Hail — Noxubee, Mississippi

2023-06-14 · near Lynn Creek, Noxubee, Mississippi

Event narrative

Large hail up to the size of baseballs to softballs or larger fell in a swath from west of Brooksville to around the Prairie Point area. An NWS survey team and the Mississippi State Climatologist measured a near-record hail stone after it was frozen in an air tight bag. The stone, which measured 4.88 inches or (4-7/8 inches), fell on the southwest side of Brooksville near Macon Lynn Creek Road. This was the 2nd largest hail stone ever recorded in the state. Mississippi State University Extension specialists reported significant crop losses in affected cotton and soybean fields of up to 50 percent or even complete loss in some cases.

Wider weather episode

Convergence of moisture along a stationary front in northern Mississippi triggered thunderstorms during the day on June 14th. With an unstable air mass south of the front and a strong jet stream over the frontal zone sustaining robust updrafts, these storms quickly became severe and moved east-southeast across portions of Mississippi through the morning of the 15th. Storms produced hail as large as 4.88 inches near Brooksville, which when measured was just below the record 5.0 inches for the state of Mississippi. Swaths of hail and wind damaged crops in addition to homes, trees, and power lines.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.2300, -88.6800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1145236. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.