Morgan City

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for St. Mary Parish, the county that contains Morgan City.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in St. Mary Parish, the county that contains Morgan City.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

High tide flooding

Tide gauges in St. Mary Parish.

Other tide gauges here: LAWMA, Amerada Pass (record 30 days, 2020).

1. High tide flooding days are days on which a NOAA tide gauge recorded water at or above NOAA's minor flood threshold, set from the gauge's tide range, counted by meteorological year (May to April). These are the counts in NOAA's annual high tide flooding reports; they are not National Weather Service flood stages. Years with less than 80 percent of data are left out.

NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, through April 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for St. Mary Parish, the county that contains Morgan City.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 1, 2008Hurricane (Typhoon), St. Mary$150 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Gustav moved across St. Mary Parish, damaging thousands of homes and businesses. Hardest hit areas were the Morgan City and Patterson areas.In Morgan City, the water plant, steam plant, and electric plant were damaged. In Franklin an elementary school lost part of the roof. While the wind damage was severe, it was not as bad as Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

2. Sep 12, 2008Storm Surge/Tide, St. Mary$75.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Ike resulted in a 7-9 foot storm surge, similar to Hurricane Rita in 2005. At Cypremort Point, homes and camps not elevated were severely damaged. Water was 3 to 6 feet deep across the road. A man-made levee along the Franklin Canal failed in Franklin, flooding hundreds of homes and a nursing home. Parish-wide, over 450 homes were flooded.

3. Oct 9, 2020Hurricane (Typhoon), St. Mary$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind gusts to hurricane force in the west portions of the parish caused damage to homes at Cypremort Point. Strong wind gusts in the east sections downed trees and power lines. Surge at Cypremort Point reached a height of 7.93 feet MHHW and 5.74 feet MHHW at Amerada Pass.

4. Aug 14, 2016Flood$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding along Bayou Teche occurred from around Breaux Bridge southward into Saint Mary Parish. In Saint Mary Parish flooding was mainly confined to the northwest section of the parish along the bayou. Some roadways and structures remained flooded for multiple days as the water slowly drained toward the gulf and the Atchafalaya River.

5. Oct 3, 2002Hurricane (Typhoon), St. Mary$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Lili made landfall the morning of October 3rd near Intracoastal City in Vermilion Parish as a category one hurricane. Over 48,000 claims were filed with FEMA by homeowners who received damage. along the path of Lili, from southwest Louisiana into central Louisiana. Only 3 injuries were reported. One injury in Evangeline Parish at Ville Platte occurred when a policeman on patrol had a tree fall on his vehicle, trapping him inside. He received minor injuries and was treated and released from a local hospital. The other two injuries occurred in Acadia Parish. Two Rayne city employees were moving vehicles to a safer location when a brick facade at the water plant fell on…

6. Aug 26, 2020Tropical Storm, St. Mary$12.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   There was a voluntary evacuation for the parish. Many trees and power lines were blown down across the parish. Homes and businesses were damaged from trees falling on them or wind. Property south of the intracoastal waterway was flooded by the storm surge. Over 50 percent of the parish was without power immediately after the storm. Wind gusts ranged from 40 to 70 mph. Storm surge reached 9.45 NAVD88 at Cypremort Point.

7. Sep 23, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), St. Mary$11.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Rita made landfall around 230 am on September 24th in Cameron Parish near Johnson Bayou as a category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 120 mph. Wind gusts over 110 mph were recorded in Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes. This resulted in numerous trees and power lines downed. In parts of Beauregard, Jeff Davis, and Vermilion Parishes, winds blew over 90 mph. The remainder of southwest Louisiana saw wind gusts in excess of 50 mph. Only one direct fatality has been reported. A man drowned near a sunken shrimping vessel near the Calcasieu ship channel. Estimated damages in southwest Louisiana total near 4 billion dollars, with the bulk of that loss in Cameron and Calcasieu…

8. Sep 11, 2024Hurricane (Typhoon), Lower St. Mary Parish$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical storm conditions began along the coast around noon and ended around midnight as Hurricane Francine made landfall near the Saint Mary and Terrebonne Parish line. Significant tree damage led to widespread power outages around Morgan City. The city was out of power for approximately 2 to 4 days. Some structural damage occurred in Morgan City from trees falling on structures. The water level at North Eugene Island reached 2.78 feet above MHHW. Heavy rain also produced pockets of flooding.

9. Sep 11, 2024Hurricane (Typhoon), Upper St. Mary Parish$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical storm conditions began along the coast around noon and ended around midnight as Francine made landfall near the Saint Mary and Terrebonne Parish line. Significant tree damage led to widespread power outages around Morgan City. The city was out of power for approximately 2 to 4 days. Some structural damage occurred in Morgan City from trees falling on structures. A few homes near Lake Palourde flooded due to water pushing into the neighborhood as the eye wall came through Morgan City.

10. Aug 2, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$6.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Severe thunderstorms moving southwest across Louisiana blew down several trees and power lines around Charenton. A large blimp used in detecting drug smugglers was destroyed. The value of the blimp was $6 million. Some eyewitnesses saw lightning near the blimp, but local officials believed it was the high winds that tore the blimp apart. Unofficial wind equipment at the radar site recorded 75 knot winds.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

105°FAug 28, 2023

All-time low

3°FFeb 13, 1899

Warmest night

87°FJul 4, 1919

Coldest day

20°FDec 23, 1989

Wettest day

14.47 inAug 26, 1926

Snowiest day

8.0 inDec 29, 1901

Hottest year

1927mean 72.5°F

Coldest year

1983mean 66.3°F

Wettest year

196193.15 in

Driest year

192438.30 in

Station Donaldsonville 4 Sw (USC00162534), 30 ft elevation, 26.8 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 27, 2026; 99.4% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for St. Mary Parish.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00162534.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tide gauges NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.