St. Landry Parish, Louisiana severe weather history spans 407 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 52.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,225 nationally and #23 in Louisiana.
407
Recorded events
8
Direct deaths
112
Direct injuries
$60.4M
Property damage
The record
What the St. Landry Parish, Louisiana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana severe weather history averages 5.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 115 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 74 events fall before 1990 and 333 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the St. Landry Parish, Louisiana record is tornado, responsible for 7 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $34.3M 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 St. Landry Parish
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 213 | 1 | $2.2M | 83 | 1979–2026 |
| Tornado | 73 | 7 | $20.7M | F3 | 1951–2026 |
| Hail | 68 | 0 | $0 | 2 | 1976–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 36 | 0 | $34.3M | 0 | 1998–2026 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $3.0M | 0 | 1997–2022 |
| Lightning | 6 | 0 | $157K | 0 | 1996–2013 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2012–2013 |
Decade by decade
St. Landry Parish, Louisiana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
74 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 61 touched down inside it and 13 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-11-07 | EF3 | 4 | 10 | 9.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-04-10 | EF3 | 1 | 7 | 8.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-05-17 | EF3 | 1 | 9 | 3.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1957-10-15 | EF3 | 1 | 29 | 37.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-02-09 | EF3 | 0 | 7 | 21.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1952-04-04 | EF2 | 4 | 33 | 20.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-10-29 | EF2 | 2 | 3 | 10.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-03-31 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-02-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-01-11 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in St. Landry Parish
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 1952 | Tornado | 4 | 33 | $250K | |
| Nov 8, 1957 | Tornado | 2 | 5 | $250K | |
| Apr 10, 2021 | Tornado | WAXIA | 1 | 7 | $1.0M |
| Jun 9, 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | PLAISANCE | 1 | 0 | $5K |
| Apr 18, 1998 | Lightning | PLAISANCE | 0 | 20 | $0 |
| Oct 16, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 10 | $250K | |
| Feb 9, 1983 | Tornado | 0 | 7 | $2.5M | |
| Jan 10, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A strong tornado touched down on Bolden Road, destroying several homes. One single wide mobile home that was tied down rolled numerous times for over 320 yards. One man died in this home. A double wide mobile home next door rolled for over 100 yards. Two people were seriously injured. A third home on pilings slid over 50 yards, with 5 people inside, who received cuts and bruises.||In total, 15 homes were damaged or destroyed along the path of this tornado. In addition, numerous trees and power lines were snapped, and some barns and outbuildings were destroyed. Max estimated winds 140 mph.
During the evening of the 12th flooding of some roadways started to occur in Saint Landry Parish. The heavy rainfall continued eventually flooding Highway 190 which remained closed for multiple days due to standing water. Water continued to rise into the 13th eventually flooding an estimated 2,878 structures.
A boundary pushed to the coast of Louisiana during March 11th and then slowly lifted into Acadiana and stalled through much of 12th. Storms kept redeveloping over the area north of interstate 10 with some locations receiving more than one foot of rain during the 12th. Flash Flooding was reported across multiple parishes, but were most notable across southern portions of Saint Landry, northern sections of Lafayette, and northwest sections of Saint Martin parishes. Flood levels reached record levels along Bayou Vermilion during the event in Carencro.||151 homes were flooded in southern sections of Saint Landry Parish with 35 people being rescued and another dozen evacuated during the event. Many roads were closed as well with Interstate 49 closed from Sunset to Highway 190. A river gauge along Bayou Vermilion between Carencro and Arnaudville recorded 14.61 inches during the event with radar estimates between 14 and 16 inches which resulted in a record crest of 22.5 feet, 1 foot over the previous record.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
81,670
Population (ACS)
$143K
Median home value
46
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 30, 2026 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM ARTHUR | 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 St. Landry Parish, Louisiana?
407 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 8 direct deaths and $60.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in St. Landry Parish?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 213 recorded events — 52.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed St. Landry Parish?
74 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 61 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover St. Landry Parish?
46 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include St. Landry Parish, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is St. Landry Parish compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates St. Landry Parish as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 88 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the St. Landry 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
- St. John the Baptist Parish 97
- St. Martin Parish 187
- St. James Parish 88
- St. Mary Parish 192
- St. Helena Parish 115
- St. Tammany Parish 715
Cite this page
“St. Landry Parish, Louisiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/louisiana/st-landry-parish/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.