466
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
20
Direct injuries
$12.1M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana: 466 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 90. That places the county #136 nationally and #2 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Calcasieu Parish is the 2000s, when 104 of the county's 466 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Calcasieu Parish archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 48.1% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #136 for this hazard and #2 within Louisiana, putting it in the 95.7 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Calcasieu Parish with 87 recorded events, while Dec is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 2012 | LAKE CHARLES LAKE | 50 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 21, 2012 | LAKE CHARLES LAKE | 50 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 15, 1987 | 90 | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Jan 13, 2005 | SULPHUR | 50 | 0 | 15 | $0 |
| Sep 14, 1984 | 0 | 0 | 3 | $0 | |
| Feb 10, 1998 | VINTON | 0 | 0 | 1 | $75K |
| Mar 30, 1990 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 11, 2026 | ARARET | 50 | $1K |
| Feb 14, 2026 | (LCH)LK CHARLES MUNI | 50 | $5K |
| Feb 14, 2026 | (LCH)LK CHARLES MUNI | 50 | $15K |
| Feb 14, 2026 | LAKE CHARLES MUNI AR | 63 | $25K |
| Feb 14, 2026 | (LCH)LK CHARLES MUNI | 63 | $0 |
| Feb 14, 2026 | WESTLAKE | 50 | $2K |
| Feb 14, 2026 | WESTLAKE | 50 | $0 |
| Oct 26, 2025 | HOLMWOOD | 50 | $2K |
| Oct 26, 2025 | LAKE CHARLES LAKE | 50 | $0 |
| Sep 17, 2025 | VINCENT | 50 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Calcasieu Parish
- Hail 224
- Tornado 114
- Flash Flood 106
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Strong wind gusts blew across Lake Charles and the Calcasieu River where two men from Westlake where on a boat. The 16 foot jon boat was capsized by the strong wind gusts and both were drowned. One man was still wearing a life jacket when found the next morning on the west bank of Lake Charles. The other man was found around a day later.
Strong wind gusts blew across Lake Charles and the Calcasieu River where two men from Westlake where on a boat. The 16 foot jon boat was capsized by the strong wind gusts and both were drowned. One man was still wearing a life jacket when found the next morning on the west bank of Lake Charles. The other man was found around a day later.
An NWS storm survey found a small but severe microburst struck Westlake High School and adjacent areas in the central part of Westlake. This 200-yard wide by 300-yard long microburst occurred within a larger scale downburst that affected much of the city of Westlake. At the high school, the western one-third of the aluminum metal gymnasium roof was ripped off and blown westward into the adjacent parking lot, overturning one vehicle and damaging three others. A basketball team inside the gymnasium was not injured. The press box on the western side of the football stadium was destroyed, with debris left dangling between nearby light poles and the stands. Across the street, the Westlake Fire Department building received damage to the east side of the building. Because of the damage, all classes at Westlake High School were canceled on May 27, which was to be the last day of school. All damage was blown in a west-southwest direction, with winds estimated around 100 mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana?
466 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Calcasieu Parish between 1956 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Calcasieu Parish?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Calcasieu Parish measured 90.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Calcasieu Parish come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/louisiana/calcasieu-parish/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.