Bienville Parish, Louisiana severe weather history spans 484 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 53.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #932 nationally and #15 in Louisiana.
484
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$54.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Bienville Parish, Louisiana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Bienville Parish, Louisiana severe weather history averages 6.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 131 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 82 events fall before 1990 and 402 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Bienville Parish, Louisiana record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $51.7M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Bienville Parish
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 259 | 0 | $1.6M | 90 | 1959–2026 |
| Hail | 146 | 0 | $0 | 2.75 | 1958–2025 |
| Tornado | 44 | 0 | $51.7M | F3 | 1950–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 28 | 1 | $15K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $1.5M | 0 | 1997–2009 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $91K | 0 | 2008–2013 |
Decade by decade
Bienville Parish, Louisiana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
49 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 42 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-02-12 | EF3 | 5 | 25 | 74.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1978-12-03 | EF3 | 2 | 4 | 60.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1992-11-03 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-05-02 | EF3 | 0 | 9 | 61.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2020-01-11 | EF2 | 3 | 0 | 31.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2018-04-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-04-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-05-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-05-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 20.7 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Bienville Parish
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 9, 2016 | Flash Flood | LUCKY | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Feb 10, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | RINGGOLD | 0 | 2 | $1.0M |
| Apr 9, 1979 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Dec 24, 2009 | Flash Flood | ARCADIA ARPT | 0 | 1 | $15K |
| Aug 19, 2009 | Lightning | CASTOR | 0 | 1 | $1K |
| Apr 6, 2005 | Tornado | FRYEBURG | 0 | 1 | $300K |
| Apr 14, 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Friendship | 0 | 1 | $50K |
| Apr 13, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 75 year old man drove around a barricade on Hwy. 4 at Saline Creek and was swept off the highway. He was later found deceased. The other occupant, a 70 year old woman was found by first responders clinging to a tree. She was taken to an area hospital suffering from hypothermia.
Excessive heavy rainfall during the middle and latter part of the month resulted in very high water conditions on Lake Bistineau. The lake rose and crested at 146.5 feet on the evening of the 20th but the lake saw a higher crest early in the month of November from heavy rainfall that fell late in October. This crest information will be added to the November publication of Storm Data. At month's end, floodwaters from Bayou Dorcheat again threatened residents on Lake Bistineau and From Dixie Inn through Sibley, Louisiana. The crest on the 20th flooded some dozen homes around the lake. A giant salvinia infestation, a non-native water plant made conditions miserable for lake residents as the dead plants floated into yards and flooded homes with the rising flood waters. Severe flooding problems were reported with several homes and cabins flooded. Most secondary roadways were closed with travel around the lake becoming difficult and travel by boat was the easier method.
Numerous reports of trees and powerlines were felled. School buses were trapped on the highways during the storm when the roads were blocked from fallen trees. There were two injuries when a tree fell across a pickup truck on La Hwy 151. The men were transported to a local hospital and only one appeared to have serious injuries. Damage to several homes and mobile homes were also reported.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
12,638
Population (ACS)
$100K
Median home value
35
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 18, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Sep 10, 2024 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM FRANCINE | EM |
| Sep 13, 2021 | Coastal Storm | TROPICAL STORM NICHOLAS | EM |
| Aug 29, 2021 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IDA | DR |
| Aug 27, 2021 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM IDA | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Bienville Parish, Louisiana?
484 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $54.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Bienville Parish?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 259 recorded events — 53.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Bienville Parish?
49 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 42 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Bienville Parish?
35 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Bienville Parish, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Bienville Parish compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Bienville Parish as very low risk, placing it in the 29 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Bienville Parish, Louisiana severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Beauregard Parish 448
- Bossier Parish 1,091
- Avoyelles Parish 315
- Caddo Parish 1,880
- Assumption Parish 89
- Calcasieu Parish 969
Cite this page
“Bienville Parish, Louisiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/louisiana/bienville-parish/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.