St. James Parish, Louisiana

What hazards hit St. James Parish most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 45 since 1979. 40% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1979 fell in May and June. 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. James Parish had?

NOAA records 12 tornadoes in St. James Parish from 2002 to 2026, the strongest rated EF2, with 3 deaths and 75 injuries recorded in the county. That is 31st of 64 Louisiana 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 10 tornadoes whose track touched St. James Parish since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 12: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 3 people.

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. James Parish?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 11, 2026 tornado ($5,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

A brief, weak EF-0 tornado touched down in the community of Paulina, LA causing minor uplift of shingles on two homes. The tornado tracked north-northeast from Lena Street to Angelle Street at around 8 miles per hour before it was estimated to have lifted. This damage was collocated with a tight tornado vortex signature visible on TMSY doppler radar. No additional damage was identified via reports or aerial imagery. Time estimated by radar.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1343494)

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. James 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?

40% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1979 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for St. James Parish

FEMA's register lists 44 declarations that include St. James Parish: 25 major disasters, 19 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (27) and flood (5).

The 40 most recent of 44 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. James Parish had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 20 flood or flash flood records for St. James Parish from 1996 to 2024, on 19 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), St. James Parish ranks 682nd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $7.5 million on 342 claims filed in St. James Parish; the most in one year was 73 in 2014. 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. James Parish

FEMA's National Risk Index rates St. James Parish Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $22.9 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. James Parish

1. Lafourche Parish 434
2. Ascension Parish 315
3. St. John the Baptist Parish 194
4. Assumption Parish 164
5. St. James Parish 159

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 St. James ParishThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download St. James Parish's FEMA declarations (CSV)44 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis