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Tensas Parish, Louisiana severe weather history spans 313 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 53.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,707 nationally and #36 in Louisiana.
313
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
13
Direct injuries
$32.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Tensas Parish, Louisiana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Tensas Parish, Louisiana severe weather history averages 4.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 84 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 61 events fall before 1990 and 252 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $11.7M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Tensas Parish
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 167 | 0 | $3.5M | 96 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 89 | 0 | $1.6M | 2.75 | 1973–2024 |
| Tornado | 29 | 0 | $11.7M | F3 | 1966–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 24 | 0 | $10.9M | 0 | 1999–2020 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $5.2M | 0 | 2011–2011 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 2011–2011 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2010 |
Decade by decade
Tensas Parish, Louisiana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
30 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 25 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-09-24 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 14.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-01-21 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1992-11-21 | EF3 | 0 | 11 | 38.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1990-12-21 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-18 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-04 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 28.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-11-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-03-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-03-07 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-11-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 16.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Tensas Parish
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 22, 1992 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| Sep 25, 2005 | Tornado | WATERPROOF | 0 | 2 | $1.0M |
| Nov 11, 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Newellton | 0 | 2 | $50K |
| Apr 4, 2011 | Tornado | COOTER PT | 0 | 1 | $4.0M |
| Mar 7, 1995 | Tornado | Newellton | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 3, 1966 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $3K |
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 Tensas Parish as persistent rain bands continued to impact the area from weakening Hurricane Gustav. Rainfall amounts between 9 and 17 inches fell across the parish, mostly during the evening of the 2nd and early morning of the 3rd. Local officials said they have never seen that much rain or water across the parish ever. The flooding was widespread and significant.||Numerous roads were flooded with some washed out. Dozens of 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.
Flooding along the Mississippi River caused extensive flooding of low lying farmland around the river. All of the flood waters were within the mainline levee. A grainery was damaged due to the flood waters, and approximately 70 camps and homes were damaged or destroyed. Damage also occurred to industrial structures and levees along the river.
This tornado first touched down along Highway 573 just south of Cooter Point. It tracked northeast across Highway 892 and 126 and then crossed Highway 65 a few miles northwest of St. Joseph. The tornado then crossed Lake Bruin and traveled north of that lake before crossing the southern end of Lake St. Joseph. The tornado ended as it touched the eastern bank of the river in Claiborne County, Mississippi. Numerous homes…farms and outbuildings were significantly damaged by the tornado. Much of the damage to the homes was to the roofs with many being blown off. A water treatment plant received major damage and an antebellum home also received significant damage. A grain silo received a huge dent from the tornado and an 18 wheeler was flipped over. Hundreds of trees were snapped and uprooted along the path and numerous power poles were snapped. One injury was noted northwest of St. Joseph. Maximum winds were around 125 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
3,935
Population (ACS)
$86K
Median home value
29
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 Tensas Parish, Louisiana?
313 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $32.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Tensas Parish?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 167 recorded events — 53.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Tensas Parish?
30 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 25 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Tensas Parish?
29 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Tensas Parish, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Tensas Parish compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Tensas Parish as very low risk, placing it in the 15 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Tensas 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
- Tangipahoa Parish 488
- Terrebonne Parish 262
- St. Tammany Parish 715
- Union Parish 632
- St. Mary Parish 192
- Vermilion Parish 268
Cite this page
“Tensas Parish, Louisiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/louisiana/tensas-parish/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.