counties

The closest counties that have a risk page, by distance between county centres. Loss is per $1 million of buildings; the columns marked "times here" divide the neighbour's loss by Lee County, MS's.

CountyMilesOverallHail lossHail, times hereWind lossWind, times hereNOAA hail reports
De Soto County, MS85 Relatively Moderate $0.270.04$141.7342
Lauderdale County, MS131 Relatively Moderate $142.06$293.5625
Hinds County, MS169 Relatively Moderate $29644.88$678.4059
Forrest County, MS218 Relatively Low $456.81$161.9723
Harrison County, MS264 Relatively High $233.44$1.330.1730

All 194 counties, with a filter by state and sorting

Cities and ZIP areas in Lee County, MS

1 city in this county is on PickARoofer. ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are Census shapes that approximate ZIP codes; where we have a city’s ZIPs, the share is the part of each area’s land that lies in this county. 8 such areas have more than half their land here.

CityZIP areas (share of land in the county)Pages
Tupelo 38801 (83%), 38804 (98%), 38824 (25%) Roofers

Storm hit your roof in Lee County, MS? A free inspection tells you if there is damage. One local roofer answers, not five.

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Questions

How high is storm risk in Lee County, MS?

FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lee County, MS an overall score of 81.27 (Relatively Moderate), 590th of 3,144. Hail scores 65.46 (Relatively Low), strong wind 65.65 (Relatively Moderate) and tornado 86.77 (Relatively Moderate).

In Lee County, MS, how many hail reports has NOAA logged?

A report is one entry for one storm in one county, so counts follow where people live as well as where hail fell. NOAA has 53 for Lee County, MS between 2014 and June 2026, on 26 days with hail of 1 inch or more; the largest stone was 2.5 inches.

What do hail and wind cost a home in Lee County, MS each year, on average?

Applying FEMA's county rates to its median home value of $187,800: FEMA's estimate is about $1.24 a year for hail and $1.51 for wind, before any deductible, against $4.20 and $3.83 at the U.S. median county rates. This is an average over many years and all buildings, not a prediction for one roof; one bad storm costs far more than the average year.

How does Lee County, MS compare with the rest of Mississippi?

Per $1 million of buildings Lee County, MS loses $6.61 to hail a year, against $46 in the median county of the state. Among 82 rated counties it is 36th for hail, 32nd for strong wind and 20th for tornado.

How old are the roofs in Lee County, MS?

The median home was built in 1987, 39 years ago, and 71.6% of the 37,507 housing units in Lee County, MS date from before 2000. Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) or 25 to 30 years (architectural), so an original roof of either kind is past its rated life. The Census does not record when a roof was replaced.

What does expected annual loss mean?

It is FEMA's estimate of the average yearly loss from a hazard, in dollars, summed over the county. It is built for comparing counties at planning level, not for pricing one house.

Does a high rating mean my roof will be damaged?

No. The index compares counties and cannot say what will happen on your street. After a storm, a roof inspection is the only way to know.

Sources for Lee County, MS: FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026; NOAA Storm Events Database hail reports for Lee County, MS; Census Bureau ZCTA-to-county relationship file (2020); Census ACS and Building Permits Survey, homes in Lee County, MS; Census County Business Patterns, roofing firms in Lee County, MS. Planning-level information about Lee County, MS, not an inspection and not insurance advice.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).