NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Coushatta, 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
21 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Coushatta, Louisiana since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Laura in 2020. Since 1950, 113 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 20
- Tornadoes
- 113
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
13 deaths in all
What the records show for Coushatta
The strongest storm to pass near Coushatta was Laura in 2020, a Category 1 hurricane with 81 mph winds when its centre passed 13 miles away. The record near Coushatta begins with an unnamed storm in 1865; the most recent system was Laura in 2020. Of the 21 systems, 7 have come since 2000. Of the 245 Louisiana cities on this site, 80% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Coushatta. The highest rating among the 113 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 9 times; the most recent, on April 23, 2000, came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on February 12, 1950, killed 5 people. Of the 113, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 70 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 29. The most recent tornado was on May 6, 2025. Of the 245 Louisiana cities, 64% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Coushatta. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 80 times since 1963, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Coushatta has more hail reports within 10 miles than 80% of the 245 Louisiana cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Coushatta
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | LauraAug 27 | 13 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2019 | BarryJul 14 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2017 | CindyJun 22 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2012 | IsaacAug 30 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2008 | GustavSep 2 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2005 | RitaSep 24 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2002 | LiliOct 3 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | DannyAug 16 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1965 | BetsySep 10 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 27 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormSep 20 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1940 | Unnamed 1940 stormAug 9 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormAug 15 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1920 | Unnamed 1920 stormSep 22 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1918 | Unnamed 1918 stormAug 7 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 21 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1891 | Unnamed 1891 stormJul 6 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormOct 13 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 23 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormSep 14 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Coushatta: 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 Coushatta
By decade
- 2020s25
- 2010s23
- 2000s22(2 EF3+)
- 1990s16
- 1980s6(3 EF3+)
- 1970s5(1 EF3+)
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
- 1950s9(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 12, 1950 | F3 | 2 mi | 74.5 mi | 5 / 25 |
| Mar 20, 1974 | F3 | 20 mi | 85.2 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Apr 23, 2000 | F3 | 7 mi | 19.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 2000 | F3 | 17 mi | 32.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 2, 1984 | F3 | 20 mi | 61 mi | 0 / 9 |
| May 19, 1983 | F3 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 27, 1980 | F3 | 18 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 11, 1968 | F3 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 10, 1952 | F3 | 23 mi | 50.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 12, 1950 | F2 | 18 mi | 58.4 mi | 5 / 10 |
| Jul 8, 2024 | EF2 | 12 mi | 52.93 mi | 2 / 1 |
| Jul 8, 2024 | EF2 | 16 mi | 24.96 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 113, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Coushatta
The Storm Prediction Center has 80 hail reports within 10 miles of Coushatta since 1963, made on 68 separate days. Of these, 58 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 9, 2024, the most recent report. March has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Coushatta
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ashland, LA, 13 miles northeast of Coushatta at 240 feet. July and August are the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 58°F and 34°F. December is the wettest at 6.2 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.2 inches; the year adds up to 56.8 inches over 70 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 43% of the year's precipitation (24.5 of 56.8 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 21 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal September there has highs of 88°F and 3.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 78 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 51 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.5 inches a year, most of it in February. That 56.8 inches is more than at 14 of the 81 Louisiana stations used on this site (17%). Campti, 16 miles southeast, has its own station (Natchitoches #2, LA): 55.3 inches a year, 1.5 less than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58 | 34 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Feb | 62 | 38 | 5.2 | 7 | 0.3 |
| Mar | 69 | 45 | 5.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 76 | 51 | 5.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| May | 83 | 61 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 67 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 71 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 93 | 70 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 88 | 63 | 3.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 78 | 52 | 4.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 68 | 42 | 5.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 59 | 36 | 6.2 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Year | 76 | 52 | 56.8 | 70 | 0.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ashland, LA (240 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 Coushatta
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 114 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Coushatta: 85 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 flash floods, 4 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $7.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 115 mph, on February 10, 1998. August has had the most flash floods, 8 of 24. Of the 239 Louisiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 167 have had fewer than Coushatta.
May 28, 2017: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Coushatta — 1 killed, 1 injured.
NWS: “A 66 year-old female and her dog were killed when a large tree fell on her home near the 100 block of Esperanza Road in Coushatta. Another person in the home sustained minor injuries.”
February 10, 1998: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Coushatta — $6.0 million damage.
NWS: “Almost every highway and road in the area was blocked by fallen trees and powerlines. Pine, hickory and oak trees, some over 200 years old toppled onto residences, yards and fences.”
October 15, 2009: flood 6 miles from the centre of Coushatta — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Excessive heavy rainfall throughout the month of October resulted in the Red River at Coushatta to go above its 31 foot flood stage not once but twice. 5 feet.”
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 Coushatta's ZIP code 71019 have filed 16 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1990, and were paid $382,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 31% 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, 8 have fewer than Coushatta.
Red River Parish, which includes Coushatta, has been named in 32 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 hurricanes, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 coastal storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 18, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Red River Parish a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $4.0 million a year, the 61st highest of 64 Louisiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.4 million (34%), 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 Coushatta
- Campti, LA16 mi
- Ringgold, LA18 mi
- Elm Grove, LA21 mi
- Mansfield, LA22 mi
- Natchitoches, LA25 mi
- Robeline, LA25 mi
- Heflin, LA26 mi
- Grand Cane, LA28 mi
- Doyline, LA31 mi
- Stonewall, LA32 mi
- Sibley, LA34 mi
- Barksdale Afb, LA34 mi
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