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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Jena, LA

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

26 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Jena, Louisiana since 1851, 4 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 74 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
4

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
22

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
74

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
6

13 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Jena

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Jena, Louisiana, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaAug 3073 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
2020DeltaOct 106 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 4
2020LauraAug 2761 miCategory 1 (84 mph)Category 4
2012IsaacAug 30overheadTropical storm (47 mph)Category 1
2008GustavSep 253 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 4
2007HumbertoSep 1364 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
2002LiliOct 31 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 4
1994JohnSep 819 miCategory 1 (78 mph)Category 5
1992AndrewAug 2656 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 5
1985ElenaSep 324 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 3
1985DannyAug 16overheadTropical storm (49 mph)Category 1
1965BetsySep 103 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 4
1957AudreyJun 2845 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 3
1947Unnamed 1947 stormSep 2052 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 4
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1761 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 2
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 2053 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1931Unnamed 1931 stormJul 1652 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1926Unnamed 1926 stormAug 2663 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1665 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 1
1920Unnamed 1920 stormSep 228 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 2
1909Unnamed 1909 stormSep 2127 miCategory 1 (84 mph)Category 3
1905Unnamed 1905 stormSep 2957 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1898Unnamed 1898 stormSep 211 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2066 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 3
1886Unnamed 1886 stormJun 1549 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 2
1856Unnamed 1856 stormAug 1260 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Jena: 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 Jena

By decade

  • 2020s3(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s20
  • 2000s21(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s11
  • 1980s8(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s3
  • 1960s2(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s6(2 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Jena, Louisiana
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Dec 3, 1953F416 mi85.5 mi9 / 50
Nov 23, 2004F317 mi15 mi1 / 20
May 19, 1983F318 mi12 mi1 / 35
Nov 29, 2022EF322 mi7.9 mi0 / 1
Dec 29, 1969F320 mi29.1 mi0 / 2
Jan 6, 1951F318 mi16.8 mi0 / 11
Oct 23, 1957F222 mi18.3 mi1 / 1
May 2, 1950F212 mi2 mi1 / 5
Oct 31, 2018EF24 mi37.89 mi0 / 2
Apr 2, 2017EF24 mi13.66 mi0 / 0
Apr 2, 2017EF28 mi13.77 mi0 / 1
Apr 2, 2017EF27 mi1.09 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 74, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Jena while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

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