NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Grambling, 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
18 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Grambling, Louisiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Delta in 2020. Since 1950, 128 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 18
- Tornadoes
- 128
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
19 deaths in all
What the records show for Grambling
None of the 18 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Grambling; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1909, a tropical storm with 72 mph winds when its centre passed 66 miles away. The record near Grambling begins with an unnamed storm in 1865; the most recent system was Delta in 2020, a tropical storm 66 miles away. Of the 18 systems, 6 have come since 2000. Of the 245 Louisiana cities on this site, 82% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Grambling. The highest rating among the 128 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 11 times; the most recent, on December 13, 2022, came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on September 12, 1961, killed 5 people. Of the 128, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 58 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 43. The most recent tornado was on December 26, 2024. Grambling has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 54% of the 245 Louisiana cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 106 times since 1959, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Grambling has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 245 Louisiana cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Grambling
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | DeltaOct 10 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | LauraAug 27 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2019 | BarryJul 14 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2012 | IsaacAug 30 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2005 | RitaSep 25 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2002 | LiliOct 4 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | ElenaSep 3 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | DannyAug 16 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1965 | BetsySep 10 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1920 | Unnamed 1920 stormSep 22 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 21 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1891 | Unnamed 1891 stormJul 7 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormOct 13 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 23 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormSep 14 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Grambling: 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 Grambling
By decade
- 2020s14(1 EF3+)
- 2010s24(1 EF3+)
- 2000s20
- 1990s12(3 EF3+)
- 1980s22(3 EF3+)
- 1970s13(1 EF3+)
- 1960s16(1 EF3+)
- 1950s7(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12, 1961 | F3 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 5 / 37 |
| Feb 12, 1950 | F3 | 18 mi | 74.5 mi | 5 / 25 |
| Apr 25, 2019 | EF3 | 3 mi | 11.15 mi | 2 / 2 |
| Dec 3, 1978 | F3 | 19 mi | 60 mi | 2 / 4 |
| Dec 13, 2022 | EF3 | 22 mi | 9.06 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Apr 3, 1999 | F3 | 22 mi | 14.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1999 | F3 | 19 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 3, 1992 | F3 | 11 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 2, 1984 | F3 | 18 mi | 61 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Nov 19, 1983 | F3 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 25, 1982 | F3 | 15 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 11, 2020 | EF2 | 14 mi | 31.79 mi | 3 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 128, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Grambling
The Storm Prediction Center has 106 hail reports within 10 miles of Grambling since 1959, made on 79 separate days. Of these, 68 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 11, 1986. The most recent report is from March 23, 2025. March has the most reports, 29.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Grambling
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ruston La Tech, LA, 4 miles east of Grambling at 295 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 57°F and 35°F. January is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 55.8 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 43% of the year's precipitation (24.2 of 55.8 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 18 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal September there has highs of 88°F and 3.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 85 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 46 nights a year. That 55.8 inches is more than at 11 of the 81 Louisiana stations used on this site (14%). Arcadia, 12 miles west, has its own station (Bienville 3 NE, LA): 60.8 inches a year, 5.0 more than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57 | 35 | 5.6 | 7 |
| Feb | 61 | 39 | 5.2 | 6 |
| Mar | 69 | 45 | 5.4 | 6 |
| Apr | 76 | 52 | 5.5 | 5 |
| May | 83 | 61 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Jun | 89 | 69 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Jul | 92 | 72 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Aug | 93 | 71 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Sep | 88 | 65 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Oct | 78 | 53 | 4.8 | 6 |
| Nov | 68 | 44 | 4.3 | 7 |
| Dec | 58 | 38 | 5.5 | 7 |
| Year | 76 | 54 | 55.8 | 71 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ruston La Tech, LA (295 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 Grambling
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 135 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Grambling: 114 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 flash floods, 4 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $2.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on April 22, 1997. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 16. Of the 239 Louisiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 126 have had fewer than Grambling.
May 18, 2015: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Grambling — 1 killed, 2 injured, $10,000 damage.
March 8, 2016: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Grambling — $560,000 damage.
February 10, 1998: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Grambling — $400,000 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
Lincoln Parish, which includes Grambling, has been named in 35 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 16 hurricanes, 4 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 Lincoln Parish a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $16.7 million a year, the 35th highest of 64 Louisiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.2 million (31%), 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 Grambling
- Ruston, LA4 mi
- Simsboro, LA5 mi
- Dubach, LA11 mi
- Arcadia, LA12 mi
- Quitman, LA13 mi
- Choudrant, LA13 mi
- Jonesboro, LA21 mi
- Bernice, LA21 mi
- Calhoun, LA22 mi
- Downsville, LA23 mi
- Eros, LA23 mi
- Homer, LA25 mi
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