NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Natchitoches, 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
26 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Natchitoches, Louisiana since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Delta in 2020. Since 1950, 99 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 25
- Tornadoes
- 99
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Natchitoches
The strongest storm to pass near Natchitoches was Laura in 2020, a Category 1 hurricane with 85 mph winds when its centre passed 4 miles away. The record near Natchitoches begins with an unnamed storm in 1865; the most recent system was Delta in 2020, a tropical storm 58 miles away. The busiest decade was the 2000s, with 4 systems. Of the 26 systems, 9 have come since 2000. Of the 245 Louisiana cities on this site, 80% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Natchitoches. The strongest of the 99 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on November 29, 2010; its path came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on February 12, 1950, killed 5 people. Of the 99, 14 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 58 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 18 each. The most recent tornado was on July 8, 2024. Of the 245 Louisiana cities, 75% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Natchitoches. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 88 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Natchitoches has more hail reports within 10 miles than 82% of the 245 Louisiana cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Natchitoches
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | DeltaOct 10 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | LauraAug 27 | 4 mi | Category 1 (85 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2019 | BarryJul 14 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2017 | CindyJun 22 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2012 | IsaacAug 30 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2008 | GustavSep 2 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2007 | HumbertoSep 13 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2005 | RitaSep 24 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2002 | LiliOct 3 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | DannyAug 16 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1982 | ChrisSep 11 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1974 | CarmenSep 8 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1965 | BetsySep 10 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 27 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormSep 20 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormAug 15 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1926 | Unnamed 1926 stormAug 27 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1920 | Unnamed 1920 stormSep 22 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1918 | Unnamed 1918 stormAug 7 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1908 | Unnamed 1908 stormAug 1 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 21 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1891 | Unnamed 1891 stormJul 6 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormOct 13 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 23 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 stormSep 18 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormSep 14 | 22 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 Natchitoches: 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 Natchitoches
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s28(1 EF3+)
- 2000s18(1 EF3+)
- 1990s10
- 1980s10(4 EF3+)
- 1970s8(1 EF3+)
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
- 1950s11(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 29, 2010 | EF4 | 17 mi | 13.96 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 12, 1950 | F3 | 24 mi | 74.5 mi | 5 / 25 |
| Mar 20, 1974 | F3 | 4 mi | 85.2 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Apr 23, 2000 | F3 | 12 mi | 19.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 19, 1983 | F3 | 13 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 10 |
| May 19, 1983 | F3 | 2 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 19, 1983 | F3 | 24 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 27, 1980 | F3 | 20 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 11, 1968 | F3 | 1 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 16, 1957 | F3 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 22, 1953 | F2 | 23 mi | 234.7 mi | 2 / 22 |
| Apr 30, 1954 | F2 | 18 mi | 16.7 mi | 1 / 6 |
The strongest 12 of 99, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Natchitoches
The Storm Prediction Center has 88 hail reports within 10 miles of Natchitoches since 1962, made on 68 separate days. Of these, 56 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 1, 1983. The most recent report is from June 12, 2023. April has the most reports, 27.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Natchitoches
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Natchitoches, LA, 2 miles north of Natchitoches at 130 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 95°F and low of 76°F; January is the coolest, at 60°F and 39°F. March is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 56.1 inches over 70 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 45% of the year's precipitation (25.2 of 56.1 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 26 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (11); a normal September there has highs of 90°F and 3.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 98 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 29 nights a year. That 56.1 inches is more than at 12 of the 81 Louisiana stations used on this site (15%). Campti, 11 miles north, has its own station (Natchitoches #2, LA): 55.3 inches a year, 0.8 less than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 95°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 60 | 39 | 5.1 | 7 |
| Feb | 65 | 42 | 4.5 | 6 |
| Mar | 72 | 49 | 5.8 | 6 |
| Apr | 79 | 56 | 5.7 | 5 |
| May | 87 | 65 | 4.2 | 6 |
| Jun | 92 | 73 | 5.2 | 7 |
| Jul | 95 | 76 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Aug | 96 | 75 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Sep | 90 | 69 | 3.9 | 5 |
| Oct | 81 | 57 | 4.5 | 5 |
| Nov | 70 | 47 | 4.8 | 6 |
| Dec | 62 | 41 | 5.6 | 7 |
| Year | 79 | 57 | 56.1 | 70 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Natchitoches, LA (130 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 Natchitoches
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 157 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Natchitoches: 114 thunderstorm wind reports, 35 flash floods, 7 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 9, and the NWS estimated $11.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on April 26, 2011. March has had the most flash floods, 16 of 35. Of the 239 Louisiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 188 have had fewer than Natchitoches.
March 12, 2016: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Natchitoches — 1 killed, 2 injured.
March 12, 2001: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Natchitoches — 6 injured, $500,000 damage.
NWS: “A squall line with a bow echo moved across the north side of Natchitoches. Several mobile homes had siding damage in the Hidden Hills mobile home park of north Natchitoches, and two were overturned by straight line winds.”
June 1, 2015: flood 6 miles from the centre of Natchitoches — 1 injured.
NWS: “Excessive heavy rainfall during the month of May in the Red River Basin of Southern Oklahoma, Northern Texas and Southwest Arkansas resulted in very high water on the Red River during the month of June bordering McCurtain County in Southeast Oklahoma, Little River, Hempstead, Lafayette and Miller Counties in Southwest…”
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 Natchitoches's 2 ZIP codes have filed 224 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $5.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Late winter severe storms in 2016: 75 claims (33% of all) and $3.7 million, then Flooding in 1989 with 28. 50% 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, 108 have fewer than Natchitoches.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Late winter severe storms2016 | 75 | $3.7 million |
| Flooding1989 | 28 | $246,000 |
Natchitoches Parish, which includes Natchitoches, has been named in 41 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 21 hurricanes, 6 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Ida, on August 29, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Natchitoches Parish a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hail, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.5 million a year, the 40th highest of 64 Louisiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.7 million (50%), 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 Natchitoches
- Campti, LA11 mi
- Robeline, LA13 mi
- Montgomery, LA15 mi
- Coushatta, LA25 mi
- Winnfield, LA29 mi
- Colfax, LA29 mi
- Many, LA32 mi
- Florien, LA32 mi
- Dry Prong, LA34 mi
- Zwolle, LA35 mi
- Boyce, LA38 mi
- Mansfield, LA40 mi
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