PlainHazard

Louisiana heat

Every recorded heat record since 1996 · 64 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 2,491 heat records in Louisiana from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 118 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the June 1, 1998 heat in Caddo Parish: 9 deaths across 2 records. Louisiana ranks 9th of 51 states and territories by count and 7th of 50 per square mile.

Heat in Louisiana, 1996 to 2026

Heat records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
2,4911996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
118average
Deaths
684 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$159Kas filed
Busiest year
20231,081 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are heat records common in Louisiana?

Louisiana averages about 118 heat records a year since 2000, 9th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2023 (1,081). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Louisiana records 576 heat records since 1996, 7th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. New Jersey 2320
  2. 2. Delaware 1555
  3. 3. Maryland 1330
  4. 4. Oklahoma 685
  5. 5. Illinois 590
  6. 6. Mississippi 584
  7. 7. Louisiana 576
  8. 8. Missouri 547
  9. 9. Tennessee 540
  10. 10. Puerto Rico 537

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 heat records?

Per square mile, Red River Parish leads Louisiana: 87 days with a heat record since 1996, 223.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Bossier Parish has the most heat records (108 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. Red River Parish 223.7 (89)
  2. Lincoln Parish 180.2 (86)
  3. Caldwell Parish 162.3 (87)
  4. Orleans Parish 153.4 (54)
  5. Jackson Parish 151.0 (87)
  6. Ouachita Parish 150.7 (93)
  7. Webster Parish 146.6 (88)
  8. LaSalle Parish 136.0 (85)
  9. Grant Parish 132.0 (85)
  10. West Baton Rouge Parish 124.8 (24)
  11. Bossier Parish 123.9 (108)
  12. Caddo Parish 116.0 (104)

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 heat season in Louisiana?

86% of its heat records since 1996 fell in July and August. The busiest month is August (1,294 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 0 · Apr 0 · May 4 · Jun 215 · Jul 854 · Aug 1,294 · Sep 124 · Oct 0 · Nov 0 · Dec 0 (records).

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

What were the deadliest heat records in Louisiana?

Louisiana: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1998-06-01 HeatCaddo Parish · forecast zone Caddo One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. June 1998 suffered prolonged and excessively high temperatures throughout the month making it the 3rd hottest on record. The average monthly temperature was 84.9 degrees Fahrenheit (F) which was 5.5 degrees above normal. This was beat only by 85.8 degrees F. in 1881 and 85.4 degrees F in 1875. The average maximum ... 9 0 –
1998-07-01 HeatCaddo Parish · forecast zone Caddo July started off where June ended. Another month for the record book concerning the excessive heat wave of 1998. The average temperature was 88.5 degrees or the warmest July on record and the warmest month on record for any year. The previous record was 87.9 degrees in July 1984. Shreveport also set a record for the ... 6 0 –
2000-07-14 HeatCaddo Parish · forecast zone Caddo 5 0 –
2011-08-16 Excessive HeatOuachita Parish · forecast zone Ouachita Excessive heat claimed the life of a 75 year old woman and her disabled son. Investigators determined that the two likely perished because of the heat from earlier in the week. Police said that the air conditioning was not working in their home. 2 0 –
2010-08-16 Excessive HeatBossier Parish · forecast zone Bossier One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. A large ridge of high pressure both at the surface and aloft allowed for excessively hot temperatures across northwest Louisiana through much of August. Daily afternoon temperatures often climbed above 100 degrees with heat index values climbing between 105 to 110 degrees in the afternoon. 2 0 –
1998-07-01 HeatBossier Parish · forecast zone Bossier July started off where June ended as yet another month for the record book with excessive heat. A total of 27 days were 100 degrees or higher and 5 days reached 105 degrees or higher. 2 0 –
1998-05-18 HeatBossier Parish · forecast zone Bossier One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. A woman working as a seamstress in her apartment in Bossier City, LA, was found dead. The death was determined by the county coroner as heat related. 2 0 –
2000-07-18 HeatLincoln Parish and Union Parish · forecast zone Lincoln 2 0 –
2012-09-03 HeatJefferson Parish · forecast zone Upper Jefferson During a widespread power outage in the wake of Hurricane Isaac, several reports of heat exhaustion were reported, including one fatality from heat stroke. 1 1 –
2012-06-25 Excessive HeatLafayette Parish · forecast zone Lafayette An 11 month old baby was left in a car for multiple hours resulting in death from over heating. 1 0 –

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 heat 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.

Heat: Louisiana and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeLouisianaUnited StatesLouisiana's share
1996-99134,3550.3%
2000s779,1630.8%
2010s50216,4453.1%
2020-261,89926,7967.1%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent heat records in Louisiana

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-08-19 HeatCaldwell Parish · forecast zone Caldwell 0 0 –
2025-08-19 HeatJackson Parish · forecast zone Jackson 0 0 –
2025-08-19 HeatOuachita Parish · forecast zone Ouachita 0 0 –
2025-08-19 HeatUnion Parish · forecast zone Union 0 0 –
2025-08-19 HeatLincoln Parish · forecast zone Lincoln 0 0 –
2025-08-19 HeatClaiborne Parish · forecast zone Claiborne 0 0 –
2025-08-19 HeatWebster Parish · forecast zone Webster 0 0 –
2025-08-19 HeatBienville Parish · forecast zone Bienville 0 0 –
2025-08-19 HeatRed River Parish · forecast zone Red River 0 0 –
2025-08-19 HeatDe Soto Parish · forecast zone De Soto 0 0 –
2025-08-19 HeatBossier Parish · forecast zone Bossier 0 0 –
2025-08-19 HeatCaddo Parish · forecast zone Caddo 0 0 –

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.

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