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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.

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, 119 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
16

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
119

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
10

137 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lake Providence

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Lake Providence, Louisiana, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaAug 3056 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 4
2020DeltaOct 1024 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1985ElenaSep 371 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 3
1985DannyAug 1672 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1969CamilleAug 1869 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 5
1965BetsySep 1049 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 4
1957AudreyJun 2824 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 3
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1735 miTropical storm (47 mph)Category 2
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 2036 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 165 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 662 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1909Unnamed 1909 stormSep 2119 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 3
1905Unnamed 1905 stormSep 303 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1898Unnamed 1898 stormSep 2172 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2020 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 3
1860Unnamed 1860 stormOct 350 miTropical 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

  • 2020s17(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s19(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s15
  • 1990s13
  • 1980s20(3 EF3+)
  • 1970s19(3 EF3+)
  • 1960s3
  • 1950s13(2 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Lake Providence, Louisiana
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Feb 21, 1971F56 mi109.2 mi47 / 510
Feb 21, 1971F413 mi202.1 mi58 / 795
Mar 24, 2023EF412 mi59.23 mi17 / 165
Apr 24, 2010EF422 mi148.97 mi10 / 146
May 7, 1984F35 mi1 mi0 / 0
Apr 1, 1983F325 mi3 mi0 / 0
Apr 1, 1983F316 mi4 mi0 / 0
Mar 20, 1976F314 mi4.6 mi0 / 32
Dec 3, 1953F310 mi18.8 mi0 / 20
May 17, 1953F36 mi41.6 mi0 / 17
Feb 17, 1976F224 mi29.5 mi3 / 46
Mar 22, 1953F216 mi234.7 mi2 / 22

The strongest 12 of 119, 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 Lake Providence 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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