NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pitkin, 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
37 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Pitkin, Louisiana since 1851, 5 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Delta in 2020. Since 1950, 104 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 5
- Tropical storms
- 32
- Tornadoes
- 104
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
14 deaths in all
What the records show for Pitkin
The strongest storm to pass near Pitkin was Laura in 2020, a Category 2 hurricane with 107 mph winds when its centre passed 21 miles away. The record near Pitkin begins with an unnamed storm in 1856; the most recent system was Delta in 2020, a tropical storm 27 miles away. The 2000s and the 2010s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 37 systems, 10 have come since 2000. Of the 245 Louisiana cities on this site, 67% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Pitkin. The strongest of the 104 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on December 3, 1953; its path came within 11 miles, and it killed 9 people. Of the 104, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 59 have come since 2000. October and December have had the most tornadoes, 17 each. The most recent tornado was on March 4, 2025. Of the 245 Louisiana cities, 70% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Pitkin. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 21 times since 1995, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 245 Louisiana cities, 82% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Pitkin.
Compare Pitkin's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Pitkin
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | DeltaOct 10 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | LauraAug 27 | 21 mi | Category 2 (107 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2019 | BarryJul 14 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2017 | HarveyAug 30 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2017 | CindyJun 22 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2012 | IsaacAug 30 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2008 | GustavSep 2 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2007 | HumbertoSep 13 | overhead | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2005 | RitaSep 24 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2002 | LiliOct 3 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | JuanOct 30 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1985 | DannyAug 15 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1982 | ChrisSep 11 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1979 | ClaudetteJul 25 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1974 | CarmenSep 8 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1973 | Unnamed 1973 stormSep 12 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1965 | BetsySep 10 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 27 | 21 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1955 | Unnamed 1955 stormAug 27 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1954 | BarbaraJul 29 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormSep 20 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1940 | Unnamed 1940 stormSep 24 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormAug 15 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1931 | Unnamed 1931 stormJul 16 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1926 | Unnamed 1926 stormAug 27 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1920 | Unnamed 1920 stormSep 22 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1918 | Unnamed 1918 stormAug 6 | 52 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1908 | Unnamed 1908 stormAug 1 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 29 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 20 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormOct 13 | 43 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 15 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 23 | 70 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 stormSep 18 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormSep 14 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 30 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 11 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Pitkin: 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 Pitkin
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s30(1 EF3+)
- 2000s14
- 1990s24
- 1980s3
- 1970s8
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 3, 1953 | F4 | 11 mi | 85.5 mi | 9 / 50 |
| Dec 16, 2019 | EF3 | 6 mi | 62.61 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 1, 1967 | F3 | 16 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 29, 1975 | F2 | in town | 14.8 mi | 2 / 8 |
| Mar 22, 1953 | F2 | 20 mi | 234.7 mi | 2 / 22 |
| Oct 25, 2022 | EF2 | 21 mi | 0.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 22, 2020 | EF2 | 21 mi | 8.43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 22, 2020 | EF2 | 20 mi | 36.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 16, 2019 | EF2 | 9 mi | 3.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 31, 2018 | EF2 | 20 mi | 13.27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 2017 | EF2 | 19 mi | 3.57 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 26, 2003 | F2 | 8 mi | 18 mi | 0 / 5 |
The strongest 12 of 104, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Pitkin
The Storm Prediction Center has 21 hail reports within 10 miles of Pitkin since 1995, made on 16 separate days. Of these, 15 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently December 23, 2014. The most recent report is from May 16, 2024. May has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Pitkin
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Elizabeth, LA, 12 miles southeast of Pitkin at 150 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 61°F and 38°F. April is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 4.0 inches; the year adds up to 62.1 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 50% of the year's precipitation (30.8 of 62.1 inches). September has brought the most of the 37 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (15); a normal September there has highs of 90°F and 5.4 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 31 nights a year. That 62.1 inches is more than at 50 of the 81 Louisiana stations used on this site (62%). Fort Polk, 18 miles northwest, has its own station (Leesville, LA): 59.4 inches a year, 2.7 less than here, and an August average high of 94°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 61 | 38 | 5.7 | 7 |
| Feb | 66 | 42 | 4.6 | 6 |
| Mar | 73 | 48 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Apr | 79 | 54 | 6.1 | 5 |
| May | 85 | 63 | 5.0 | 6 |
| Jun | 90 | 70 | 5.3 | 9 |
| Jul | 92 | 72 | 5.1 | 7 |
| Aug | 93 | 71 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Sep | 90 | 66 | 5.4 | 7 |
| Oct | 80 | 55 | 5.2 | 6 |
| Nov | 70 | 46 | 5.8 | 6 |
| Dec | 63 | 40 | 5.3 | 7 |
| Year | 78 | 55 | 62.1 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Elizabeth, LA (150 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 Pitkin
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 37 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pitkin: 30 thunderstorm wind reports and 7 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $332,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 87 mph, on April 25, 2019. Of the 239 Louisiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 34 have had fewer than Pitkin.
April 22, 2025: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Pitkin — 1 injured.
NWS: “Trees were blown down across Highway 113 near Plainview.”
January 2, 1999: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Pitkin — $100,000 damage.
November 9, 2024: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Pitkin — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “The Allen Parish Sherriff's Office reported water over Highways 112, 462, 112, 10, and 165. Multiple homes were flooded in Oakdale with ankle deep water at the height of the event.”
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
Vernon Parish, which includes Pitkin, has been named in 39 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 19 hurricanes, 4 fires, 4 floods, 3 coastal storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Ida, on August 29, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Vernon Parish a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $21.6 million a year, the 31st highest of 64 Louisiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.9 million (41%), 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 Pitkin
- Fort Polk, LA18 mi
- Oakdale, LA20 mi
- Glenmora, LA20 mi
- Deridder, LA20 mi
- Leesville, LA22 mi
- New Llano, LA23 mi
- Oberlin, LA25 mi
- Forest Hill, LA26 mi
- Longville, LA30 mi
- Woodworth, LA31 mi
- Kinder, LA31 mi
- Boyce, LA32 mi
All Louisiana cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Pitkin with another place →