Ouachita Parish

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Ouachita Parish: 0.
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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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. Apr 12, 2020Tornado$250 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-3 tornado with estimated maximum winds near 140 mph touched down at the corner of Fern Street and Brown Street in the Brownsville-Bawcomville community. As it moved through this area, it downed and snapped hundreds of trees, many of which fell onto homes. As the tornado crossed Sandal Street, it caused minor structural damage to several single-wide manufactured homes before tipping over a trailer as it crossed Jonesboro Road. The tornado then proceeded onward to break the metal trusses and bring down a wood chip conveyor belt onto a train at the Graphic Packaging International Paper Mill. As the tornado continued, it crossed the Ouachita River twice where it bends sharply…

2. Mar 8, 2016Flash Flood$35.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A 5-day heavy rainfall event resulted in massive flooding across all of Ouachita Parish in Northern Louisiana. Some of the more impressive 5 day totals across the parish were as follows: Monroe 3.2 SSE: 26.96, Monroe 1.9 NNW: 24.93, Luna: 24.15, Swartz: 23.33, West Monroe 10.1 SW: 23.50, Calhoun 4.3 SSE: 20.96. Upwards of 750 Louisiana National Guardsmen were deployed by the Governor of Louisiana to assist local law enforcement in the massive response to the prolonged flooding event. These operations included evacuations, search and rescue, distribution and supply of water and meals, security and shelter support and distribution of sandbags and sandbag filling machines. Pumps were…

3. Sep 2, 2008Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Excessive heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Gustav resulted in high water across portions of Ouachita Parish. The hardest hit areas were areas to the southwest and south of Monroe, Louisiana, particularly in the Brownsville-Bawcomville Community. Roads were inundated in the community with water reported in several homes. Some homes were flooded was reported included White Columns Street, Oregon Trail, Gourd Bayou Road, Oliver Road and most of the Tanglewood Drive Subdivision. A three day storm total rainfall of over 8 to 10 inches was common across much of Ouachita Parish from the remnants of Hurricane Gustav. Emergency Management reported that the National Guard was…

4. Oct 13, 2014Tornado$3.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service Storm Survey crew determined that the damage across Monroe was consisted with that of an EF-2 Tornado. A tornado touched down in North Central Ouachita Parish as an embedded supercell thunderstorm within a squall line. The tornado initially uprooted and snapped large trees as it moved along an east northeast path towards the city of West Monroe. In the city of West Monroe, roof damage was observed to many homes and businesses. it crossed Interstate 20 near Thomas Road where many business signs and power poles were damaged or blown down. The tornado continued east northeast into the heart of West Monroe where numerous homes and vehicles were damaged due…

5. May 27, 1997Thunderstorm Wind$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A squall line pushed through Ouachita Parish during the evening toppling trees and power lines. Many homes suffered wind damage and roads were blocked by trees. Several people were trapped inside their cars by downed power lines. Over 200 telephone poles were snapped leaving 45,000 people without power. The damage area was nearly 180 square miles which covered much of the southern half of the Parish. In the city and surrounding communities over 400 homes suffered some sort of structural damage. The damage was so severe that Ouachita Parish was put under a declaration of emergency by the governor of Louisiana. The State Department of transportation and Development donated several…

6. Oct 19, 2009Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Excessive heavy rainfall in the Ouachita River basin throughout the month of October resulted in high water conditions on the Ouachita River near Monroe, Louisiana. The crest would not be seen until the early part of November at Monroe, Louisiana but the crest would end up being the highest water readings since the notorious floods of May of 1991. The river was at a stage of 44.5 feet and still rising by the end of October with the flood state at Monroe of 40 feet. The river began inundating the Prairion Bayou Recreational Area and with Bayou D'Arbonne (Rocky Branch), Bawcomville and Moon Lake Recreational areas flooded and closed as well. The Forsythe Recreational Area as well as…

7. Dec 21, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS conducted a storm survey across Monroe, Louisiana and determined that the damage across the city was consistent with straight line wind damage. Damage was significant across portions of the city. The worst damage was likely caused to a Books-A-Million store near Hwy. 165. This entire front facing of the building completely collapsed. A nearby Wendy's restaurant also suffered moderate damage. A portion of the roof of the Strauss Theater near the ULM campus was removed. Several homes in Monroe and West Monroe were crushed by fallen trees. There was also damage reported to the ULM Maintenance Building.

8. Apr 22, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm survey team determined that the damage across extreme northern part of Ouachita Parish was consistent with that of straight line wind damage with winds speeds near 80 mph. The worst damage was found in and around the community of Sterlington, Louisiana. Damage consisted on many uprooted and/or snapped trees. 5 homes were destroyed with some 20 to 30 additional homes suffering minor to moderate damage from fallen trees. The damage was concentrated around the Lake Bartholomew area or between Sterlington and the Perryville community. There was one injury reported when an elderly woman suffered severe cuts and bruises when a tree fell on her home and she became trapped under…

9. Apr 12, 2020Tornado$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-3 tornado with estimated maximum winds near 140 mph touched down in a forested area near Horseshoe Lake Road, uprooting hundreds of trees. Winds increased and tree damage became more widespread as trees were uprooted and snapped, and several trees were debarked in a forested area before the tornado reached End of Line Road. This widespread tree damage was confirmed from drone video from the Ouachita Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (OHSEP) and photos from the University of Louisiana Monroe. This forested area is where the tornado is believed to be strongest based on tree damage and radar imagery, but there were not sufficient damage indicators…

10. Jan 7, 2010Cold/Wind Chill, Ouachita$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Bitterly cold temperatures swept into the region during the evening hours of January 7th with a hard freeze being observed nearly through the morning hours of January 10th. During this period of time...overnight and early morning low temperatures were well into the teens with daytime high temperatures struggling to make it to the freezing mark. The cold temperatures froze water pipes of many homes throughout the parish. Some city and parish water lines burst as well resulting in many residents either without water for a short period of time or with reduced water pressure. 50 calls were made into the city of West Monroe because of burst pipes.

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

108°F4 times, most recently Aug 24, 2023

All-time low

−2°FFeb 2, 1951

Warmest night

84°FAug 4, 2010

Coldest day

16°FJan 10, 1962

Wettest day

10.86 inMar 9, 2016

Snowiest day

9.2 inJan 30, 1949

Hottest year

2023mean 69.0°F

Coldest year

1968mean 62.7°F

Wettest year

199178.64 in

Driest year

200531.13 in

Snowiest season

9.2 in1948-49

Station Monroe Regional Airport (USW00013942), 73 ft elevation, 5.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1930 to October 26, 2026; 99.8% 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 USW00013942.
• 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.