Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Holden, LA

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Amite, LA, 15 miles northeast of Holden at 170 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 61°F and 39°F. August is the wettest at 6.6 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 63.8 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 48% of the year's precipitation (30.7 of 63.8 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 58 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (22); a normal September there has highs of 89°F and 3.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 94 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 35 nights a year. That 63.8 inches is more than at 60 of the 81 Louisiana stations used on this site (74%). Albany, 6 miles east, has its own station (Hammond 5 E, LA): 64.4 inches a year, 0.6 more than here, and the same August average high, 92°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 73 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Holden: 60 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $178,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on May 12, 2017. September has had the most flash floods, 3 of 10. Of the 239 Louisiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 74 have had fewer than Holden.

Flood insurance policyholders in Holden's ZIP code 70744 have filed 531 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $24.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Mid-summer severe storms in 2016: 303 claims (57% of all) and $20.5 million, then Flooding in 1983 with 64 and Late winter severe storms in 2016 with 51. 92% 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, 145 have fewer than Holden.