Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bell City, LA

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lake Charles, LA, 12 miles west of Bell City at 13 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 75°F; January is the coolest, at 63°F and 43°F. June is the wettest at 6.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 59.8 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (32.5 of 59.8 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 48 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (22); a normal September there has highs of 89°F and 5.2 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 88 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 11 nights a year. That 59.8 inches is more than at 33 of the 81 Louisiana stations used on this site (41%). Iowa, 12 miles north, has its own station (Moss Bluff 2 NNW, LA): 69.3 inches a year, 9.5 more than here, and an August average high of 92°F against 93°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Lake Charles, LA, 15 miles northwest, averaged 89°F in August and 59°F in January over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from May to September.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 20 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bell City: 18 thunderstorm wind reports and 2 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $285,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on June 5, 2011.

Flood insurance policyholders in Bell City's ZIP code 70630 have filed 42 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $1.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Ike in 2008: 10 claims (24% of all) and $443,000, then Hurricane Rita in 2005 with 10. The year with the most claims was 2020, with 12. 90% 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, 33 have fewer than Bell City.