38 flood insurance claims·$1.5M paid·3 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Tate County, Mississippi. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from severe weather events dominates the flood history of Tate County, MS, accounting for 25 out of 30 recorded flood events and two deaths over the last 30 years, alongside four standard flood events and one tropical storm.
Recent weather patterns illustrate this severe thunderstorm activity. A flash flood event occurred on March 15, 2025, driven by an upper low, moisture advection, and an approaching cold front that supported severe thunderstorm development. Another active storm pattern produced heavy rain and flash flooding on May 24, 2024, as mid-level shortwaves crossed the region and a mesoscale convective vortex lifted across the area. A similar upper low and moist air mass interaction produced rounds of heavy rain and flash flooding on June 9, 2021.
National Flood Insurance Program records show significant impacts across different zones. Zone A properties experienced 16 claims with an average payout of $39,428 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Zone X properties also logged 16 claims, with a higher average payout of $59,829 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Unshaded Zone X properties recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $7,684 and an average water depth of 9 inches, while unknown zones recorded 3 claims averaging $2,098 with an average water depth of 3 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents managing properties in both Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to these flood risks given the frequency of damaging flash floods.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 9 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2020, with 5 claims and $410,375 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
11 NOAA storm reports from Tate County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Mississippi flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Hurricane Ida | Aug 28, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 12, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Mar 9, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Associated Flooding | Apr 15, 2011 |
| Hurricane Gustav | Aug 28, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding | Nov 24, 2001 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
30 since 1996: 25 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 15, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 7, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Apr 13, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 31, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 10, 2016 | $300,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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 hodographs, MLCAPE…
Flash Flood · May 24, 2024. An active storm pattern as several mid-level shortwaves crossed the region. An MCV lifted east northeast out of the Ozarks across southern Arkansas. The MCV fired up morning convection across the Mid-South with isolated storm coverage in the afternoon. A weak capped environment was broken and steep mid-level lapse rates, roughly 30 knots of shear, and plentiful instability allowed storms to flourish.
Flash Flood · Jun 9, 2021. An upper low continued to meander across the region on June 9, 2021. Weak upper-level disturbances rotated around the upper low and interacted with a very moist air mass across the Mid-South to produce several rounds of heavy rain across East-Central Arkansas and North Mississippi. There were several instances of flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Apr 7, 2021. An upper low-pressure system tracked north of the region while the associated cold front moved through the Mid-South during the evening hours of April 7th. Clusters of storms formed into a poorly organized line that pushed east across the Mid-South. There were a few reports of damaging winds and flash flooding.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Tate County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.