NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bernice, 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
16 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Bernice, Louisiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Delta in 2020. Since 1950, 109 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 16
- Tornadoes
- 109
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Bernice
None of the 16 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Bernice; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1909, a tropical storm with 69 mph winds when its centre passed 64 miles away. The record near Bernice begins with an unnamed storm in 1865; the most recent system was Delta in 2020, a tropical storm 74 miles away. Of the 16 systems, 5 have come since 2000. Of the 245 Louisiana cities on this site, 89% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Bernice. The highest rating among the 109 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 13 times; the most recent, on December 13, 2022, came within 11 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on January 11, 2020, killed 3 people. Of the 109, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 51 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 38. The most recent tornado was on July 8, 2024. Of the 245 Louisiana cities, 67% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Bernice. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 62 times since 1975, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Bernice has more hail reports within 10 miles than 68% of the 245 Louisiana cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Bernice
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | DeltaOct 10 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | LauraAug 27 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2019 | BarryJul 14 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2012 | IsaacAug 30 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2002 | LiliOct 4 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | DannyAug 16 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1965 | BetsySep 10 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1920 | Unnamed 1920 stormSep 22 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 21 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1891 | Unnamed 1891 stormJul 7 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormOct 13 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 23 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormSep 14 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Bernice: 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 Bernice
By decade
- 2020s11(1 EF3+)
- 2010s17(1 EF3+)
- 2000s23(2 EF3+)
- 1990s14(3 EF3+)
- 1980s18(2 EF3+)
- 1970s13(3 EF3+)
- 1960s8
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25, 2019 | EF3 | 18 mi | 11.15 mi | 2 / 2 |
| Jan 12, 2005 | F3 | 14 mi | 24 mi | 2 / 13 |
| Dec 3, 1978 | F3 | 6 mi | 60 mi | 2 / 4 |
| Dec 13, 2022 | EF3 | 11 mi | 9.06 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Feb 24, 2007 | EF3 | 14 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 3, 1999 | F3 | 10 mi | 14.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1999 | F3 | 20 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 3, 1992 | F3 | 23 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 19, 1983 | F3 | 1 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 25, 1982 | F3 | 19 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Dec 3, 1978 | F3 | 10 mi | 61.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 1972 | F3 | 25 mi | 10.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 109, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bernice
The Storm Prediction Center has 62 hail reports within 10 miles of Bernice since 1975, made on 55 separate days. Of these, 45 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 3, 1991. The most recent report is from March 23, 2025. March and April have the most reports, 15 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bernice
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Farmerville, LA, 15 miles east of Bernice at 180 feet. July and August are the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 56°F and 36°F. January is the wettest at 6.0 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.8 inches; the year adds up to 58.3 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 45% of the year's precipitation (26.3 of 58.3 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 16 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 87°F and 4.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 81 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 39 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.2 inches a year, most of it in February. That 58.3 inches is more than at 22 of the 81 Louisiana stations used on this site (27%). Dubach, 10 miles south, has its own station (Ruston La Tech, LA): 55.8 inches a year, 2.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56 | 36 | 6.0 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Feb | 60 | 39 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.6 |
| Mar | 68 | 46 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Apr | 76 | 53 | 5.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 83 | 63 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 70 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 73 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 93 | 73 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 87 | 66 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 77 | 55 | 4.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 66 | 44 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 58 | 38 | 5.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Year | 75 | 55 | 58.3 | 74 | 1.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Farmerville, LA (180 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 Bernice
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 99 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bernice: 87 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods, 3 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $4.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on March 17, 2021. March has had the most flash floods, 3 of 8. Of the 239 Louisiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 47 have had fewer than Bernice.
October 18, 2025: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Bernice — 1 killed.
NWS: “Lightning struck an elevated deer stand south of Highway 2 just southeast of the Weldon community. A 17 year old male hunter was in the stand when it was struck and caught fire, and did not survive.”
October 12, 2009: flood 9 miles from the centre of Bernice — $2.0 million damage.
October 30, 2009: flood 10 miles from the centre of Bernice — $2.0 million 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 Bernice's ZIP code 71222 have filed 25 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $545,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Late winter severe storms in 2016: 11 claims (44% of all) and $387,000. 68% 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, 20 have fewer than Bernice.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Late winter severe storms2016 | 11 | $387,000 |
Union Parish, which includes Bernice, has been named in 36 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 21 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 hurricanes, 5 severe storms, 3 floods, 3 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 18, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Union Parish a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.6 million a year, the 44th highest of 64 Louisiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.6 million (52%), 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 Bernice
- Dubach, LA10 mi
- Farmerville, LA17 mi
- Junction City, AR18 mi
- Ruston, LA21 mi
- Grambling, LA21 mi
- Downsville, LA22 mi
- Homer, LA22 mi
- Choudrant, LA22 mi
- Arcadia, LA23 mi
- Simsboro, LA24 mi
- Marion, LA25 mi
- Strong, AR27 mi
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