Louisiana rip currents and high surf

Are rip current and surf records common in Louisiana?

Louisiana averages about 13 rip current and surf records a year since 2000, 5th of 34 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2026 (61). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Louisiana records 64 rip current and surf records since 1996, 7th of 34 states and territories by that measure.

1. 1. Hawaii 14482
2. 2. New Jersey 647
3. 3. Puerto Rico 640
4. 4. Delaware 636
5. 5. Florida 158
6. 6. Rhode Island 97
7. 7. Louisiana 64
8. 8. California 44
9. 9. South Carolina 41
10. 10. North Carolina 37

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Louisiana have the most rip current and surf records?

Per square mile, Cameron Parish leads Louisiana: 87 days with a rip current or surf record since 1996, 67.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Cameron Parish has the most surf records (165 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

1. Cameron Parish 67.7 (165)
2. Vermilion Parish 56.3 (68)
3. St. Mary Parish 46.6 (27)
4. Iberia Parish 15.7 (9)
5. Jefferson Parish 10.0 (3)
6. Calcasieu Parish 3.8 (4)
7. Lafourche Parish 0.9 (1)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is the surf season in Louisiana?

60% of its rip current and surf records since 1996 fell in December and January. The busiest month is January (106 records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest rip current and surf records in Louisiana?

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

Are rip current and surf records becoming more frequent in Louisiana?

Louisiana's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent rip current and surf records in Louisiana

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Federal disaster declarations for rip current and surf records in Louisiana

FEMA has declared 5 disasters in Louisiana for rip current and surf, counting its incident type and declarations that name the hazard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 2 were major disasters, the latest on September 13, 2021.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Next

• Cameron Parish: the county's whole recordThe Louisiana county with the most rip current and surf records per square mile
• Rip currents and high surf across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
• Every natural hazard in LouisianaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
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