67
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
59
Direct injuries
$14.7M
Property damage
Tornado in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana: 67 recorded events between 1950 and 2024. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #184 nationally and #11 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Natchitoches Parish is the 2010s, when 18 of the county's 67 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 Natchitoches Parish archive, tornado makes up 9.4% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #184 for this hazard and #11 within Louisiana, putting it in the 93.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Mar is the peak month for tornado in Natchitoches Parish with 17 recorded events, while Jun 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.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-03-20 | EF3 | 85.2 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 2000-04-23 | EF3 | 19.3 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 1983-05-19 | EF3 | 2.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-19 | EF3 | 23.0 mi | 500 yd | Touched down here |
| 1980-10-27 | EF3 | 5.6 mi | 500 yd | Crossed in |
| 1968-03-11 | EF3 | 1.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1953-03-22 | EF2 | 234.7 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 1954-04-30 | EF2 | 16.7 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
| 2018-11-05 | EF2 | 5.9 mi | 475 yd | Crossed in |
| 2018-11-05 | EF2 | 19.7 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1976 | F1 | 1 | 27 | $2.5M | |
| Mar 21, 1974 | F3 | 0 | 18 | $250K | |
| May 1, 1950 | F2 | 0 | 7 | $250K | |
| Mar 30, 2008 | PROVENCAL | EF0 | 0 | 3 | $750K |
| Jan 21, 2017 | NATCHEZ | EF2 | 0 | 1 | $500K |
| Nov 24, 2004 | KISATCHIE | F2 | 0 | 1 | $1.0M |
| Feb 2, 1990 | F1 | 0 | 1 | $250K | |
| Mar 30, 1976 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 8, 2024 | CAMPTI | EF1 | $0 |
| Jul 8, 2024 | POWHATAN | EFU | $0 |
| Nov 20, 2023 | GORUM | EF1 | $100K |
| Mar 30, 2022 | MONTROSE | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2022 | OSHKOSH | EF1 | $12K |
| Mar 30, 2022 | POWHATAN | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2022 | POWHATAN | EF0 | $5K |
| May 19, 2019 | GORUM | EF0 | $0 |
| May 8, 2019 | REIDHEIMER | EF1 | $0 |
| May 8, 2019 | READHEIMER | EF1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Natchitoches Parish
- Thunderstorm Wind 337
- Hail 206
- Flash Flood 87
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A supercell produced a tornado as part of an outbreak of tornados across the region. Damage consisted of large pine trees snapped and oak trees blown down. Most damage to residences were from fallen trees. Two steel utility power towers were destroyed. A number of outbuildings were also damaged. Moved through De Soto Parish then across Red River Parish and into Natchitoches Parish.
A large wood frame barn was completely destroyed. A few homes east of Natchez LA sustained roof damage from wind and/or falling trees. Damage was also noted at several historic plantations including Beaufort and Oakland where several large old oak trees fell. The Beaufort plantation sustained roof damage where a large pine tree was snapped and fell on the back of the structure. Numerous trees were snapped along the path which crossed over the Red River into Grant Parish where some homes sustained minor roof damage in the town of Montgomery LA. Trees also fell across the railroad tracks along US. 71.
An EF0 tornado with winds of 75 to 85 mph snapped several trees and uprooted others before crossing into the Victoria Mobile Home Park. One mobile home was severely damaged when 2 large trees severed the home in half. A second mobile home was damaged when it was struck by an uprooted tree. Several other homes in the community had their roofs and insulation peeled and scattered throughout the area. All 17 of the homes sustained at least some damage. Three non-life threatening injuries were reported in the park. Two of the injuries occurred in a camping trailer that was flipped on its side with the occupants inside. The third injury occurred in the home that was severed by the tree. The tornado continued several hundred yards into the forest northwest of the community just south of Robeline Provencal Road snapping several trees.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana?
67 tornado events are recorded in Natchitoches Parish between 1950 and 2024, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Natchitoches Parish?
The strongest tornado on record in Natchitoches Parish measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Natchitoches 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
“Tornado in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/louisiana/natchitoches-parish/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.