Opelousas

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. Landry Parish, the county that contains Opelousas.

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. Landry Parish, the county that contains Opelousas.

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.

The drought index is for St. Landry Parish, the county that contains Opelousas.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

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

   Hurricane Gustav moved across Evangeline Parish, causing widespread wind damage with trees and power lines blown down parish-wide. The hardest hit areas were between Washington, Nubia, Sunset, and Grand Coteau, where large trees were blown down. In Opelousas, the high school lost part of its roof and a wall partially collapsed. Several other schools in the parish received roof damage to the gyms, auditoriums, and cafeterias. This was worse wind damage than Hurricane Lili in 2002.

2. Oct 9, 2020Tropical Storm, St. Landry$80.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind gusts to around 75 mph and heavy rainfall lead to numerous downed trees and power lines across the parish. Flooding occurred at numerous locations with Bayou Cocodrie experiencing major flooding in the northwest sections of the parish. A wind gust of 75 mph was recorded at KOPL.

3. Jan 10, 2013Flood$41.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flood waters from rainfall that fell mainly during the 9th and 10th slowly drained across the Mermentau Basin and northern sections of the Vermilion Basin. Flooding was most severe across the west half of Saint Landry Parish. Major flooding occurred on Bayou Des Cannes near Eunice and flood waters receded during the evening of the 18th. The Vermilion fell below flood stage south of the parish line during the night of the 20th. Across the parish 235 structures flooded during the event including the Visitor Information Center north of Opelousas.

4. Aug 26, 2020Tropical Storm, St. Landry$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across the parish. Homes and businesses were damaged from fallen trees or wind. Over 40 percent of the parish was without power immediately after the storm. Wind gusts ranged from 50 to 70 mph.

5. Aug 12, 2016Flash Flood$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   During the evening of the 12th flooding of some roadways started to occur in Saint Landry Parish. The heavy rainfall continued eventually flooding Highway 190 which remained closed for multiple days due to standing water. Water continued to rise into the 13th eventually flooding an estimated 2,878 structures.

6. Oct 3, 2002Hurricane (Typhoon), St. Landry$20.0 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. Oct 29, 2002Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong tornado moved across the small community of Prairie Ronde, destroying the school. Several neighboring houses also received major damage.

8. Jan 9, 2013Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain from training thunderstorms fell on saturated ground causing flash flooding across mainly the western half of Saint Landry Parish. Numerous roads were flooded and impassable across the parish and some structures received flood waters. The Savoy Music center in Eunice flooded, however most structures flooded after the rain had stopped. Evacuations around the Eunice area also occurred due to high and rising water. Rainfall totals during the event ranged from 6 to 12 inches with Eunice receiving over one foot.

9. Sep 23, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), St. Landry$3.5 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…

10. Oct 26, 2006Flood$3.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Between 10 and 15 inches of rain fell in less than 24 hours across Saint Landry Parish. The heaviest hit area was along the US highway 90 corridor from Opelousas to Eunice. Roads were closed and water damaged over 200 homes. Even Interstate 49 had water up on the southbound lanes just south of Opelousas.

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, 23.2 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 St. Landry 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.