NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Jonesboro, 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
19 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Jonesboro, Louisiana since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Delta in 2020. Since 1950, 120 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 17
- Tornadoes
- 120
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Jonesboro
The strongest storm to pass near Jonesboro was an unnamed storm in 1909, a Category 1 hurricane with 77 mph winds when its centre passed 63 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Laura in 2020, whose centre came within 20 miles. The record near Jonesboro begins with an unnamed storm in 1865; the most recent system was Delta in 2020, a tropical storm 55 miles away. Of the 19 systems, 6 have come since 2000. Of the 245 Louisiana cities on this site, 73% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Jonesboro. The strongest of the 120 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on November 29, 2010; its path came within 20 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on September 12, 1961, killed 5 people. Of the 120, 14 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 61 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 31. The most recent tornado was on December 26, 2024. Of the 245 Louisiana cities, 55% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Jonesboro. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 68 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Jonesboro has more hail reports within 10 miles than 71% of the 245 Louisiana cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Jonesboro
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | DeltaOct 10 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | LauraAug 27 | 20 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2019 | BarryJul 14 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2012 | IsaacAug 30 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2008 | GustavSep 2 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2002 | LiliOct 4 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | ElenaSep 3 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | DannyAug 16 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1965 | BetsySep 10 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormSep 20 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1920 | Unnamed 1920 stormSep 22 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 63 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 21 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1891 | Unnamed 1891 stormJul 7 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormOct 13 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 23 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormSep 14 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Jonesboro: 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 Jonesboro
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s31(2 EF3+)
- 2000s19
- 1990s10
- 1980s11(2 EF3+)
- 1970s11(2 EF3+)
- 1960s16(1 EF3+)
- 1950s11
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 29, 2010 | EF4 | 20 mi | 13.96 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 12, 1961 | F3 | in town | 2 mi | 5 / 37 |
| Apr 25, 2019 | EF3 | 20 mi | 11.15 mi | 2 / 2 |
| Mar 20, 1974 | F3 | 21 mi | 85.2 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Jan 18, 1973 | F3 | 24 mi | 38 mi | 1 / 2 |
| May 2, 1984 | F3 | 19 mi | 61 mi | 0 / 9 |
| May 19, 1983 | F3 | 25 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Nov 30, 1996 | F2 | 21 mi | 10 mi | 2 / 9 |
| Jan 2, 2023 | EF2 | 1 mi | 14.76 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 13, 2022 | EF2 | 23 mi | 18.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 5, 2018 | EF2 | 19 mi | 19.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2018 | EF2 | 17 mi | 5.38 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 120, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Jonesboro
The Storm Prediction Center has 68 hail reports within 10 miles of Jonesboro since 1968, made on 54 separate days. Of these, 46 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on March 30, 1993. The most recent report is from June 14, 2023. April has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Jonesboro
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Bienville 3 NE, LA, 18 miles northwest of Jonesboro at 307 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 58°F and 36°F. January is the wettest at 6.2 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 60.8 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 43% of the year's precipitation (26.3 of 60.8 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 19 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal September there has highs of 89°F and 3.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 88 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 42 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.5 inches a year, most of it in January and December. That 60.8 inches is more than at 42 of the 81 Louisiana stations used on this site (52%). Quitman, 8 miles north, has its own station (Ruston La Tech, LA): 55.8 inches a year, 5.0 less than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58 | 36 | 6.2 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Feb | 61 | 39 | 5.6 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Mar | 70 | 46 | 5.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 77 | 53 | 5.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 84 | 61 | 5.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 90 | 69 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 72 | 4.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 93 | 71 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 89 | 65 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 78 | 53 | 4.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 67 | 43 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 59 | 37 | 6.1 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Year | 77 | 54 | 60.8 | 73 | 0.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Bienville 3 NE, LA (307 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 Jonesboro
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 95 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Jonesboro: 82 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $530,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on April 22, 1997. March has had the most flash floods, 3 of 12. Of the 239 Louisiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 96 have had fewer than Jonesboro.
February 10, 1998: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Jonesboro — 2 injured, $200,000 damage.
June 15, 2007: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Jonesboro — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “especially US Hwy 167 which had to be closed. Several parish roads were underwater including Hwy 4 west.”
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
Jackson Parish, which includes Jonesboro, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1989, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 16 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 coastal storms, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 18, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jackson Parish a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hail and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $5.6 million a year, the 57th highest of 64 Louisiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.1 million (37%), 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 Jonesboro
- Quitman, LA8 mi
- Grambling, LA21 mi
- Ruston, LA21 mi
- Simsboro, LA21 mi
- Eros, LA21 mi
- Winnfield, LA22 mi
- Choudrant, LA24 mi
- Arcadia, LA27 mi
- Calhoun, LA28 mi
- Dubach, LA31 mi
- Campti, LA33 mi
- Grayson, LA34 mi
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