Baton Rouge Hurricane History: Every Hurricane Since 1851
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
16 hurricanes passed within 75 miles of Baton Rouge at hurricane strength from 1851 to 2025: 12 of them within 50 miles and 10 within 25 miles. The most recent was Ida in 2021, 20 miles east of the city as a Category 1 hurricane. 7 of the 16 came ashore within 75 miles, 4 of them as major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger at landfall).
- Hurricanes, 75 mi
- 16
- Came ashore nearby
- 7
- Most recent
- Ida 2021
- Longest gap
- 19 years
12 within 50 mi
4 as major
1860–1879
Every hurricane that passed within 75 miles of Baton Rouge
| Year | Storm | Date | Closest | Strength there | Baton Rouge on | Came ashore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 storm | October 2 | 3 mi west | Category 1 (86 mph) | centre within 5 mi | 67 mi south, Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 storm | September 1 | 14 mi east | Category 1 (91 mph) | left side | 67 mi south, Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 storm | August 20 | 8 mi east | Category 1 (83 mph) | left side | — |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 storm | September 7 | 51 mi southeast | Category 1 (75 mph) | left side | — |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 storm | September 21 | 23 mi west | Category 2 (102 mph) | right side | 65 mi south, Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 storm | September 30 | 57 mi east | Category 1 (78 mph) | left side | — |
| 1920 | Unnamed 1920 storm | September 22 | 25 mi southwest | Category 1 (74 mph) | right side | — |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 storm | June 16 | 20 mi west | Category 1 (78 mph) | right side | 62 mi southwest, Category 2 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 storm | September 19 | 9 mi southwest | Category 1 (85 mph) | right side | — |
| 1964 | Hilda | October 4 | 7 mi southeast | Category 1 (76 mph) | left side | 69 mi south, Category 2 |
| 1965 | Betsy | September 10 | 15 mi southwest | Category 1 (87 mph) | right side | — |
| 1974 | Carmen | September 8 | 69 mi southwest | Category 3 (120 mph) | right side | 69 mi southwest, Category 3 |
| 1992 | Andrew | August 26 | 33 mi west | Category 1 (76 mph) | right side | 62 mi south, Category 3 |
| 2008 | Gustav | September 1 | 42 mi southwest | Category 1 (90 mph) | right side | — |
| 2020 | Zeta | October 28 | 70 mi southeast | Category 2 (102 mph) | left side | — |
| 2021 | Ida | August 30 | 20 mi east | Category 1 (82 mph) | left side | — |
How often hurricanes reach Baton Rouge
The 16 hurricanes came in 16 different seasons. The median wait from one hurricane season to the next was 12 years; the longest, 19 years, ran from 1860 to 1879. In the last 30 seasons (1996–2025) 3 passed within 75 miles of Baton Rouge at hurricane strength, against 2 in the 30 before (1966–1995) and 2.9 per 30 seasons from 1851 to 1965, when ships and coastal stations missed more storms.
The 1960s and 2020s each had the most hurricanes, 2. Tropical storms are the other 40 systems that passed within 75 miles below hurricane strength.
9 came in September, 3 came in August and 3 came in October. The earliest in the season was the unnamed storm of June 1934, on June 16; the latest, Zeta, on October 28.
Strongest passes and the side of the storm Baton Rouge was on
8 of the 16 passed with Baton Rouge on their right-hand side, where wind and surge are usually strongest, and 7 with the city on the left; 1 passed within 5 miles of the city centre. The strongest right-side pass was Carmen (1974), a Category 3 hurricane 69 miles southwest of Baton Rouge. The strongest at their closest point: Carmen (1974, Category 3, 120 mph, 69 miles away), the unnamed storm of September 1909 (Category 2, 102 mph, 23 miles away) and Zeta (2020, Category 2, 102 mph, 70 miles away).
Baton Rouge against nearby cities
Of the 5 cities compared here, Houma has the most hurricane passes within 75 miles (36) and Lake Charles the fewest (14); Baton Rouge ranks 4th. Lake Charles, 127 miles west, shares the fewest: 0 of its 14 hurricanes also passed within 75 miles of Baton Rouge at hurricane strength.
| City | Distance | Hurricanes, 75 mi | Within 50 mi | Shared with Baton Rouge | Strongest | Most recent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baton Rouge, LA | — | 16 | 12 | — | Carmen 1974, 120 mph | Ida 2021 |
| New Orleans, LA | 70 mi southeast | 28 | 14 | 11 | Camille 1969, 171 mph | Ida 2021 |
| Lafayette, LA | 58 mi west | 17 | 13 | 11 | Unnamed 1918, 121 mph | Delta 2020 |
| Houma, LA | 62 mi south | 36 | 27 | 16 | Unnamed 1856, 147 mph | Francine 2024 |
| Lake Charles, LA | 127 mi west | 14 | 11 | 0 | Laura 2020, 135 mph | Delta 2020 |
- Baton Rouge's full storm record: all 56 tropical systems, tornadoes, hail and flood claims →
- Hurricane landfalls on the Gulf Coast, state by state →
How each figure on this page is counted: methodology.