New Iberia

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 Iberia Parish, the county that contains New Iberia.

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.

The drought index is for Iberia Parish, the county that contains New Iberia.

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. Oct 9, 2020Hurricane (Typhoon), Iberia$200 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind gusts of 75 to 85 mph and heavy rainfall lead to numerous downed trees and power lines across the parish. KARA reported a peak sustained wind of 53 mph with a peak gust of 86 mph. A natural gas leak caused by Delta produced a fire after a homeowner lit a cigarette. The female resident died in the fire while the male succumbed days later in the hospital.

2. Aug 14, 2016Flood$100 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding along Bayou Teche occurred from around Breaux Bridge southward into Saint Mary Parish. In Iberia Parish roads and some structures were flooded by the end of the flash flood event, and some remained flooded for multiple days and the water slowly drained.

3. Sep 1, 2008Hurricane (Typhoon), Iberia$100 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Gustav moved across Iberia Parish, damaging thousands of homes and businesses. The hardest hit area was New Iberia. Some homes with metal roofs had them peeled back. At least 23,000 customers lost power.

4. Sep 12, 2008Storm Surge/Tide, Iberia$75.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Ike resulted in a 7-8 foot storm surge, similar to Hurricane Rita in 2005. Homes and businesses along and south of Highway 14 and Highway 90 had water enter them. This included the Port of Iberia. Over 1000 homes were flooded. A bridge was damaged when a barge rain into it near Weeks Island.

5. Aug 12, 2016Flash Flood$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous secondary roads were reported around New Iberia during the morning of the 12th. A vehicle was also swept into a ditch during the morning and numerous evacuations were ongoing by the evening. Rainfall continued through the rest of the 12th and the 13th. Over 20 inches of rain fell over a large portion of the parish. An estimated 3,756 structures flooded during the event.

6. Oct 3, 2002Hurricane (Typhoon), Iberia$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…

7. Aug 26, 2020Tropical Storm, Iberia$15.0 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 the fallen trees 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 50 to 75 mph.

8. Sep 23, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Iberia$13.0 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…

9. Jan 8, 2013Flash Flood$11.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain during Tuesday evening caused several secondary roadways northwest of Avery Island to closed from flooding. Radar estimates were around 7 inches during the event. Roads and schools remained closed into the 10th. Crawfish farmers in the area had crops washed out due to the amount of rainfall. Over 40 homes had flood waters damage them.

10. Jul 13, 2019Storm Surge/Tide, Iberia$5.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Storm surge caused parts of the port of Iberia Parish to flood. Other areas that saw storm surge flooding included the Delcambre area and areas northeast of Lake Peigneur. Locals stated the storm surge was similar to what they saw in 2002 with Hurricane Lili.

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

110°FAug 27, 2023

All-time low

4°FJan 22, 2025

Warmest night

84°FAug 24, 2023

Coldest day

17°FFeb 13, 1899

Wettest day

10.40 inAug 13, 2016

Snowiest day

14.0 inFeb 15, 1895

Hottest year

2023mean 72.9°F

Coldest year

1903mean 66.0°F

Wettest year

199381.07 in

Driest year

201135.82 in

Snowiest season

14.0 in1894-95

Station Lafayette Regional Airport (USW00013976), 35 ft elevation, 16.7 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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 Iberia 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 USW00013976.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, 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.