NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lake Providence, 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
16 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Lake Providence, Louisiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 122 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 16
- Tornadoes
- 122
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
137 deaths in all
What the records show for Lake Providence
None of the 16 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Lake Providence; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 71 mph winds when its centre passed 20 miles away. The record near Lake Providence begins with an unnamed storm in 1860; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 56 miles away. Of the 16 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 245 Louisiana cities on this site, 89% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Lake Providence. The strongest of the 122 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on February 21, 1971; its path came within 6 miles, and it killed 47 people. The deadliest, an F4 on February 21, 1971, killed 58 people. Of the 122, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 54 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 38. The most recent tornado was on March 23, 2025. Of the 245 Louisiana cities, 53% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Lake Providence. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 59 times since 1967, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Lake Providence has more hail reports within 10 miles than 67% of the 245 Louisiana cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lake Providence
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaAug 30 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | DeltaOct 10 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | ElenaSep 3 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | DannyAug 16 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1969 | CamilleAug 18 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1965 | BetsySep 10 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 20 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 16 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 6 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 30 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 21 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 20 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormOct 3 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Lake Providence: 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 Lake Providence
By decade
- 2020s20(1 EF3+)
- 2010s19(1 EF3+)
- 2000s15
- 1990s13
- 1980s20(3 EF3+)
- 1970s19(3 EF3+)
- 1960s3
- 1950s13(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 1971 | F5 | 6 mi | 109.2 mi | 47 / 510 |
| Feb 21, 1971 | F4 | 13 mi | 202.1 mi | 58 / 795 |
| Mar 24, 2023 | EF4 | 12 mi | 59.23 mi | 17 / 165 |
| Apr 24, 2010 | EF4 | 22 mi | 148.97 mi | 10 / 146 |
| May 7, 1984 | F3 | 5 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 1, 1983 | F3 | 16 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 1, 1983 | F3 | 25 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 20, 1976 | F3 | 14 mi | 4.6 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Dec 3, 1953 | F3 | 10 mi | 18.8 mi | 0 / 20 |
| May 17, 1953 | F3 | 6 mi | 41.6 mi | 0 / 17 |
| Feb 17, 1976 | F2 | 24 mi | 29.5 mi | 3 / 46 |
| Mar 22, 1953 | F2 | 16 mi | 234.7 mi | 2 / 22 |
The strongest 12 of 122, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lake Providence
The Storm Prediction Center has 59 hail reports within 10 miles of Lake Providence since 1967, made on 50 separate days. Of these, 41 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently March 18, 2013. The most recent report is from May 17, 2025. March has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lake Providence
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lake Providence, LA, 2 miles east of Lake Providence at 100 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 54°F and 36°F. April is the wettest at 6.6 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 58.8 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 43% of the year's precipitation (25.2 of 58.8 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 16 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 87°F and 3.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 79 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 34 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.5 inches a year, most of it in January and February. That 58.8 inches is more than at 27 of the 81 Louisiana stations used on this site (33%). Rolling Fork, MS, 13 miles east, has its own station (Rolling Fork, MS): 55.2 inches a year, 3.6 less than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 54 | 36 | 5.6 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Feb | 58 | 39 | 5.5 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Mar | 66 | 46 | 5.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 74 | 54 | 6.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 82 | 63 | 5.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 71 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 73 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 73 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 87 | 67 | 3.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 77 | 55 | 5.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 65 | 44 | 4.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 56 | 38 | 5.7 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Year | 74 | 55 | 58.8 | 72 | 0.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lake Providence, LA (100 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 Lake Providence
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 121 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lake Providence: 100 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 flash floods, 3 floods, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $713.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on April 4, 2008. April has had the most flash floods, 5 of 16. Of the 239 Louisiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 126 have had fewer than Lake Providence.
May 9, 2009: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Lake Providence — 2 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “A tree fell on a car, two occupants suffered minor injuries.”
May 10, 2009: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Lake Providence — $700.2 million damage.
NWS: “A swath of damaging winds north of Lake Providence caused numerous trees, power poles, and power lines to have been blown down. Substantial damage occurred to the Shelburn Fire Station and numerous homes were damaged.”
September 3, 2008: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Lake Providence — $9.0 million damage.
NWS: “During the late afternoon of the 3rd, another heavy band of storms developed across the region and produced another 3 to 5 inches of rainfall. This rain fell on already soaked and flooded land.”
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Lake Providence's ZIP code 71254 have filed 78 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $1.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Mid-spring storms in 2011: 18 claims (23% of all) and $289,000, then Hurricane Gustav in 2008 with 11. 55% 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, 61 have fewer than Lake Providence.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-spring storms2011 | 18 | $289,000 |
| Hurricane Gustav2008 | 11 | $338,000 |
East Carroll Parish, which includes Lake Providence, has been named in 32 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 16 hurricanes, 5 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 18, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives East Carroll Parish a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $4.5 million a year, the 59th highest of 64 Louisiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.2 million (26%), is from tornadoes.
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 Lake Providence
- Oak Grove, LA13 mi
- Rolling Fork, MS13 mi
- Eudora, AR22 mi
- Tallulah, LA28 mi
- Delhi, LA31 mi
- Hollandale, MS31 mi
- Lake Village, AR38 mi
- Vicksburg, MS39 mi
- Bastrop, LA41 mi
- Rayville, LA41 mi
- Greenville, MS42 mi
- Yazoo City, MS44 mi
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