East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana severe weather history spans 627 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 47.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #517 nationally and #10 in Louisiana.
627
Recorded events
12
Direct deaths
106
Direct injuries
$2.4B
Property damage
The record
What the East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana severe weather history averages 9.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 181 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 121 events fall before 1990 and 506 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana record is lightning, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $1.7B in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in East Baton Rouge Parish
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 295 | 0 | $11.1M | 75 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 110 | 0 | $5K | 3.75 | 1960–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 100 | 3 | $723.5M | 0 | 1997–2026 |
| Lightning | 57 | 4 | $8.8M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 46 | 1 | $14.3M | F3 | 1956–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2009 |
| Flood | 6 | 4 | $1.7B | 0 | 1996–2018 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2021 |
Decade by decade
East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
46 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 44 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-10-14 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 16.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-04-26 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-09-16 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 7.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-06-08 | EF2 | 0 | 60 | 9.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-04-20 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-12-04 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 42.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-06-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-11-13 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 3.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-11-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in East Baton Rouge Parish
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 2016 | Flood | PLAINS | 4 | 0 | $1.7B |
| Jul 14, 2016 | Lightning | MILLERVILLE | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| May 18, 2021 | Flash Flood | WESTMINSTER | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 6, 2019 | Flash Flood | ALSEN | 1 | 0 | $750K |
| Aug 12, 2016 | Flash Flood | BAYWOOD | 1 | 0 | $722.0M |
| May 30, 2010 | Lightning | BATON ROUGE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 27, 2006 | Lightning | BATON ROUGE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 6, 2006 | Lightning | BATON ROUGE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Twenty to thirty inches of rainfall over a 2 day period led to widespread flash flooding in East Baton Rouge Parish. As water drained into the local rivers, record levels were recorded. Additional details of the river flooding can be found in the flood report for the parish. As floodwaters rose, hundreds of high water rescues were necessary across the parish. Portions of interstates 10 and 110 were closed due to water crossing the roadway during the flash flooding. In all, approximately 25,000 homes and hundreds of additional businesses suffered various degrees of flooding, though it's difficult to determine how many were due to initial flash flooding and how many were due to subsequent river flooding. During the flash flooding, a 68 year old man drowned when he slipped into a drainage ditch trying to escape his home in Zachary, LA Friday morning.
Heavy rainfall of 4 to 7 inches occurred across the Baton Rouge metro area producing widespread flooding of streets and some buildings. A number of roadway underpasses were flooded with cars trapped or flooded. One fatality, a 37 year old man, occurred at the entrance ramp at Chippewa and Interstate 110 when the victims car was trapped in rising floodwaters. Emergency management officials estimated that around 145 vehicles were flooded and 11 parish buildings had minor flooding.
Two men who had been working on a roof in the 11800 block of Old Hammond Highway sought shelter under a tree as thunderstorms passed through. Lightning struck the tree, killing one of the men and injuring the other. The time of the event was estimated.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
452,938
Population (ACS)
$249K
Median home value
47
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Sep 16, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE FRANCINE | DR |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Baton Rouge 132
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana?
627 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 12 direct deaths and $2.4B in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in East Baton Rouge Parish?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 295 recorded events — 47.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed East Baton Rouge Parish?
46 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 44 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover East Baton Rouge Parish?
47 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include East Baton Rouge Parish, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is East Baton Rouge Parish compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates East Baton Rouge Parish as relatively high risk, placing it in the 98 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the East Baton Rouge 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
- De Soto Parish 620
- East Carroll Parish 313
- Concordia Parish 311
- East Feliciana Parish 155
- Claiborne Parish 409
- Evangeline Parish 234
Cite this page
“East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/louisiana/east-baton-rouge-parish/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.