Jefferson Parish, Louisiana

What hazards hit Jefferson Parish most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 227 since 1956. 44% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1956 fell in April and May. 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.

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 Parish had?

NOAA records 66 tornadoes in Jefferson Parish from 1950 to 2026, the strongest rated EF2, with 4 deaths and 75 injuries recorded in the county. That is 1st of 64 Louisiana counties and 3rd 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 70 tornadoes whose track touched Jefferson Parish since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 66: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 5 people, 4 of them in Jefferson Parish.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Louisiana.

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 Parish?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 18, 2026 tornado ($65,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

An EF1 tornado touched down on the east bank of the MS River snapping and uprooting trees and breaking power poles near Jefferson Highway and Airline Highway. Empty rail cars were also derailed just to the south of Airline Highway. This tornado exited Jefferson Parish Parish, entering Orleans Parish near the intersection of Bamboo Road and Palmetto Street.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1346239)

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

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: 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 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).

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

What time of year?

44% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1956 fell in April and May. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Jefferson Parish

FEMA's register lists 50 declarations that include Jefferson Parish: 31 major disasters, 19 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (29) and coastal storm (5).

The 40 most recent of 50 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 Parish had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 111 flood or flash flood records for Jefferson Parish from 1996 to 2026, on 77 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Jefferson Parish ranks 2nd of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $3.6 billion on 135,664 claims filed in Jefferson Parish; the most in one year was 65,911 in 2005. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

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 Parish

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jefferson Parish Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $371 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.

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

Counties that share a border with Jefferson Parish

1. St. Tammany Parish 932
2. Jefferson Parish 768
3. Orleans Parish 628
4. Lafourche Parish 434
5. Plaquemines Parish 384
6. St. Charles Parish 365
7. St. John the Baptist Parish 194

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

Next

• Tornadoes in LouisianaEvery Louisiana tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in LouisianaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The Louisiana recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Jefferson ParishThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Jefferson Parish's FEMA declarations (CSV)50 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis