NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Alexandria, LA
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
33 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Alexandria, Louisiana since 1851, 4 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Delta in 2020. Since 1950, 102 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 4
- Tropical storms
- 29
- Tornadoes
- 102
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
16 deaths in all
What the records show for Alexandria
The strongest storm to pass near Alexandria was Laura in 2020, a Category 1 hurricane with 93 mph winds when its centre passed 47 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Audrey in 1957, whose centre came within 37 miles. The record near Alexandria begins with an unnamed storm in 1856; the most recent system was Delta in 2020, a tropical storm 11 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1930s, with 4 systems. Of the 33 systems, 8 have come since 2000. Of the 245 Louisiana cities on this site, 69% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Alexandria. The strongest of the 102 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on December 3, 1953; its path came within 17 miles, and it killed 9 people. Of the 102, 21 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 58 have come since 2000. December has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on May 26, 2025. Of the 245 Louisiana cities, 72% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Alexandria. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 87 times since 1961, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Alexandria has more hail reports within 10 miles than 82% of the 245 Louisiana cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Alexandria
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | DeltaOct 10 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | LauraAug 27 | 47 mi | Category 1 (93 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2019 | BarryJul 14 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2017 | HarveyAug 30 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2012 | IsaacAug 30 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2008 | GustavSep 2 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2007 | HumbertoSep 13 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2002 | LiliOct 3 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1992 | AndrewAug 26 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1985 | ElenaSep 3 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | DannyAug 16 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1982 | ChrisSep 11 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1974 | CarmenSep 8 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1973 | Unnamed 1973 stormSep 13 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1971 | EdithSep 16 | 75 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1965 | BetsySep 10 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 27 | 37 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1955 | Unnamed 1955 stormAug 27 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormSep 20 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormAug 15 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 20 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1931 | Unnamed 1931 stormJul 16 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1926 | Unnamed 1926 stormAug 26 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1920 | Unnamed 1920 stormSep 22 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 46 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1908 | Unnamed 1908 stormAug 1 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 29 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 20 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormOct 13 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 15 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormSep 14 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 11 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Alexandria: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Alexandria
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s32(1 EF3+)
- 2000s13
- 1990s13
- 1980s12(1 EF3+)
- 1970s10(1 EF3+)
- 1960s4
- 1950s5(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 3, 1953 | F4 | 17 mi | 85.5 mi | 9 / 50 |
| Nov 7, 1957 | F3 | in town | 13.3 mi | 3 / 16 |
| Dec 16, 2019 | EF3 | 1 mi | 62.61 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1981 | F3 | in town | 4.3 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Jun 22, 1971 | F3 | 5 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 6, 1951 | F3 | in town | 16.8 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Apr 22, 2020 | EF2 | 9 mi | 8.98 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Oct 23, 1957 | F2 | 15 mi | 18.3 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Apr 22, 2020 | EF2 | 8 mi | 8.43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 31, 2018 | EF2 | 24 mi | 7.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 31, 2018 | EF2 | 1 mi | 37.89 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 11, 2018 | EF2 | 20 mi | 0.39 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 102, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Alexandria
The Storm Prediction Center has 87 hail reports within 10 miles of Alexandria since 1961, made on 66 separate days. Of these, 52 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently March 12, 2003. The most recent report is from February 11, 2024. May has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Alexandria
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Alexandria, LA, 2 miles north of Alexandria at 87 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 59°F and 39°F. January is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 4.0 inches; the year adds up to 61.0 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 47% of the year's precipitation (28.6 of 61.0 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 33 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (15); a normal September there has highs of 88°F and 4.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 93 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 24 nights a year. That 61.0 inches is more than at 44 of the 81 Louisiana stations used on this site (54%). Woodworth, 9 miles south, has its own station (Lsu Dean Lee Rsch Stn, LA): 60.2 inches a year, 0.8 less than here, and an August average high of 93°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 59 | 39 | 6.1 | 7 |
| Feb | 63 | 42 | 5.1 | 7 |
| Mar | 70 | 49 | 5.2 | 6 |
| Apr | 76 | 55 | 5.4 | 5 |
| May | 83 | 64 | 4.6 | 6 |
| Jun | 89 | 71 | 5.3 | 8 |
| Jul | 92 | 74 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Aug | 92 | 73 | 4.3 | 6 |
| Sep | 88 | 68 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Oct | 79 | 57 | 4.9 | 5 |
| Nov | 68 | 46 | 5.5 | 6 |
| Dec | 61 | 40 | 6.0 | 7 |
| Year | 77 | 56 | 61.0 | 74 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Alexandria, LA (87 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Alexandria
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 161 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Alexandria: 120 thunderstorm wind reports, 34 flash floods, 5 lightning strikes, 1 flood and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 2 people and injured 10, and the NWS estimated $23.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on June 20, 2019. April has had the most flash floods, 7 of 34. Of the 239 Louisiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 187 have had fewer than Alexandria.
July 10, 2016: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Alexandria — 1 killed, 1 injured.
October 22, 2009: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Alexandria — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
NWS: “KALB-TV and the Alexandria Town Talk newspaper reported significant flooding across Alexandria and Pineville. Several underpasses across Alexandria were flooded, with high water in many ditches and culverts across Pineville.”
February 26, 1998: thunderstorm wind in Alexandria — 5 injured, $100,000 damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Alexandria's 3 ZIP codes have filed 2,037 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $37.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1987: 558 claims (27% of all) and $4.7 million, then Hurricane Gustav in 2008 with 379 and Hurricane Delta in 2020 with 178. The year with the most claims was 2008, with 404. 59% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 219 Louisiana cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 188 have fewer than Alexandria.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1987 | 558 | $4.7 million |
| Hurricane Gustav2008 | 379 | $12.7 million |
| Hurricane Delta2020 | 178 | $7.2 million |
| Hurricane Lili2002 | 30 | $183,000 |
| Hurricane Laura2020 | 14 | $100,000 |
| Hurricane Rita2005 | 10 | $19,000 |
Rapides Parish, which includes Alexandria, has been named in 49 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 26 of them major disasters (by incident: 23 hurricanes, 10 floods, 3 coastal storms, 3 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Ida, on August 29, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Rapides Parish a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $39.6 million a year, the 23rd highest of 64 Louisiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $16.4 million (41%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Alexandria
- Pineville, LA6 mi
- Woodworth, LA9 mi
- Ball, LA10 mi
- Boyce, LA12 mi
- Lecompte, LA13 mi
- Forest Hill, LA17 mi
- Deville, LA17 mi
- Pollock, LA17 mi
- Dry Prong, LA19 mi
- Colfax, LA20 mi
- Glenmora, LA22 mi
- Hessmer, LA24 mi
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