Enter any address in Lee County, Mississippi to see its FEMA flood zone
Flash flooding from severe thunderstorms is the most frequent type of flood event recorded in Lee County over the last 30 years, with 68 occurrences noted. These events have resulted in one fatality. For example, a flash flood event occurred on March 15, 2025, associated with severe thunderstorm development driven by atmospheric conditions including high moisture advection and strong jet streams.
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims data indicates that properties in Zone A have experienced the highest number of claims, totaling 111. These claims averaged a payout of $21,988 with an average water depth of 0.5 feet. Properties in Zone X, though fewer in number of claims (25), had a higher average payout of $38,033 and an average water depth of 0.8 feet. Homeowners in Zone A, and those in Zone X with higher average payouts and water depths, should pay particular attention to flood risk.
Summary generated from NOAA storm narratives and NFIP claim data for this county. Not predictive.
28 NOAA storm reports from this county describe what happened, in the words of the meteorologists who were there.
Lee County, Mississippi has recorded 75 flood-related events since 1996 according to NOAA's Storm Events Database, including 68 flash floods and 4 river or area floods. The county has received 22 federal disaster declarations. Enter any address above to check its FEMA flood zone designation.
FEMA Disaster Declarations (1973–2026)
Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
| Declaration | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Severe Storm | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Hurricane Ida | Hurricane | Aug 28, 2021 |
| Covid-19 | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Covid-19 Pandemic | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Severe Storm | Oct 26, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Severe Storm | Feb 22, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Severe Storm | Apr 28, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Associated Flooding | Severe Storm | Apr 15, 2011 |
| Hurricane Gustav | Hurricane | Aug 28, 2008 |
NOAA Storm Events Database (1996–2025)
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
| Type | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 15, 2025 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Mar 15, 2025 | 50.00K |
| Flash Flood | Mar 15, 2025 | 25.00K |
| Flash Flood | Mar 15, 2025 | 10.00K |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | 3.00K |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | 5.00K |
| Flash Flood | Apr 10, 2024 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Jun 5, 2024 | 350.00K |
| Flash Flood | Jun 5, 2024 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2022 | 0.00K |
Flash Flood — Mar 15, 2025
An upper low over the Central Plains moved into the Upper Mississippi Valley during the evening hours of Friday, March 14, 2025. Increasing moisture advection ahead of an approaching cold front lifted dewpoints into the low to mid 60s. This coupled with increasing height falls and a mid-level 80 knot jet rotating around the main upper low supported severe thunderstorm development. Large looping...
Flash Flood — Jun 14, 2025
Pulse-type showers and thunderstorms continued during the afternoon hours with torrential rainfall rates. Due to a lack of shear, slow moving/nearly stationary storm motion heightened flash flooding threats, particularly over urban areas. A storm developed over Tupelo, MS and dumped buckets of rain over the area resulting in widespread flash flooding. The airport recorded 3.43 inches and set a ...
Flash Flood — Apr 10, 2024
Moisture advecting northward ahead of a surface low over the Lower Mississippi Valley fed showers and thunderstorms across northern Mississippi. These slow-moving thunderstorms moved across an area already saturated from previous rains. As a result, flash flooding occurred across northeast Mississippi.
Flash Flood — Jun 5, 2024
A mesoscale convective vortex moved across the Mid-South during the late afternoon and early evening on June 5, 2024. This feature interacted with a moist and unstable airmass to produce scattered thunderstorms across northeast Mississippi. Surface-based convective available potential energy values of 3000 J/kg and precipitable water values around 1.75 inches resulted in flash flooding, isolate...
Flash Flood — Aug 29, 2022
A weak upper-level trough extended from the Ohio River Valley into northern Arkansas. This triggered scattered showers and thunderstorms. Outflow boundaries caused additional slow-moving showers and thunderstorms to initiate. Some heavy rainfall was the result of these storms.
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
Source: OpenFEMA NFIP Individual Claims (2.25M records analyzed).
FEMA assigns flood zone designations to areas in Lee County, Mississippi:
AE High Risk — 1% annual chance of flooding. Insurance required.
VE Very High Risk — Coastal flooding with wave action.
X (Shaded) Moderate Risk — 500-year floodplain.
X Low Risk — Outside major floodplains.
Properties in Lee County, Mississippi that are in FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas (zones A and V) with federally backed mortgages are required to carry flood insurance.
Even outside high-risk zones, flood insurance is recommended. From 2014 to 2024, nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area.
Visit FloodSmart.gov to find an agent and get a quote.