Lake Charles Hurricane History, Year by Year
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
14 hurricanes passed within 75 miles of Lake Charles at hurricane strength from 1851 to 2025: 11 of them within 50 miles and 7 within 25 miles. The most recent was Delta in 2020, 20 miles southeast of the city as a Category 1 hurricane; it came ashore 29 miles south of Lake Charles. 13 of the 14 came ashore within 75 miles, 5 of them as major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger at landfall).
- Hurricanes, 75 mi
- 14
- Came ashore nearby
- 13
- Most recent
- Delta 2020
- Longest gap
- 22 years
11 within 50 mi
5 as major
1918–1940
Every hurricane that passed within 75 miles of Lake Charles
| Year | Storm | Date | Closest | Strength there | Lake Charles on | Came ashore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 storm | September 13 | 15 mi west | Category 1 (90 mph) | right side | 30 mi south, Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 storm | August 23 | 64 mi west | Category 1 (90 mph) | right side | — |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 storm | June 14 | 13 mi northwest | Category 1 (79 mph) | right side | 72 mi southwest, Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 storm | October 13 | 24 mi west | Category 1 (85 mph) | right side | 33 mi southwest, Category 3 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 storm | September 13 | 43 mi south | Category 1 (86 mph) | right side | 49 mi southwest, Category 1 |
| 1918 | Unnamed 1918 storm | August 6 | 13 mi southwest | Category 2 (107 mph) | right side | 28 mi south, Category 3 |
| 1940 | Unnamed 1940 storm | August 7 | 52 mi south | Category 2 (98 mph) | right side | 63 mi southwest, Category 2 |
| 1957 | Audrey | June 27 | 23 mi west | Category 2 (106 mph) | right side | 40 mi southwest, Category 3 |
| 1971 | Edith | September 16 | 48 mi southeast | Category 1 (91 mph) | left side | 48 mi southeast, Category 1 |
| 1985 | Danny | August 15 | 33 mi east | Category 1 (78 mph) | left side | 52 mi southeast, Category 1 |
| 1986 | Bonnie | June 26 | 68 mi west | Category 1 (75 mph) | right side | 72 mi southwest, Category 1 |
| 2005 | Rita | September 24 | 41 mi southwest | Category 2 (101 mph) | right side | 45 mi southwest, Category 3 |
| 2020 | Laura | August 27 | 5 mi west | Category 4 (135 mph) | right side | 28 mi south, Category 4 |
| 2020 | Delta | October 9 | 20 mi southeast | Category 1 (87 mph) | left side | 29 mi south, Category 2 |
How often hurricanes reach Lake Charles
The 14 hurricanes came in 12 different seasons. The median wait from one hurricane season to the next was 14 years; the longest, 22 years, ran from 1918 to 1940. 2 seasons brought two or more: 1886 (unnamed, June and unnamed, October) and 2020 (Laura and Delta). In the last 30 seasons (1996–2025) 3 passed within 75 miles of Lake Charles at hurricane strength, against 3 in the 30 before (1966–1995) and 2.1 per 30 seasons from 1851 to 1965, when ships and coastal stations missed more storms.
The 1880s, 1980s and 2020s each had the most hurricanes, 2. Tropical storms are the other 28 systems that passed within 75 miles below hurricane strength.
5 came in August, 4 came in September and 3 came in June. The earliest in the season was the unnamed storm of June 1886, on June 14; the latest, the unnamed storm of October 1886, on October 13.
Strongest passes and the side of the storm Lake Charles was on
11 of the 14 passed with Lake Charles on their right-hand side, where wind and surge are usually strongest, and 3 with the city on the left. The strongest right-side pass was Laura (2020), a Category 4 hurricane 5 miles west of Lake Charles. The strongest at their closest point: Laura (2020, Category 4, 135 mph, 5 miles away), the unnamed storm of August 1918 (Category 2, 107 mph, 13 miles away) and Audrey (1957, Category 2, 106 mph, 23 miles away).
Lake Charles against nearby cities
Of the 5 cities compared here, Port Arthur has the most hurricane passes within 75 miles (23) and Lake Charles the fewest (14); Lake Charles ranks 5th. Lafayette, 70 miles east, shares the fewest: 4 of its 17 hurricanes also passed within 75 miles of Lake Charles at hurricane strength.
| City | Distance | Hurricanes, 75 mi | Within 50 mi | Shared with Lake Charles | Strongest | Most recent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Charles, LA | — | 14 | 11 | — | Laura 2020, 135 mph | Delta 2020 |
| Sulphur, LA | 10 mi west | 16 | 11 | 14 | Laura 2020, 135 mph | Delta 2020 |
| Beaumont, TX | 57 mi west | 17 | 11 | 11 | Laura 2020, 139 mph | Delta 2020 |
| Port Arthur, TX | 48 mi southwest | 23 | 17 | 14 | Laura 2020, 146 mph | Delta 2020 |
| Lafayette, LA | 70 mi east | 17 | 13 | 4 | Unnamed 1918, 121 mph | Delta 2020 |
- Lake Charles's full storm record: all 42 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.