Catahoula Parish

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Catahoula Parish: 1.
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.

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

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.

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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 1, 2008Tropical Storm, Catahoula$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical storm force winds occurred across Catahoula Parish as the outer edges of Hurricane Gustav moved across southern and central Louisiana. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down. Many homes sustained minor roof damage with less than 10 percent of the shingles pealed off. Homes and buildings with tin roofs also sustained damage as some tin was torn off. All damage was widespread across the parish as wind gusts peaked between 50 and 70 mph for several hours. Many roads were blocked by downed trees and the power outages were extensive and lasted for several days. Sustained winds were around 40 mph.

2. Mar 9, 2011Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extreme rainfall occurred across portions of central Catahoula Parish with rainfall amounts between 7 and 10 inches reported. Significant flooding occurred around Jonesville and near Wallace Ridge. Nearly 40 homes and businesses had water in them with numerous roads under water and many vehicles flooded.

3. Sep 2, 2008Tornado$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado touched down just to the northwest of Jonesville and tracked north northeast for nearly 6 miles before it lifted in the Wallace Ridge Community. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted along the path as well as several structures damaged. A couple mobile homes were heavily damaged. A few homes sustained roof damage as a portion of the roof was pealed off. One large metal shed was heavily damaged with the roof blown off and a wall blown down. Maximum winds were around 105 mph.

4. Jun 16, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread trees, power lines, and power poles were blown down in a swath across northern portions of Catahoula Parish. Several homes were damaged due to fallen trees.

5. Oct 9, 2020Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Persistent heavy rainfall from Hurricane Delta caused flash flooding in portions of Catahoula Parish especially in a corridor from near Jonesville to near Sicily Island. Fifteen homes in Jonesville took on floodwaters, and several roadways were either flooded over or washed out between Harrisonburg and Sicily Island.

6. Jun 16, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees, power lines, and power poles were blown down in a swath across central portions of Catahoula Parish. Some camper vehicles were damaged in the Big Bayou area.

7. Sep 24, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Catahoula$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   See narrative for Mississippi.

8. Sep 3, 2008Flash Flood$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   During the afternoon of the 3rd, another heavy band of storms developed across the region and produced another 2 to 4 inches of rainfall. This rain fell on already soaked and flooded land. This new rainfall flooded a few homes and several roads.

9. Sep 3, 2008Tornado$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado touched down just north of Jonesville along Highway 124 and tracked north east for almost a mile. Several travel trailers were damaged or destroyed along with some trees snapped and uprooted. A metal building was also damaged along the path. Maximum winds were around 100 mph.

10. Feb 24, 2007Tornado$400,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    This tornado touched down in Jonesville and heavily damaged or destroyed 6 mobile homes and caused minor damage to 3 other homes. Dozens of trees were also snapped or uprooted. The tornado continued to track east northeast and crossed the Tensas River into Concordia Parish. Further along the path, the tornado crossed the river again, back into Catahoula Parish and then crossed the river one last time as it moved into Concordia Parish.

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

107°F2 times, most recently Sep 3, 2000

All-time low

7°FDec 23, 1989

Warmest night

84°F2 times, most recently Aug 23, 2023

Coldest day

19°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

13.00 inSep 3, 2008

Snowiest day

2.3 inJan 20, 1978

Hottest year

2017mean 68.9°F

Coldest year

1976mean 64.0°F

Wettest year

197580.62 in

Driest year

202331.58 in

Snowiest season

2.3 in1977-78

Station Jonesville Locks (USC00164739), 70 ft elevation, 14.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1972 to October 26, 2026; 93.1% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USC00164739.
• 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.