15 Counties Where Storms Cause The Most Damage

By Evan Comen  •  May 8, 2026
person wearing black and white stripe shirt across blue clouds
Photo by Shashank Sahay on Unsplash

While 2025 was a relatively quiet hurricane season, severe weather has been on the rise in recent years.

The National Weather Service tracks storm damages using the Damage Assessment Toolkit, a system for collecting, mapping, and analyzing storm damage in the United States. Meteorologists, emergency managers, and trained partners log evidence of observed storm damage, helping scientists track the path and intensity of tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and other destructive weather.

Over the past 25 years, storm activity has largely been concentrated in the central and southeastern United States. While a majority of the country has logged no significant storm damage, dozens of counties in the Mississippi Valley, Southern Plains, and Gulf Coast have more than 500 storm damage observations. A closer look at the data reveals the U.S. counties where storms cause the most damage.

To determine the counties where storms have caused the most damage this year, Climate Crisis 247 reviewed data on post-damage storm assessments from the National Weather Service. Counties were ranked based on the number of post-damage storm assessment observations in their boundaries from January 1, 2000 to September 18, 2025. Supplemental data on home value and population are from the U.S. Census Bureau.

aerial view of city buildings near sea during daytime
Photo by Olivia dillon on Unsplash

15. Bay County, FL

  • NWS post-damage storm assessment count since 2000: 811 observations
  • Worst year for storm damage: 2018 (527 observations)
  • Total value of occupied housing units: $17.0 billion
  • Total population: 181,368
  • County seat: Panama City

14. Yazoo County, MS

  • NWS post-damage storm assessment count since 2000: 826 observations
  • Worst year for storm damage: 2010 (274 observations)
  • Total value of occupied housing units: $893.1 million
  • Total population: 26,837
  • County seat: Yazoo City

13. Covington County, MS

  • NWS post-damage storm assessment count since 2000: 826 observations
  • Worst year for storm damage: 2020 (443 observations)
  • Total value of occupied housing units: $829.3 million
  • Total population: 18,226
  • County seat: Collins

12. Canadian County, OK

  • NWS post-damage storm assessment count since 2000: 857 observations
  • Worst year for storm damage: 2013 (394 observations)
  • Total value of occupied housing units: $12.7 billion
  • Total population: 162,621
  • County seat: El Reno

11. Oklahoma County, OK

  • NWS post-damage storm assessment count since 2000: 879 observations
  • Worst year for storm damage: 2024 (430 observations)
  • Total value of occupied housing units: $52.5 billion
  • Total population: 800,487
  • County seat: Oklahoma City

10. Pulaski County, AR

  • NWS post-damage storm assessment count since 2000: 897 observations
  • Worst year for storm damage: 2023 (698 observations)
  • Total value of occupied housing units: $25.4 billion
  • Total population: 398,949
  • County seat: Little Rock

9. Jefferson Davis County, MS

  • NWS post-damage storm assessment count since 2000: 901 observations
  • Worst year for storm damage: 2020 (432 observations)
  • Total value of occupied housing units: $428.6 million
  • Total population: 11,183
  • County seat: Prentiss
city buildings under gray clouds during daytime
Photo by Jacob Thorson on Unsplash

8. Cook County, IL

  • NWS post-damage storm assessment count since 2000: 963 observations
  • Worst year for storm damage: 2024 (589 observations)
  • Total value of occupied housing units: $480.6 billion
  • Total population: 5,185,812
  • County seat: Chicago

7. Hinds County, MS

  • NWS post-damage storm assessment count since 2000: 995 observations
  • Worst year for storm damage: 2019 (274 observations)
  • Total value of occupied housing units: $10.0 billion
  • Total population: 222,494
  • County seat: Jackson

6. McClain County, OK

  • NWS post-damage storm assessment count since 2000: 1,107 observations
  • Worst year for storm damage: 2011 (517 observations)
  • Total value of occupied housing units: $3.4 billion
  • Total population: 43,779
  • County seat: Purcell

5. Jefferson County, AL

  • NWS post-damage storm assessment count since 2000: 1,129 observations
  • Worst year for storm damage: 2021 (371 observations)
  • Total value of occupied housing units: $53.3 billion
  • Total population: 669,744
  • County seat: Birmingham

4. St. Louis County, MO

  • NWS post-damage storm assessment count since 2000: 1,311 observations
  • Worst year for storm damage: 2025 (579 observations)
  • Total value of occupied housing units: $101.2 billion
  • Total population: 996,618
  • County seat: Clayton

3. Wilson County, TN

  • NWS post-damage storm assessment count since 2000: 1,531 observations
  • Worst year for storm damage: 2020 (1,128 observations)
  • Total value of occupied housing units: $19.1 billion
  • Total population: 153,587
  • County seat: Lebanon

2. Davidson County, TN

  • NWS post-damage storm assessment count since 2000: 2,773 observations
  • Worst year for storm damage: 2020 (2,119 observations)
  • Total value of occupied housing units: $87.4 billion
  • Total population: 709,846
  • County seat: Nashville

1. Cleveland County, OK

  • NWS post-damage storm assessment count since 2000: 5,870 observations
  • Worst year for storm damage: 2013 (4,371 observations)
  • Total value of occupied housing units: $19.9 billion
  • Total population: 297,545
  • County seat: Norman


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