Union Parish, Louisiana severe weather history spans 632 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 52.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #508 nationally and #9 in Louisiana.
632
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
48
Direct injuries
$22.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Union Parish, Louisiana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Union Parish, Louisiana severe weather history averages 8.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 155 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 99 events fall before 1990 and 533 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Union Parish, Louisiana record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $15.0M 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 Union Parish
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 331 | 2 | $3.0M | 83 | 1961–2026 |
| Hail | 191 | 0 | $19K | 2.75 | 1968–2026 |
| Tornado | 57 | 0 | $15.0M | F3 | 1953–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 42 | 0 | $310K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $150K | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2018 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $4.0M | 0 | 2009–2009 |
Decade by decade
Union Parish, Louisiana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
55 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 46 touched down inside it and 9 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978-12-03 | EF3 | 2 | 4 | 60.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-12-13 | EF3 | 0 | 14 | 9.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-11-19 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-12-03 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 61.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-01-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-07-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-07-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-01-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-12-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 20.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 44.9 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Union Parish
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 20, 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | RUM CENTER | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 29, 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | FARMERVILLE ARPT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Dec 5, 1953 | Tornado | 0 | 16 | $25K | |
| Dec 14, 2022 | Tornado | BAYOU D ARBONNE LAKE | 0 | 14 | $1.2M |
| Dec 5, 1953 | Tornado | 0 | 11 | $25K | |
| Aug 26, 1992 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| Oct 9, 2009 | Tornado | FARMERVILLE ARPT | 0 | 1 | $200K |
| Dec 3, 1978 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A large hardwood tree that was rotten on the interior portion of the trunk was blown onto a mobile home on Pilgrims Rest Church Road northwest of Spearsville (and about two miles south of the Arkansas state line), killing a 45 year old woman inside the home. No one else was inside the home at the time of the incident.
A 65 year old man from Bastrop, LA drowned on Lake D'Arbonne in Farmerville after severe thunderstorm winds blew his boat off of his trailer at the boat ramp and into the water. He swam out to retrieve his boat and was overcome by the high waves.
Lake D'Arbonne near Farmerville, Louisiana began rising above the 83 foot flood state during the morning of October 30th and did not crest until early in the month of November. This crest information will be included in the November publication of Storm Data. Again…upwards of 250 homes were flooded with several secondary access roads flooded and cutoff. Union Parish was designated a Federal Disaster Area because of the extensive flooding and storm damage that occurred during the month of October.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
20,821
Population (ACS)
$113K
Median home value
36
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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Farmerville 144
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Union Parish, Louisiana?
632 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $22.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Union Parish?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 331 recorded events — 52.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Union Parish?
55 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 46 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Union Parish?
36 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Union Parish, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Union Parish compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Union Parish as relatively low risk, placing it in the 50 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Union 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
- Terrebonne Parish 262
- Vermilion Parish 268
- Tensas Parish 313
- Vernon Parish 402
- Tangipahoa Parish 488
- Washington Parish 293
Cite this page
“Union Parish, Louisiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/louisiana/union-parish/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.