St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana

What hazards hit St. Bernard Parish most?

The most frequent records are hurricane and tropical storm records: 117 since 1997. 59% of its hurricane and tropical storm records since 1997 fell in August and September. 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 St. Bernard Parish had?

NOAA records 16 tornadoes in St. Bernard Parish from 1983 to 2026, the strongest rated EF3, with 2 deaths and 6 injuries recorded in the county. 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 16 tornadoes whose track touched St. Bernard Parish since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 16, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person, 2 of them in St. Bernard 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 St. Bernard Parish?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 19, 2026 tornado ($100,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

An EF0 tornado with winds of 85 MPH tracked north to south across Arabi, LA in St. Bernard Parish. This was confirmed via eyewitness videos, along with debris thrown to the SE and convergent debris in that direction. Almost all of the damage was shingles off well built homes, fence damage and large branches down. Three houses had a good part of their roof removed. Two were older houses, one built in the 50s. One house had a car port attached to the roof which is where the failure occurred. The third was abandoned and neighbors confirmed it also had extensive termite damage. That and rot was observed on the roof. Given that well built homes had minor damage and the damage on the three houses were from older roofs, the rating is an 85 MPH EF0.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1352368)

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

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 St. Bernard 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?

59% of its hurricane and tropical storm records since 1997 fell in August and September. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for St. Bernard Parish

FEMA's register lists 48 declarations that include St. Bernard Parish: 29 major disasters, 19 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (30) and coastal storm (5).

The 40 most recent of 48 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 St. Bernard Parish had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 28 flood or flash flood records for St. Bernard Parish from 1996 to 2025, on 25 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), St. Bernard Parish ranks 15th of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $2.2 billion on 23,919 claims filed in St. Bernard Parish; the most in one year was 16,719 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 St. Bernard Parish

FEMA's National Risk Index rates St. Bernard Parish Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $34.7 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.

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

Counties that share a border with St. Bernard Parish

1. St. Tammany Parish 932
2. Harrison County, MS 697
3. Orleans Parish 628
4. Hancock County, MS 455
5. Plaquemines Parish 384
6. St. Bernard Parish 339

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
• Hurricanes and tropical storms in LouisianaThe state's hurricane and tropical storm records, 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 St. Bernard ParishThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download St. Bernard Parish's FEMA declarations (CSV)48 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis