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Storms That Hit

NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Plain Dealing, 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

11 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Plain Dealing, Louisiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Laura in 2020. Since 1950, 125 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
11

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
125

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
8

33 deaths in all

What the records show for Plain Dealing

None of the 11 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Plain Dealing; the strongest was Laura in 2020, a tropical storm with 63 mph winds when its centre passed 46 miles away. The record near Plain Dealing begins with an unnamed storm in 1865; the most recent system was Laura in 2020. The busiest decade was the 1940s, with 2 systems. Of the 11 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Of the 245 Louisiana cities on this site, 99% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Plain Dealing. The highest rating among the 125 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 3, 1999, came within 12 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on February 12, 1950, killed 18 people. Of the 125, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 70 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on September 24, 2025. Plain Dealing has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 48% of the 245 Louisiana cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 69 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Plain Dealing has more hail reports within 10 miles than 73% of the 245 Louisiana cities.

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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Plain Dealing

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Plain Dealing, Louisiana, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2020LauraAug 2746 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 4
2019BarryJul 1443 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
2005RitaSep 2512 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 5
1947Unnamed 1947 stormSep 2069 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 4
1941Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24overheadTropical storm (41 mph)Category 3
1920Unnamed 1920 stormSep 2242 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1918Unnamed 1918 stormAug 762 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 3
1891Unnamed 1891 stormJul 715 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 1
1886Unnamed 1886 stormOct 1330 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 3
1879Unnamed 1879 stormAug 238 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 2
1865Unnamed 1865 stormSep 1424 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2

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

By decade

  • 2020s22
  • 2010s23
  • 2000s25(2 EF3+)
  • 1990s20(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s13(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s9(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s6
  • 1950s7(2 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Plain Dealing, Louisiana
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Feb 12, 1950F417 mi82.6 mi18 / 77
Apr 3, 1999F412 mi19.3 mi7 / 102
Dec 3, 1978F424 mi6.2 mi2 / 266
Jan 22, 1957F324 mi1.7 mi3 / 9
Apr 9, 2009EF317 mi9.89 mi0 / 0
Apr 23, 2000F325 mi16 mi0 / 0
Apr 23, 1985F38 mi13 mi0 / 0
Dec 3, 1978F317 mi61.1 mi0 / 0
Jul 8, 2024EF23 mi52.93 mi2 / 1
Jun 19, 2019EF211 mi1.44 mi0 / 0
Jan 21, 2017EF23 mi10.79 mi0 / 1
Jan 21, 2017EF219 mi13.36 mi0 / 1

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

Hail in Plain Dealing

The Storm Prediction Center has 69 hail reports within 10 miles of Plain Dealing since 1955, made on 60 separate days. Of these, 45 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 4 days, most recently March 10, 2010. The most recent report is from April 24, 2020. April has the most reports, 18.

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

Weather by month in Plain Dealing

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Benton 5E, LA, 15 miles south of Plain Dealing at 200 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 55°F and 34°F. December is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 54.0 inches. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 44% of the year's precipitation (24.0 of 54.0 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 11 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (5); a normal September there has highs of 88°F and 3.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 86 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 42 nights a year. That 54.0 inches is more than at 6 of the 81 Louisiana stations used on this site (7%). Vivian, 17 miles west, has its own station (Mooringsport 1 N, LA): 50.8 inches a year, 3.2 less than here, and a July average high of 94°F against 92°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Benton 5E, LA
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. in
Jan55344.8
Feb60384.9
Mar68455.2
Apr75535.2
May82624.6
Jun89704.4
Jul92733.8
Aug93723.1
Sep88653.7
Oct77534.7
Nov65444.3
Dec57365.3
Year755454.0

Averages for 1991–2020 at Benton 5E, LA (200 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.

Louisiana weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Plain Dealing

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 80 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Plain Dealing: 67 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $1.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on April 7, 2002. Of the 239 Louisiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 74 have had fewer than Plain Dealing.

  • August 22, 2011: lightning strike in Plain Dealing — 1 killed, $50,000 damage.

    NWS: “Lightning struck a home in Plain Dealing, Louisiana, resulting in a fire. The fire resulted in the fatality of a 74 year old woman.”

  • June 1, 2015: flood 8 miles from the centre of Plain Dealing — $1.0 million damage.

    NWS: “Excessive heavy rainfall during the month of May resulted in very high water on the Red River bordering Little River, Hempstead, Miller and Lafayette Counties in Southwest Arkansas as well as Bowie County in Northeast Texas during the entire month of June.”

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 Plain Dealing's ZIP code 71064 have filed 20 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1997, and were paid $344,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 30% 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, 14 have fewer than Plain Dealing.

Bossier Parish, which includes Plain Dealing, has been named in 36 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 hurricanes, 4 floods, 4 severe storms, 3 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Ida, on August 29, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Bossier Parish a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and inland flooding; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $47.5 million a year, the 19th highest of 64 Louisiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.1 million (32%), 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 Plain Dealing

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