NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Winnsboro, 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
19 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Winnsboro, Louisiana since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 92 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 17
- Tornadoes
- 92
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
53 deaths in all
What the records show for Winnsboro
The strongest storm to pass near Winnsboro was an unnamed storm in 1909, a Category 1 hurricane with 77 mph winds when its centre passed 7 miles away. The record near Winnsboro begins with an unnamed storm in 1856; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 63 miles away. Of the 19 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Of the 245 Louisiana cities on this site, 73% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Winnsboro. The strongest of the 92 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on February 21, 1971; its path came within 22 miles, and it killed 47 people. Of the 92, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 27. The most recent tornado was on October 18, 2025. Of the 245 Louisiana cities, 82% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Winnsboro. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 71 times since 1965, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Winnsboro has more hail reports within 10 miles than 74% of the 245 Louisiana cities.
Compare Winnsboro's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Winnsboro
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaAug 30 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | DeltaOct 10 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2012 | IsaacAug 30 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2002 | LiliOct 4 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1992 | AndrewAug 27 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1985 | ElenaSep 3 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | DannyAug 16 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1965 | BetsySep 10 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 17 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 20 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 16 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1920 | Unnamed 1920 stormSep 22 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 7 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 30 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 21 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 20 | 45 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormOct 3 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 12 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Winnsboro: 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 Winnsboro
By decade
- 2020s9(1 EF3+)
- 2010s22
- 2000s9(1 EF3+)
- 1990s11(2 EF3+)
- 1980s13(3 EF3+)
- 1970s22(2 EF3+)
- 1960s2
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 1971 | F5 | 22 mi | 109.2 mi | 47 / 510 |
| Nov 23, 2004 | F3 | 18 mi | 15 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Jan 18, 1973 | F3 | 15 mi | 38 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Nov 29, 2022 | EF3 | 16 mi | 7.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 21, 1999 | F3 | 14 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 21, 1992 | F3 | 19 mi | 38 mi | 0 / 11 |
| May 19, 1983 | F3 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Apr 1, 1983 | F3 | 5 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 1, 1983 | F3 | 15 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1953 | F3 | 22 mi | 41.6 mi | 0 / 17 |
| Mar 22, 1953 | F2 | 21 mi | 234.7 mi | 2 / 22 |
| Nov 26, 2019 | EF2 | 6 mi | 7.02 mi | 1 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 92, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Winnsboro
The Storm Prediction Center has 71 hail reports within 10 miles of Winnsboro since 1965, made on 62 separate days. Of these, 55 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently March 5, 1998. The most recent report is from March 31, 2025. March has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Winnsboro
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Winnsboro 5 SSE, LA, 4 miles south of Winnsboro at 80 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 57°F and 37°F. April is the wettest at 6.3 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 58.4 inches over 70 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 44% of the year's precipitation (25.7 of 58.4 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 19 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (7); a normal September there has highs of 89°F and 3.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 97 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 36 nights a year. That 58.4 inches is more than at 24 of the 81 Louisiana stations used on this site (30%). Columbia, 20 miles west, has its own station (Columbia Lock, LA): 59.3 inches a year, 0.9 more than here, and the same July average high, 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57 | 37 | 5.6 | 7 |
| Feb | 62 | 40 | 5.4 | 6 |
| Mar | 69 | 47 | 5.3 | 7 |
| Apr | 77 | 55 | 6.3 | 6 |
| May | 85 | 64 | 4.6 | 6 |
| Jun | 91 | 71 | 4.2 | 6 |
| Jul | 93 | 73 | 4.5 | 6 |
| Aug | 94 | 72 | 4.3 | 5 |
| Sep | 89 | 66 | 3.6 | 4 |
| Oct | 80 | 54 | 4.7 | 5 |
| Nov | 68 | 45 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Dec | 60 | 39 | 5.5 | 7 |
| Year | 77 | 55 | 58.4 | 70 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Winnsboro 5 SSE, LA (80 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 Winnsboro
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 154 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Winnsboro: 126 thunderstorm wind reports, 23 flash floods, 3 lightning strikes and 2 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $82.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on June 16, 2023. April has had the most flash floods, 6 of 23. Of the 239 Louisiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 162 have had fewer than Winnsboro.
September 2, 2008: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Winnsboro — $63.0 million damage.
NWS: “Persistent heavy rains fell from the bands around weakening Hurricane Gustav. These slow moving bands produced tremendous rainfall amounts across nearly all of Franklin Parish.”
October 16, 2006: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Winnsboro — $10.4 million damage.
NWS: “Tremendous amounts of rain fell across Franklin Parish during the afternoon and evening of October 16th. Eight to fifteen inches of rain fell during this time causing significant flooding across the parish.”
October 19, 2006: flash flood in Winnsboro — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rains caused several roads in the parish to flood. Several homes were flooded on New Zion Road and off Highway 15 between Baskin and Winnsboro.”
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 Winnsboro's ZIP code 71295 have filed 247 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $4.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Gustav in 2008: 65 claims (26% of all) and $2.4 million, then Flooding in 1991 with 46 and Hurricane Delta in 2020 with 12. 51% 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, 113 have fewer than Winnsboro.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Gustav2008 | 65 | $2.4 million |
| Flooding1991 | 46 | $398,000 |
| Hurricane Delta2020 | 12 | $517,000 |
Franklin Parish, which includes Winnsboro, has been named in 42 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 24 of them major disasters (by incident: 18 hurricanes, 8 floods, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on February 18, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Franklin Parish a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.8 million a year, the 49th highest of 64 Louisiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.4 million (31%), 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 Winnsboro
- Wisner, LA15 mi
- Columbia, LA20 mi
- Rayville, LA21 mi
- Delhi, LA23 mi
- Grayson, LA27 mi
- Monroe, LA32 mi
- Olla, LA34 mi
- West Monroe, LA35 mi
- Ferriday, LA36 mi
- Tallulah, LA36 mi
- Jonesville, LA40 mi
- Eros, LA40 mi
All Louisiana cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Winnsboro with another place →