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Ashley; Chicot; Morehouse; West Carroll; East Carroll; Richland; Madison; Franklin; Catahoula; Tensas; Concordia; Bolivar; Sunflower; Leflore; Grenada; Carroll; Montgomery; Webster; Clay; Lowndes; Choctaw; Oktibbeha; Washington; Humphreys; Holmes; Attala; Winston; Noxubee; Issaquena; Sharkey; Yazoo; Madison; Leake; Neshoba; Kemper; Warren; Hinds; Rankin; Scott; Newton; Lauderdale; Claiborne; Copiah; Simpson; Smith; Jasper; Clarke; Jefferson; Adams; Franklin; Lincoln; Lawrence; Jefferson Davis; Covington; Jones; Marion; Lamar; Forrest
Richland Parish, Louisiana severe weather history spans 407 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 50.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,225 nationally and #23 in Louisiana.
407
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
51
Direct injuries
$34.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Richland Parish, Louisiana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Richland Parish, Louisiana severe weather history averages 5.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 102 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 81 events fall before 1990 and 326 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Richland Parish, Louisiana record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $21.9M 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 Richland Parish
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 205 | 1 | $3.9M | 83 | 1967–2025 |
| Hail | 113 | 0 | $1.1M | 2.75 | 1971–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 44 | 0 | $21.9M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Tornado | 40 | 0 | $7.6M | F3 | 1953–2024 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $63K | 0 | 2009–2018 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $150K | 0 | 2016–2019 |
Decade by decade
Richland Parish, Louisiana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
44 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 34 touched down inside it and 10 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-01-18 | EF3 | 1 | 2 | 38.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1983-04-01 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1983-04-01 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 21.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-05-17 | EF3 | 0 | 17 | 41.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-03-22 | EF2 | 2 | 22 | 234.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2020-04-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1983-11-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 5.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Richland Parish
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 25, 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | CUTHBERT | 1 | 0 | $25K |
| Dec 4, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 23 | $2.5M | |
| May 17, 1953 | Tornado | 0 | 17 | $250K | |
| Mar 28, 2018 | Tornado | NEW LIGHT | 0 | 4 | $200K |
| Apr 30, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| Mar 29, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Mar 7, 1995 | Tornado | Alto | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 5, 1956 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rainfall fell across all of Richland Parish as persistent rain bands continued to impact the area from weakening Hurricane Gustav. Rainfall amounts between 8 and 15 inches fell across the parish, mostly during the evening of the 2nd and early morning of the 3rd.||Numerous roads were flooded with some washed out. Some homes were also flooded across the parish as multiple rounds of heavy rain impacted the area.||Agriculture was extremely hard hit as farmland was flooded and crops became water logged. Many areas saw total loss of some crops while other areas experienced very low yields. Cotton, soybeans and sweet potatoes were some of the hardest hit crops.
Tremendous amounts of rain fell across Richland Parish during the afternoon and evening of October 16th. Eight to fifteen inches of rain fell during this time causing significant flooding across the parish. Dozens of homes were flooded along with a large majority of the roads across the parish. Many roads had sections washed out and were impassable. Locals who have lived in the area all their life mentioned they have never seen water like that before.
A microburst with estimated maximum gusts of 95 mph produced a 2.5 mile by 1.2 mile swath of damage near Start, including numerous downed hardwood limbs and some snapped or uprooted hardwood trees. Several sheds were damaged or destroyed, and one home had the roof ripped off the east side. Others had some shingle damage and lost pieces of siding. The skirting was loosened on several mobile homes, and the porches were completely blown off of two mobile homes. A small grain silo was overturned.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
19,822
Population (ACS)
$142K
Median home value
36
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 Richland Parish, Louisiana?
407 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $34.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Richland Parish?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 205 recorded events — 50.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Richland Parish?
44 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 34 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Richland Parish?
36 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Richland Parish, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Richland Parish compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Richland Parish as very low risk, placing it in the 37 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Richland 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
- Red River Parish 323
- Sabine Parish 482
- Rapides Parish 662
- St. Bernard Parish 121
- Pointe Coupee Parish 214
- St. Charles Parish 258
Cite this page
“Richland Parish, Louisiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/louisiana/richland-parish/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.