Lafayette Parish, Louisiana severe weather history spans 345 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 41.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,520 nationally and #31 in Louisiana.
345
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
44
Direct injuries
$1.3B
Property damage
The record
What the Lafayette Parish, Louisiana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana severe weather history averages 4.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 98 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 56 events fall before 1990 and 289 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Lafayette Parish, Louisiana record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $700.0M 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 Lafayette Parish
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 144 | 1 | $2.3M | 87 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 78 | 0 | $0 | 2 | 1965–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 49 | 0 | $574.9M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 42 | 2 | $40.6M | F3 | 1953–2018 |
| Lightning | 16 | 0 | $5.6M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $700.0M | 0 | 1997–2016 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2013 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2013 |
Decade by decade
Lafayette 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: 40 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-10-29 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 7.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1952-04-04 | EF2 | 4 | 33 | 20.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2018-04-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2004-01-25 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-10-18 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-03-28 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-12-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-01-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Lafayette Parish
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 8, 1957 | Tornado | 2 | 13 | $250K | |
| Dec 24, 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | SCOTT | 1 | 0 | $25K |
| Jan 6, 1995 | Tornado | Duson to Scott | 0 | 8 | $70K |
| Oct 18, 1980 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Jan 25, 2004 | Tornado | LAFAYETTE | 0 | 3 | $1.0M |
| Dec 11, 1983 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| May 8, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250 | |
| Apr 30, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Straight line winds associated with a squall line blew down a large but rotten tree onto a mobile home located in the 1200 block of Lafayette Street in Scott. One person in the mobile home was killed but the other two occupants were not injured. Wind gusts were estimated between 40 to 50 mph. No other damage occurred in the area.
Stream gages along the Vermilion River in Lafayette Parish crested during the 15th at the end of the flash flood event. Major flooding along the Vermilion continued through the 24th-25th and kept some neighborhoods flooded for a couple of weeks. At the Surrey Street Gage 10 feet is flood stage and the Vermilion crested at 17.6 feet which is the 2nd highest recorded crest.
Street flooding along Ambassador Caffery and a few other poorly drained streets were first reported during the early morning of the 12th. High rainfall rates continued through the day with many streets being flooded and some structures by mid morning. Widespread flooding of vehicles, structures, and high water rescues began during the late morning across Lafayette Parish. The Vermilion River reached major flood stage by sunrise on the 13th and remained above major flood stage for 5 and a half days. Rainfall totals surpassed 20 inches in the southern section of the parish over the 12th and 13th. An estimated 9,376 structures flooded during the event.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
247,997
Population (ACS)
$243K
Median home value
43
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Jun 2, 2021 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana?
345 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $1.3B in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Lafayette Parish?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 144 recorded events — 41.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Lafayette Parish?
44 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 40 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Lafayette Parish?
43 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Lafayette Parish, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Lafayette Parish compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lafayette Parish as relatively high risk, placing it in the 95 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Lafayette 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
- Jefferson Davis Parish 276
- Lafourche Parish 241
- Jefferson Parish 501
- LaSalle Parish 247
- Jackson Parish 344
- Lincoln Parish 467
Cite this page
“Lafayette Parish, Louisiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/louisiana/lafayette-parish/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.