Vermilion Parish, Louisiana severe weather history spans 268 recorded events between 1959 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 38.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,982 nationally and #43 in Louisiana.
268
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
85
Direct injuries
$135.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Vermilion Parish, Louisiana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana severe weather history averages 4.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 86 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 51 events fall before 1990 and 217 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Vermilion Parish, Louisiana record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $100.0M 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 Vermilion Parish
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 104 | 0 | $980K | 70 | 1968–2025 |
| Tornado | 62 | 3 | $9.4M | F3 | 1959–2025 |
| Hail | 58 | 0 | $250K | 4.25 | 1972–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 26 | 1 | $24.1M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2022 |
| Lightning | 6 | 0 | $566K | 0 | 1997–2021 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $100.0M | 0 | 1997–2016 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2009 |
Decade by decade
Vermilion Parish, Louisiana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
61 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 59 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983-01-31 | EF3 | 1 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-12-25 | EF3 | 1 | 8 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-09-10 | EF3 | 1 | 55 | 5.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-03-21 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 4.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-12-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-11-08 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-05-01 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-11-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Vermilion Parish
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10, 1961 | Tornado | 1 | 55 | $2.5M | |
| Dec 25, 1969 | Tornado | 1 | 8 | $250K | |
| May 18, 2021 | Flash Flood | MAURICE | 1 | 0 | $30K |
| Feb 1, 1983 | Tornado | 1 | 0 | $250K | |
| Jun 1, 1992 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 4 | $0 | |
| Sep 12, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| May 2, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Jun 14, 1959 | 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
Heavy rain produced flooding in northeast Vermilion Parish into the city of Lafayette. Several streets were flooded around the community of Maurice where a driver ran off the road. The motorist was found the next day in the ditch near his car.
The flood wave moved down the Vermilion River and crested during the morning of the 14th at 13.75 feet. An estimated 2520 homes flooded along the Vermilion River. The River at Perry dropped below major flood stage during the morning of the 18th.
The flood wave moved down the Mermentau River causing a crest of 10.8 feet at Lake Arthur. The flood stage is 4 feet. Many roads and some structures were flooded or remained flooded along the river into late in the month in far west sections of Vermilion Parish.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
57,123
Population (ACS)
$163K
Median home value
46
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 |
| Mar 9, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana?
268 events are on record between 1959 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths and $135.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Vermilion Parish?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 104 recorded events — 38.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Vermilion Parish?
61 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 59 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Vermilion Parish?
46 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Vermilion Parish, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Vermilion Parish compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Vermilion Parish as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 85 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Vermilion 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
- Union Parish 632
- Vernon Parish 402
- Terrebonne Parish 262
- Washington Parish 293
- Tensas Parish 313
- Webster Parish 718
Cite this page
“Vermilion Parish, Louisiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/louisiana/vermilion-parish/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.