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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sulphur, LA

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

47 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Sulphur, Louisiana since 1851, 16 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Delta in 2020. Since 1950, 155 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
16

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
31

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
155

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
5

2 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sulphur

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Sulphur, Louisiana, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2020DeltaOct 929 miCategory 1 (90 mph)Category 4
2020LauraAug 275 miCategory 4 (135 mph)Category 4
2019BarryJul 1436 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 1
2017HarveyAug 303 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 4
2017CindyJun 2222 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
2011LeeSep 472 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2008GustavSep 269 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 4
2008EdouardAug 561 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
2007HumbertoSep 1314 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 1
2005RitaSep 2432 miCategory 2 (98 mph)Category 5
2002LiliOct 361 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 4
1989ChantalAug 174 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 1
1987Unnamed 1987 stormAug 1067 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1986BonnieJun 2659 miCategory 1 (74 mph)Category 1
1985JuanOct 3065 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1985DannyAug 1543 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 1
1982ChrisSep 1114 miTropical storm (55 mph)Tropical storm
1980DanielleSep 556 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1979ClaudetteJul 2431 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1978DebraAug 293 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1974CarmenSep 834 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 4
1971EdithSep 1650 miCategory 1 (93 mph)Category 5
1970FeliceSep 1572 miTropical storm (69 mph)Tropical storm
1963CindySep 1769 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1957BerthaAug 1043 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1957AudreyJun 2713 miCategory 2 (107 mph)Category 3
1955Unnamed 1955 stormAug 2735 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1954BarbaraJul 292 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
1947Unnamed 1947 stormSep 2071 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 4
1940Unnamed 1940 stormSep 2420 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1940Unnamed 1940 stormAug 749 miCategory 2 (98 mph)Category 2
1938Unnamed 1938 stormAug 155 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormAug 2773 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 1
1926Unnamed 1926 stormAug 2753 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1918Unnamed 1918 stormAug 65 miCategory 2 (105 mph)Category 3
1908Unnamed 1908 stormAug 130 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1905Unnamed 1905 stormSep 2960 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1898Unnamed 1898 stormSep 2865 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1898Unnamed 1898 stormSep 2043 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 1341 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 1
1886Unnamed 1886 stormOct 1314 miCategory 1 (85 mph)Category 3
1886Unnamed 1886 stormJun 146 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 2
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 1533 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1879Unnamed 1879 stormAug 2354 miCategory 1 (90 mph)Category 2
1875Unnamed 1875 stormSep 1827 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1865Unnamed 1865 stormSep 135 miCategory 1 (87 mph)Category 2
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 3020 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm

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

By decade

  • 2020s25
  • 2010s29
  • 2000s10
  • 1990s25(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s21
  • 1970s22(3 EF3+)
  • 1960s15
  • 1950s8(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Sulphur, Louisiana
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Nov 7, 1957F422 mi12.9 mi1 / 81
Nov 21, 1992F321 mi6 mi0 / 2
Apr 17, 1973F318 mi0.5 mi0 / 1
Apr 17, 1973F313 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Feb 12, 1971F311 mi3.6 mi0 / 1
Oct 11, 1970F224 mi1 mi1 / 2
May 13, 2024EF23 mi3.44 mi0 / 0
Apr 10, 2024EF210 mi1.05 mi0 / 0
Jan 24, 2023EF211 mi25.21 mi0 / 2
Jan 24, 2023EF210 mi12.43 mi0 / 3
Oct 27, 2021EF28 mi2.2 mi0 / 2
Oct 27, 2021EF223 mi6.89 mi0 / 1

The strongest 12 of 155, 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 Sulphur 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.

Other cities in Louisiana