43
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
39
Direct injuries
$33.0M
Property damage
Tornado in Winn Parish, Louisiana: 43 recorded events between 1950 and 2022. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #537 nationally and #25 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Winn Parish, Louisiana: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Winn Parish is the 2010s, when 18 of the county's 43 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 Winn Parish archive, tornado makes up 10.2% of all recorded severe weather across 6 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #537 for this hazard and #25 within Louisiana, putting it in the 81.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for tornado in Winn Parish with 10 recorded events, while Jan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11-29 | EF4 | 14.0 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-03-20 | EF3 | 85.2 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 1983-05-19 | EF3 | 23.0 mi | 500 yd | Crossed in |
| 1953-03-22 | EF2 | 234.7 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 2022-04-13 | EF2 | 18.7 mi | 625 yd | Touched down here |
| 2018-11-05 | EF2 | 19.7 mi | 400 yd | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-26 | EF2 | 25.1 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 2009-05-03 | EF2 | 1.5 mi | 399 yd | Touched down here |
| 1977-03-28 | EF2 | 6.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1959-04-19 | EF2 | 20.7 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 22, 1953 | F2 | 2 | 22 | $2.5M | |
| May 20, 1983 | F3 | 0 | 10 | $25.0M | |
| Dec 3, 1953 | F2 | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| May 3, 2009 | DODSON | EF2 | 0 | 2 | $3.0M |
| Apr 4, 2008 | MENEFEE | EF1 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 2, 1950 | F1 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 13, 2022 | HICKORY VLY | EF2 | $0 |
| May 8, 2019 | MILL | EF1 | $0 |
| Nov 5, 2018 | COLDWATER | EF2 | $0 |
| Nov 5, 2018 | HICKORY VLY | EF1 | $0 |
| Nov 5, 2018 | JOYCE | EF1 | $0 |
| Nov 5, 2018 | ATLANTA | EF1 | $0 |
| Nov 5, 2018 | ST MAURICE | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 28, 2018 | ST MAURICE | EF1 | $200K |
| May 29, 2017 | CALVIN | EF1 | $0 |
| May 29, 2017 | COLDWATER | EF1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Winn Parish
- Thunderstorm Wind 226
- Hail 110
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Numerous homes were damaged in the town of Dodson with several completely destroyed. One mobile home was picked up and moved 30 feet west of its original location where it was destroyed with parts of the frame wrapped around a neighboring home. The two injuries occurred in the destroyed home. Approximately 27 mobile homes and 11 built in place structures in the center of Dodson sustained severe damage from snapped or falling trees and/or wind damage. A mobile home in the center of Dodson was rolled off its foundation and destroyed. The tornado touched down on the southwest side of town along US 167 and moved northward 1.5 miles before lifting along State Route 1235.
Numerous trees were snapped near the intersection of Collier and Water Well Roads. The tornado then crossed Gum Springs Road, where it completely destroyed one well-built two story brick home and an adjacent brick garage. The home was approximately 4000 sq. ft in size, built in 1997, and its destruction was the basis of the EF-4 rating. Many of the nearby trees were completely snapped, with several near the home snapped off at the base. One single wide mobile home was also destroyed, with its remnants blown into a wooded area about 300 yards away. Another nearby home was moderately damaged, while two other homes suffered minor damage. The tornado then crossed into an open field, before entering a heavily wooded area, traveling northeast across Highways 84 and 167, where sporadic minor tree damage was observed just west and north of Winnfield. Maximum winds are estimated around 170 mph, with a maximum width of 400 yards.
The National Weather Service conducted a storm survey in Winn Parish and found evidence of an EF2 tornado. Maximum winds are estimated at 110-120 mph in the tornado. This tornado was a continuation of the tornado that first touched down in Natchitoches Parish earlier. The tornado crossed over the Red River into Winn Parish and took on more of an easterly track along Harrisonburg Road snapping and uprooting trees. The heaviest damage occurred near the community of Wheeling where the tornado grew to nearly half mile across and snapped nearly all the trees in its path. Several homes were severely damaged along Harrisonburg Road including a trailer which was flipped and destroyed. The tornado continued east crossing Hwy. 34 snapping trees and powerlines. The tornado knocked trees onto Hwy. 471 before lifting east of Hwy. 471.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Winn Parish, Louisiana?
43 tornado events are recorded in Winn Parish between 1950 and 2022, causing 2 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Winn Parish?
The strongest tornado on record in Winn Parish measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Winn 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 Winn Parish, Louisiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/louisiana/winn-parish/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.