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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Meraux, 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

80 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Meraux, Louisiana since 1851, 29 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Francine in 2024. Since 1950, 125 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
29

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
51

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
125

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
3

3 deaths in all

What the records show for Meraux

The strongest storm to pass near Meraux was Camille in 1969, a Category 5 hurricane with 170 mph winds when its centre passed 38 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Zeta in 2020, whose centre came within 8 miles. The record near Meraux begins with an unnamed storm in 1855; the most recent system was Francine in 2024, a tropical storm 39 miles away. The busiest decade was the 2000s, with 8 systems, 2 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 80 systems, 17 have come since 2000. Meraux has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 83% of the 245 Louisiana cities on this site. The highest rating among the 125 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 22, 2022, came within 5 miles. Of the 125, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 73 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on May 2, 2025. Meraux has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 48% of the 245 Louisiana cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 53 times since 1964, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Meraux has more hail reports within 10 miles than 61% of the 245 Louisiana cities.

Compare Meraux's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Meraux

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Meraux, Louisiana, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2024FrancineSep 1239 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 2
2021IdaAug 2940 miCategory 3 (124 mph)Category 4
2021ClaudetteJun 1926 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
2020ZetaOct 288 miCategory 2 (101 mph)Category 3
2020CristobalJun 85 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
2019OlgaOct 2646 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
2017NateOct 850 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 1
2012IsaacAug 2950 miCategory 1 (74 mph)Category 1
2011LeeSep 547 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2008GustavSep 169 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 4
2005KatrinaAug 2919 miCategory 3 (123 mph)Category 5
2005CindyJul 610 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 1
2003BillJun 3035 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
2002IsidoreSep 26overheadTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
2002HannaSep 1463 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
2002BerthaAug 527 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2001AllisonJun 1124 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1998GeorgesSep 2868 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 4
1997DannyJul 1843 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 1
1988FlorenceSep 10overheadTropical storm (61 mph)Category 1
1988BerylAug 96 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1985JuanOct 3159 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 1
1985ElenaSep 249 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 3
1979BobJul 1130 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 1
1969CamilleAug 1838 miCategory 5 (170 mph)Category 5
1965DebbieSep 2960 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1965BetsySep 1045 miCategory 3 (117 mph)Category 4
1964HildaOct 449 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 4
1960EthelSep 1564 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 3
1957EstherSep 1851 miTropical storm (59 mph)Tropical storm
1956FlossySep 2465 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 1
1956Unnamed 1956 stormJun 1341 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1955Unnamed 1955 stormAug 2713 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
1955BrendaAug 115 miTropical storm (59 mph)Tropical storm
1949Unnamed 1949 stormSep 448 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1948Unnamed 1948 stormSep 43 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 1
1947Unnamed 1947 stormSep 1910 miCategory 2 (102 mph)Category 4
1947Unnamed 1947 stormAug 2260 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 1
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 1053 miTropical storm (62 mph)Tropical storm
1939Unnamed 1939 stormSep 2616 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1937Unnamed 1937 stormSep 1969 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1936Unnamed 1936 stormJul 2717 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1932Unnamed 1932 stormOct 1614 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1931Unnamed 1931 stormJul 1574 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
1926Unnamed 1926 stormSep 2135 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 4
1926Unnamed 1926 stormAug 2664 miCategory 1 (85 mph)Category 3
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1755 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1665 miCategory 1 (74 mph)Category 1
1923Unnamed 1923 stormJun 2627 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1920Unnamed 1920 stormSep 2273 miCategory 1 (90 mph)Category 2
1915Unnamed 1915 stormSep 2918 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 4
1914Unnamed 1914 stormSep 1870 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1912Unnamed 1912 stormJun 1364 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1911Unnamed 1911 stormAug 1267 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1907Unnamed 1907 stormSep 2155 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1905Unnamed 1905 stormOct 957 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1901Unnamed 1901 stormAug 1543 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 1
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1348 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1895Unnamed 1895 stormAug 1639 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 232 miCategory 3 (119 mph)Category 4
1893Unnamed 1893 stormSep 727 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 2
1892Unnamed 1892 stormSep 123 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
1890Unnamed 1890 stormAug 2748 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1889Unnamed 1889 stormSep 2354 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 1958 miCategory 1 (87 mph)Category 3
1887Unnamed 1887 stormOct 1919 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 1
1887Unnamed 1887 stormJun 1473 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1885Unnamed 1885 stormSep 2649 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1885Unnamed 1885 stormSep 2170 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1885Unnamed 1885 stormAug 3069 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1879Unnamed 1879 stormOct 722 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1879Unnamed 1879 stormSep 165 miCategory 1 (93 mph)Category 3
1877Unnamed 1877 stormSep 1931 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormJul 1153 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1869Unnamed 1869 stormSep 528 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 1
1867Unnamed 1867 stormOct 451 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 2
1863Unnamed 1863 stormOct 140 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1860Unnamed 1860 stormSep 1527 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 2
1860Unnamed 1860 stormAug 1217 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 3
1855Unnamed 1855 stormSep 1628 miCategory 3 (121 mph)Category 3

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

By decade

  • 2020s17(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s27(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s29
  • 1990s17
  • 1980s11
  • 1970s11
  • 1960s6(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s7
Strongest tornadoes near Meraux, Louisiana
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Mar 22, 2022EF35 mi11.47 mi1 / 2
Feb 7, 2017EF36 mi10.09 mi0 / 33
Jan 28, 1966F324 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Feb 13, 2007EF29 mi1.29 mi1 / 10
Mar 10, 1971F212 mi7.5 mi1 / 7
Apr 10, 2024EF223 mi10.98 mi0 / 0
Jun 20, 2023EF225 mi3.79 mi0 / 0
Dec 14, 2022EF24 mi10.59 mi0 / 10
Feb 13, 2007EF211 mi6.47 mi0 / 15
Feb 13, 2007EF213 mi2.25 mi0 / 9
Feb 2, 2006F211 mi5.5 mi0 / 0
May 8, 1995F25 mi0.8 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 125, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Meraux

The Storm Prediction Center has 53 hail reports within 10 miles of Meraux since 1964, made on 37 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 15, 2022. The most recent report is from April 16, 2023. April has the most reports, 15.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Meraux

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Terrytown 3S, LA, 7 miles west of Meraux at 10 feet. July and August are the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 76°F; January is the coolest, at 63°F and 45°F. July is the wettest at 7.3 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.7 inches; the year adds up to 66.0 inches over 78 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (35.7 of 66.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 80 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (35); a normal September there has highs of 89°F and 6.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 90 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 7 nights a year. That 66.0 inches is more than at 74 of the 81 Louisiana stations used on this site (91%). Saint Bernard, 8 miles southeast, has its own station (New Orleans Alvin Callender Fl, LA): 64.1 inches a year, 1.9 less than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 92°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Carrollton, LA, 13 miles west, averaged 88°F in August and 47°F in February over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from June to September. Sea level at the New Canal tide gauge, 13 miles from Meraux, has risen 2.36 ± 0.19 inches per decade from 1982 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 23.6 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 131 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Terrytown 3S, LA
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Water °F
Jan63455.8648
Feb66494.0647
Mar73545.2554
Apr78615.2464
May85684.7572
Jun90756.9981
Jul92767.31087
Aug92766.81188
Sep89736.8885
Oct81633.7478
Nov72534.2466
Dec65485.4655
Year796266.07869

Averages for 1991–2020 at Terrytown 3S, LA (10 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Carrollton, LA, from NOAA Tides & Currents. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.

Louisiana weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Meraux

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 262 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Meraux: 131 flash floods, 114 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 heavy rain events, 3 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $941,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on March 29, 2011. April has had the most flash floods, 31 of 131. Of the 239 Louisiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 225 have had fewer than Meraux.

  • August 29, 2021: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Meraux — 1 killed.

  • April 18, 2019: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Meraux — 2 injured.

  • February 5, 2020: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Meraux — 1 injured.

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 Meraux's ZIP code 70075 have filed 2,586 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $351.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Katrina in 2005: 2,204 claims (85% of all) and $348.6 million, then Flooding in 1980 with 171 and Hurricane Isaac in 2012 with 44. 97% 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, 195 have fewer than Meraux.

Flood insurance claims in Meraux by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Hurricane Katrina20052,204$348.6 million
Flooding1980171$1.0 million
Hurricane Isaac201244$168,000
Tropical Storm Isidore200229$129,000
Hurricane Rita200527$765,000
Tropical Storm Allison200110$39,000

St. Bernard Parish, which includes Meraux, has been named in 48 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 29 of them major disasters (by incident: 30 hurricanes, 5 coastal storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Francine, on September 16, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives St. Bernard Parish a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hurricanes; Relatively Moderate for coastal flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hail, inland flooding and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $34.7 million a year, the 25th highest of 64 Louisiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $25.3 million (73%), is from hurricanes.

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 Meraux