Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana

Parish storm and disaster record · FIPS 22053 · population 32,235 · 652 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 325 records for Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 263 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (137 records). The deadliest single record is the January 24, 2014 ice storm, filed for the forecast zone Jefferson Davis, which covers the county: 1 death. FEMA has issued 42 declarations naming the county since 1971, 40 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storm” on January 24, 2026.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $100,000
  • $100,000 or more
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more, or a death
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
  • 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
  • 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
Storm records
325on 263 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
239 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$1.6Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
50strongest F3
FEMA declarations
42latest 2026

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.

What hazards hit Jefferson Davis Parish most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 137 since 1964. The rank column places the county among Louisiana's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Jefferson Davis Parish: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Severe thunderstorm wind 137 124 1964-2026 1 8 $6.5M 37 of 64
Tornadoes 50 44 1952-2024 0 29 $160M 17 of 64
Hail 44 33 1983-2024 0 0 – 50 of 64
Floods 36 35 1996-2026 0 0 $102M 25 of 64
Winter storms 15 13 1997-2025 1 0 $1.9M 42 of 64
Hurricanes and tropical storms 10 10 1998-2020 0 0 $1.3B 29 of 64
Drought 9 8 1996-2023 0 0 $31M 48 of 64
Lightning 8 7 1997-2010 0 1 $726K 19 of 64
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds 6 5 2000-2025 0 1 $26K 18 of 64
High wind and dust storms 5 5 2000-2015 0 0 $129K 12 of 64
Heat 4 3 2000-2023 0 0 – 53 of 64
Extreme cold 1 1 2010-2010 0 0 – 56 of 64

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Jefferson Davis Parish had?

NOAA records 50 tornadoes in Jefferson Davis Parish from 1952 to 2024, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 29 injuries recorded in the county. That is 17th of 64 Louisiana counties and 216th of 3,080 U.S. counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 51 tornadoes whose track touched Jefferson Davis Parish since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 50: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 2 people, 0 of them in Jefferson Davis Parish.

The deadliest and strongest tornadoes that touched Jefferson Davis Parish, whole tracks
DateTornadoRatingPathKilled
1974-10-29 00:45, as SPC files itLake Arthur to MermentauF331.3 mi2
1952-04-04 02:00, as SPC files itJenningsF336.7 mi0

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Louisiana.

Every tornado record filed for Jefferson Davis Parish (50)
Every tornado recorded in Jefferson Davis Parish, newest first
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2024-05-02 Welsh Airport, Jefferson Davis Parish EFU 0.01 mi x 1 yd 0 0 –
2024-04-10 Lacassine, Jefferson Davis Parish EF1 6.62 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $188K
2021-05-17 Jennings Airport, Jefferson Davis Parish EF0 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2021-05-17 Lacassine, Jefferson Davis Parish EF0 0.01 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2019-06-19 Hathaway, Jefferson Davis Parish EF0 0.01 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2019-06-06 Lake Arthur, Jefferson Davis Parish EF1 0.75 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $35K
2019-06-06 Jennings Airport, Jefferson Davis Parish EF1 0.45 mi x 311 yd 0 0 $29K
2019-06-05 Roanoke, Jefferson Davis Parish EF1 1.57 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $12K
2016-02-15 Niblett, Jefferson Davis Parish EF0 0.78 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2014-06-27 Thronwell Lyon Airport, Jefferson Davis Parish EF0 4.62 mi x 300 yd 0 0 $12K
2012-03-21 Lake Arthur, Jefferson Davis Parish EF1 3.92 mi x 40 yd 0 0 $3.9M
2011-03-05 Roanoke, Jefferson Davis Parish EF0 2.73 mi x 25 yd 0 0 $13K
2011-03-05 Niblett, Jefferson Davis Parish EF0 4.82 mi x 25 yd 0 0 $13K
2010-11-25 Jennings, Jefferson Davis Parish EF0 2.78 mi x 75 yd 0 0 $203K
2009-10-22 Elton, Jefferson Davis Parish EF1 3.78 mi x 500 yd 0 0 $825K
2009-10-22 Roanoke, Jefferson Davis Parish EF1 16.22 mi x 800 yd 0 1 $344K
2009-10-22 Lake Arthur Lake, Jefferson Davis Parish EF0 8.05 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $28K
2004-11-22 Fenton, Jefferson Davis Parish F0 1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $39K
2004-11-01 Welsh, Jefferson Davis Parish F0 0.5 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $39K
2000-04-03 Panchoville, Jefferson Davis Parish F0 2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $69K
2000-04-03 Hathaway, Jefferson Davis Parish F1 3 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $428K
1999-01-02 Jennings, Jefferson Davis Parish F1 1 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $177K
1998-09-11 Lake Arthur, Jefferson Davis Parish F1 1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $136K
1997-10-23 Fenton, Jefferson Davis Parish F0 5 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $46K
1992-06-03 Jefferson Davis Parish F1 0.1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $25K step
1992-04-24 Jefferson Davis Parish F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
1991-05-08 Jefferson Davis Parish F0 0.1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $25K step
1990-03-29 Jefferson Davis Parish F1 0.3 mi x 23 yd 0 0 $25K step
1989-05-05 Jefferson Davis Parish F1 0.4 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $3K step
1988-10-26 Jefferson Davis Parish F1 0.5 mi x 40 yd 0 0 $25K step
1987-11-16 Jefferson Davis Parish F0 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $25K step
1982-09-11 Jefferson Davis Parish F2 1 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $25K step
1976-03-24 Jefferson Davis Parish F2 0.5 mi x 27 yd 0 0 $25K step
1975-05-08 Jefferson Davis Parish F2 1 mi x 100 yd 0 2 $250 step
1975-04-30 Jefferson Davis Parish F1 0 0 $3K step
1975-01-10 Jefferson Davis Parish F1 3.3 mi x 33 yd 0 0 –
1974-10-29 Jefferson Davis Parish F3 4.9 mi x 200 yd 0 12 $25M step
1972-03-15 Jefferson Davis Parish F1 0.2 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $250 step
1971-05-11 Jefferson Davis Parish F2 0.3 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $3K step
1969-07-14 Jefferson Davis Parish F1 0.5 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $3K step
1967-04-19 Jefferson Davis Parish F0 0.5 mi x 67 yd 0 0 $3K step
1966-02-10 Jefferson Davis Parish F2 0.2 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $250 step
1965-07-12 Jefferson Davis Parish F0 0.5 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $250 step
1965-01-22 Jefferson Davis Parish F1 1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $3K step
1960-04-29 Jefferson Davis Parish F2 13.8 mi x 1,667 yd 0 4 $25K step
1959-08-16 Jefferson Davis Parish F0 0.1 mi x 67 yd 0 0 $250 step
1957-03-31 Jefferson Davis Parish F2 10.6 mi x 267 yd 0 0 $25K step
1954-04-09 Jefferson Davis Parish F0 22.9 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $30 step
1954-04-08 Jefferson Davis Parish F0 1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $30 step
1952-04-04 Jefferson Davis Parish F3 16.5 mi x 100 yd 0 10 $250K step

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Jefferson Davis Parish?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 21, 2026 flash flood ($10,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The 12 most recent records kept for Jefferson Davis Parish
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-21 Flash FloodPine Is, Jefferson Davis Parish 0 0 $10K
2026-02-14 Thunderstorm WindLake Arthur, Jefferson Davis Parish 50 kt wind 0 0 –
2025-09-17 Thunderstorm WindLacassine, Jefferson Davis Parish 50 kt wind 0 0 $3K
2025-08-14 Funnel CloudNiblett, Jefferson Davis Parish 0 0 –
2025-07-30 Thunderstorm WindWoodlawn, Jefferson Davis Parish 50 kt wind 0 0 –
2025-05-27 Thunderstorm WindPine Is, Jefferson Davis Parish 50 kt wind 0 0 $1K
2025-05-07 Flash FloodJennings Airport, Jefferson Davis Parish 0 0 –
2025-03-29 Flash FloodJennings, Jefferson Davis Parish 0 0 –
2025-01-21 Winter StormJefferson Davis Parish · forecast zone Northern Jefferson Davis Parish 0 0 –
2025-01-21 Winter StormJefferson Davis Parish · forecast zone Southern Jefferson Davis Parish 0 0 –
2024-05-12 HailJennings Airport, Jefferson Davis Parish 2.25 in hail 0 0 –
2024-05-12 HailJennings Airport, Jefferson Davis Parish 2.00 in hail 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Records with deaths or injuries in Jefferson Davis Parish, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2014-01-24 Ice StormJefferson Davis Parish · forecast zone Jefferson Davis Light freezing rain and a few flurries began very early on the 24th with bridges and overpasses becoming iced over a few hours later. One traffic accident became fatal in Welsh from slippery roads. All bridges were closed by around 8AM and remained closed for most of the day. Ice accumulation across the parish ranged ... 1 0 –
1984-10-20 Thunderstorm WindJefferson Davis Parish 1 0 –
1974-10-29 TornadoJefferson Davis Parish F3 4.9 mi x 200 yd 0 12 $25M step
1952-04-04 TornadoJefferson Davis Parish F3 16.5 mi x 100 yd 0 10 $250K step
1960-04-29 TornadoJefferson Davis Parish F2 13.8 mi x 1,667 yd 0 4 $25K step
1998-02-26 Thunderstorm WindLacassine, Jefferson Davis Parish Three mobile homes and three barns were completely destroyed on Pousson Road, half way between Lacassine and Iowa. Five homes had roof damage. Several power poles were bent. At least two vehicles were completely destroyed. Winds were estimated to be between 80 and 100 mph. An elderly couple was injured when they tried ... 0 3 $362K
1998-02-26 Thunderstorm WindLacassine, Jefferson Davis Parish One mobile home was destroyed, twenty homes received roof damage, numerous trees and power lines were blown down, blocking roads, and a rice dryer was severely damaged in the town of Lacassine. On Interstate 10, three tractor trailer trucks were blown off the road, slightly injuring the drivers.Across Jeff Davis ... 0 3 $543K
1985-05-21 Thunderstorm WindJefferson Davis Parish 0 2 –

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

The costliest records in Jefferson Davis Parish since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2020-08-26 Hurricane (Typhoon)Jefferson Davis Parish · forecast zone Jefferson Davis 0 0 $912M
2020-10-09 Hurricane (Typhoon)Jefferson Davis Parish · forecast zone Jefferson Davis 0 0 $342M
2016-08-14 FloodThronwell Lyon Airport, Jefferson Davis Parish 0 0 $61M
2008-09-12 Tropical StormJefferson Davis Parish · forecast zone Jefferson Davis 0 0 $44M
2002-10-03 Hurricane (Typhoon)Jefferson Davis Parish · forecast zone Jefferson Davis 0 0 $41M
2000-12-01 DroughtJefferson Davis Parish · forecast zone Jefferson Davis 0 0 $21M
2013-01-10 FloodLake Arthur, Jefferson Davis Parish 0 0 $21M
2016-08-13 Flash FloodEdna, Jefferson Davis Parish 0 0 $18M

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $25M, in the dollars of the day) holds: October 29, 1974 (tornado, Jefferson Davis Parish).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Jefferson Davis Parish's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Jefferson Davis Parish: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Severe thunderstorm wind0382623441914
Tornadoes567477104
Hail00031210145
Floods––––69147
Winter storms––––1275
Hurricanes and tropical storms––––1522

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

Records by month in Jefferson Davis Parish. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 31 · Feb 29 · Mar 35 · Apr 40 · May 40 · Jun 31 · Jul 19 · Aug 33 · Sep 16 · Oct 24 · Nov 14 · Dec 13 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Jefferson Davis Parish

FEMA's register lists 42 declarations that include Jefferson Davis Parish: 22 major disasters, 19 emergencies and one fire management assistance declaration. Most were for hurricane (25) and severe storm (4).

Declarations including Jefferson Davis Parish, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2026-01-24EM-3638Winter StormSevere Winter Storm
2024-09-10EM-3614HurricaneTropical Storm Francine
2021-09-13EM-3574Coastal StormTropical Storm Nicholas
2021-08-29DR-4611HurricaneHurricane Ida
2021-08-27EM-3568HurricaneTropical Storm Ida
2021-03-09DR-4590Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storms
2021-02-18EM-3556Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
2021-01-12DR-4577HurricaneHurricane Zeta
2020-10-27EM-3549HurricaneTropical Storm Zeta
2020-10-16DR-4570HurricaneHurricane Delta
2020-10-07EM-3547HurricaneHurricane Delta
2020-09-14EM-3543HurricaneHurricane Sally
2020-08-28DR-4559HurricaneHurricane Laura
2020-08-23EM-3538HurricaneTropical Storms Laura and Marco
2020-06-07EM-3527Coastal StormTropical Storm Cristobal
2020-03-24DR-4484BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3459BiologicalCovid-19
2019-07-11EM-3416Coastal StormTropical Storm Barry
2017-10-16DR-4345HurricaneTropical Storm Harvey
2017-08-28EM-3382HurricaneTropical Storm Harvey
2016-08-14DR-4277FloodSevere Storms and Flooding
2013-02-22DR-4102Severe StormSevere Storms and Flooding
2012-08-29DR-4080HurricaneHurricane Isaac
2012-08-27EM-3347HurricaneTropical Storm Isaac
2008-09-13DR-1792HurricaneHurricane Ike
2008-09-11EM-3295HurricaneHurricane Ike
2008-09-02DR-1786HurricaneHurricane Gustav
2008-08-29EM-3289HurricaneHurricane Gustav
2006-11-02DR-1668Severe StormSevere Storms and Flooding
2005-09-24DR-1607HurricaneHurricane Rita
2005-09-21EM-3260HurricaneHurricane Rita
2005-08-29DR-1603HurricaneHurricane Katrina
2005-08-27EM-3212HurricaneHurricane Katrina
2004-06-08DR-1521Severe StormSevere Storms and Flooding
2002-10-03DR-1437HurricaneHurricane Lili
2000-09-11FM-2337FireLa-Western Louisiana Fire Complex-9/8/00
1997-03-18DR-1169Severe StormSevere Winter Storm
1992-08-26DR-956HurricaneHurricane Andrew
1989-07-17DR-835FloodTropical Storm Allison
1980-05-21DR-622FloodSevere Storms & Flooding

The 40 most recent of 42 are listed; the CSV has every one.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Jefferson Davis Parish had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 36 flood or flash flood records for Jefferson Davis Parish from 1996 to 2026, on 35 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Jefferson Davis Parish ranks 719th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

Named storms on Jefferson Davis Parish's flood and tropical record
StormBeganRecordsDeaths in the county
Hurricane Delta2020-10-0910
Hurricane Laura2020-08-2610
Hurricane Gustav2008-09-0130
Hurricane Rita2005-09-2310
Hurricane Lili2002-10-0310
Hurricane Georges1998-09-0910

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $6.2 million on 313 claims filed in Jefferson Davis Parish; the most in one year was 97 in 2016. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1979: 1 · 1980: 21 · 1981: 1 · 1982: 2 · 1983: 4 · 1984: 1 · 1985: 9 · 1987: 1 · 1989: 5 · 1991: 2 · 1992: 1 · 1995: 3 · 1996: 2 · 1998: 8 · 1999: 1 · 2001: 4 · 2002: 10 · 2003: 3 · 2004: 10 · 2005: 20 · 2006: 7 · 2008: 2 · 2011: 2 · 2013: 12 · 2014: 5 · 2016: 97 · 2017: 23 · 2018: 1 · 2019: 7 · 2020: 43 · 2021: 4 · 2022: 1; the other years: 0.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Jefferson Davis Parish

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jefferson Davis Parish Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $27.7 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

National Risk Index ratings for Jefferson Davis Parish (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
DroughtRelatively High$1.8M27 modeled event-days a year
LightningRelatively High$934K80 a year (modeled)
HurricaneRelatively Moderate$10Monce in about 7 years (modeled)
TornadoRelatively Moderate$2.7Monce in about 2 years (modeled)
Ice StormRelatively Moderate$221Konce in about 2 years (modeled)
WildfireRelatively Low$124Konce in about 748 years (modeled)
Riverine FloodingRelatively Low$9.7M1 a year (modeled)
Cold WaveRelatively Low$1.2M1.1 a year (modeled)

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Jefferson Davis Parish

  1. Calcasieu Parish 1,039
  2. Cameron Parish 570
  3. Beauregard Parish 499
  4. Acadia Parish 414
  5. Vermilion Parish 397
  6. Allen Parish 338
  7. Jefferson Davis Parish 325
  8. Evangeline Parish 276

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

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