PlainHazard

Louisiana winter storms

Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 64 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,092 winter storm records in Louisiana from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 47 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 21, 2025 heavy snow: 7 deaths across 36 records. Louisiana ranks 46th of 51 states and territories by count and 44th of 50 per square mile.

Winter storms in Louisiana, 1996 to 2026

Winter storm 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
1,0921996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
47average
Deaths
2824 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$274Mas filed
Busiest year
2014148 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 winter storm records common in Louisiana?

Louisiana averages about 47 winter storm records a year since 2000, 46th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2014 (148). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Louisiana records 253 winter storm records since 1996, 44th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. New Jersey 6978
  2. 2. Rhode Island 5852
  3. 3. Vermont 5162
  4. 4. Maryland 4709
  5. 5. Massachusetts 3882
  6. 6. Delaware 3274
  7. 7. Connecticut 3017
  8. 8. West Virginia 2970
  9. 9. New Hampshire 2917
  10. 10. New York 2855
  11. 44. Louisiana 253

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 winter storm records?

Per square mile, West Carroll Parish leads Louisiana: 23 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 63.9 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Union Parish has the most winter storm records (41 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. West Carroll Parish 63.9 (23)
  2. Red River Parish 59.1 (23)
  3. Lafayette Parish 55.8 (15)
  4. Lincoln Parish 55.1 (26)
  5. West Baton Rouge Parish 52.0 (10)
  6. East Carroll Parish 49.9 (21)
  7. Webster Parish 47.2 (28)
  8. Ouachita Parish 45.9 (28)
  9. Caldwell Parish 45.3 (24)
  10. Jackson Parish 42.1 (24)
  11. Claiborne Parish 39.7 (31)
  12. St. John the Baptist Parish 37.3 (8)

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 winter storm season in Louisiana?

74% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (472 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 472 · Feb 338 · Mar 69 · Apr 8 · May 0 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 0 · Nov 11 · Dec 194 (records).

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

What were the deadliest winter storm records in Louisiana?

Louisiana: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-01-21 Heavy SnowOrleans Parish · forecast zone Eastern Orleans Parish One storm episode: 36 records in 22 places; the totals are the episode's. A historically significant snowfall event impacted southeast Louisiana beginning in the early morning hours of January 21st. In contrast to most regional snow events over the past century, which typically affect only limited portions of the area and result in accumulations of just a few inches, this event was ... 7 0 –
2021-02-14 Winter StormAvoyelles Parish · forecast zone Avoyelles One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places, 2021-02-14 to 2021-02-15; the totals are the episode's. The first in a series of Arctic Cold Fronts arrived during the 12th pushing tide levels down along the coast, however the subfreezing temperatures and winter weather did not arrive until the 14th. The event on the 14th began at many places as a light glaze of freezing rain, but quickly changed over to sleet or snow. ... 5 0 –
2018-01-17 Winter WeatherJefferson Parish · forecast zone Upper Jefferson One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong arctic cold front moved through southern Mississippi and southeast Louisiana during the afternoon hours of the 16th. The cold air behind the front changed the precipitation from rain to freezing rain and snow across portions of the area to the north of Interstate 10. After the precipitation ended, roads ... 3 1 –
1997-01-12 Ice StormBeauregard Parish · forecast zone Beauregard One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. A record ice storm hit southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas. The hardest hit area was Calcasieu Parish. Over 40,000 electric customers were without power for up to six days due to the number of downed trees and power lines. Numerous traffic accidents were attributed to icy roadways. One 54 year old woman was killed ... 2 15 $22M
2011-01-09 Winter StormLincoln Parish and Union Parish · forecast zone Lincoln One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A significant winter storm affected the northern half of Northwest and North Central Louisiana on Sunday, January 9th. This storm system moved out of the Texas Hill Country late on January 8th and moved into the Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley during the day Sunday, January 9th. An area of low pressure at ... 2 2 –
2014-01-23 Ice StormCalcasieu Parish · forecast zone Calcasieu One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places, 2014-01-23 to 2014-01-24; the totals are the episode's. A cold air mass plunged south to the gulf coast while an upper level disturbance moved across the region. Rain, snow, and sleet moved into the region during the late afternoon of the 23rd and gradually turned to all snow across Central Louisiana. Farther south along highway 190 and Interstate 10 sleet and freezing was ... 2 0 –
2000-12-12 Ice StormCaddo Parish · forecast zone Caddo An artic airmass spilled southward out of the central plains and into the lower Mississippi Valley. This cold surface airmass was overrun by a warm and humid airmass which combined with a strong upper level storm system across west Texas. The result was widespread freezing rain. Ice accumulations on average of one ... 1 1 $46M
2000-12-13 Ice StormCaddo Parish · forecast zone Caddo Two men checking gas meters when ice laden limb fell on them. 1 1 –
2011-02-03 Ice StormIberville Parish · forecast zone Iberville Icing on Interstate 10 near Ramah led to a multi-car traffic accident that temporarily closed the Interstate, and caused one fatality. Light icing was also observed on bridges in Grosse Tete. 1 0 –
1996-02-03 Ice StormCaddo Parish · forecast zone Caddo Freezing rain, sleet and snow accumulation on roadways contributed to three dozen accidents in just under three hours time. Snow and ice accumulations of snow were as high as two inches in some places. 1 0 $28K

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.

The costliest winter storm records in Louisiana

Louisiana: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2000-12-24 Ice StormCaddo Parish · forecast zone Caddo 0 0 $182M
2000-12-12 Ice StormCaddo Parish · forecast zone Caddo 1 1 $46M
1997-01-12 Ice StormBeauregard Parish · forecast zone Beauregard One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. 2 15 $22M
1998-12-22 Ice StormMorehouse Parish · forecast zone Morehouse One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $6.3M
2011-02-03 Ice StormFranklin Parish · forecast zone Franklin One storm episode: 9 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $2.9M
2011-02-03 Ice StormRapides Parish · forecast zone Rapides One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $2.0M
2010-02-11 Heavy SnowFranklin Parish · forecast zone Franklin One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $1.9M
1998-12-22 Ice StormBienville Parish · forecast zone Bienville 1 0 $1.8M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are winter storm 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.

Winter storms: Louisiana and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeLouisianaUnited StatesLouisiana's share
1996-997532,8930.23%
2000s19488,8050.22%
2010s522103,6260.50%
2020-2630162,0150.49%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent winter storm records in Louisiana

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-01-25 Winter WeatherWest Feliciana Parish · forecast zone West Feliciana 0 0 –
2026-01-25 Winter WeatherPointe Coupee Parish · forecast zone Pointe Coupee 0 0 –
2026-01-25 Ice StormTensas Parish · forecast zone Tensas 0 0 –
2026-01-25 Ice StormConcordia Parish · forecast zone Concordia 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Winter StormWest Carroll Parish · forecast zone West Carroll 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Ice StormMadison Parish · forecast zone Madison 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Ice StormRichland Parish · forecast zone Richland 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Ice StormFranklin Parish · forecast zone Franklin 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Ice StormEast Carroll Parish · forecast zone East Carroll 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Ice StormCatahoula Parish · forecast zone Catahoula 0 0 –
2026-01-24 SleetMorehouse Parish · forecast zone Morehouse 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Winter StormWinn Parish · forecast zone Winn 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.

Federal disaster declarations for winter storm records in Louisiana

FEMA has declared 10 disasters in Louisiana for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 7 were major disasters, the latest on February 18, 2026.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
2026-02-18DR-4900Severe Winter Storm18
2026-01-24EM-3638Severe Winter Storm64
2021-03-09DR-4590Severe Winter Storms64
2021-02-18EM-3556Severe Winter Storm64
2001-01-12DR-1357Severe Winter Ice Storm8
2000-02-15DR-1314Severe Winter Storm8
1999-01-21DR-1264Severe Ice Storm18
1997-03-18DR-1169Severe Winter Storm3
1994-02-28DR-1012Severe Winter Ice Storm8
1977-02-22EM-3031Drought & Freezing34

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

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