Plaquemines Parish

Every recorded tornado

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

High tide flooding

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.

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. Aug 29, 2005Storm Surge/Tide, Lower Plaquemines$3.0 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   Storm surge damage in southeast Louisiana, especially in the New Orleans area and the coastal parishes, was catastrophic. Hurricane protection levees and floodwalls were overtopped and/or breached resulting in widespread and deep flooding of homes and businesses. Much of Orleans and Plaquemines Parishes and nearly all of St. Bernard Parish were flooded by storm surge. Approximately 80 percent of the city of New Orleans was flooded. Thousands of people were stranded by the flood waters in homes and buildings and on rooftops for several days and had to be rescued by boat and helicopter. In Jefferson Parish, levees were not compromised, however many homes were flooded by either heavy…

2. Aug 28, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Upper Plaquemines$1.5 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest and most destructive hurricanes on record to impact the coast of the United States. It will likely be recorded as one the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States to date resulting in catastrophic damage and numerous casualties in southeast Louisiana and along the Mississippi coast. Damage and casualties resulting from Hurricane Katrina extended as far east as Alabama and the panhandle of Florida. Katrina developed from a tropical depression southeast of the Bahamas on August 24th. After moving through the Bahamas as a tropical storm, Katrina strengthened to a category 1 hurricane prior to landfall in south Florida…

3. Aug 28, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Lower Plaquemines$1.5 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest and most destructive hurricanes on record to impact the coast of the United States. It will likely be recorded as one the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States to date resulting in catastrophic damage and numerous casualties in southeast Louisiana and along the Mississippi coast. Damage and casualties resulting from Hurricane Katrina extended as far east as Alabama and the panhandle of Florida. Katrina developed from a tropical depression southeast of the Bahamas on August 24th. After moving through the Bahamas as a tropical storm, Katrina strengthened to a category 1 hurricane prior to landfall in south Florida…

4. Aug 29, 2005Storm Surge/Tide, Upper Plaquemines$1.0 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   Storm surge damage in southeast Louisiana, especially in the New Orleans area and the coastal parishes, was catastrophic. Hurricane protection levees and floodwalls were overtopped and/or breached resulting in widespread and deep flooding of homes and businesses. Much of Orleans and Plaquemines Parishes and nearly all of St. Bernard Parish were flooded by storm surge. Approximately 80 percent of the city of New Orleans was flooded. Thousands of people were stranded by the flood waters in homes and buildings and on rooftops for several days and had to be rescued by boat and helicopter. In Jefferson Parish, levees were not compromised, however many homes were flooded by either heavy…

5. Aug 28, 2021Storm Surge/Tide, Lower Plaquemines$500 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Storm surge flooding overtopped the White Ditch levee causing significant flooding along Hwy 39 from White Ditch to Braithwaite. The surge also overtopped the back levees along the west bank, flooding areas along Hwy 23 from West Point A La Hache through Myrtle Grove, Ironton and Alliance. Many homes in the area are elevated, but unelevated homes were pushed off of their foundations and others were flooded with several feet of water. Numerous cattle and horses were killed when they were trapped by the flood waters.

6. Aug 28, 2021Storm Surge/Tide, Upper Plaquemines$500 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Storm surge flooding overtopped the White Ditch levee causing significant flooding along Hwy 39 from White Ditch to Braithwaite. The surge also overtopped the back levees along the west bank, flooding areas along Hwy 23 from West Point A La Hache through Myrtle Grove, Ironton and Alliance. Many homes in the area are elevated, but unelevated homes were pushed off of their foundations and others were flooded with several feet of water. Numerous cattle and horses were killed when they were trapped by the flood waters.

7. Aug 29, 2021Hurricane (Typhoon), Upper Plaquemines$100 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind damage was common throughout the upper portions of the parish, with numerous trees downed and many homes suffering minor to moderate roof damage. A few were shifted off their foundations in the lower portion of the parish. Power lines and poles were damaged parish-wide, and nearly the entire parish was left without power following the storm.

8. Aug 29, 2021Hurricane (Typhoon), Lower Plaquemines$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind damage was common throughout the parish, with numerous trees downed and many homes suffering minor to moderate roof damage. A few were shifted off their foundations in the lower portion of the parish. Power lines and poles were damaged parish-wide, and nearly the entire parish was left without power following the storm.

9. Aug 28, 2012Storm Surge/Tide, Lower Plaquemines$49.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Isaac entered the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm on August 26, moving northwest after crossing Haiti, Cuba and the Florida Straits. Isaac strengthened into a hurricane on the morning of the 28th when it was 75 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. Isaac made landfall in Plaquemines Parish as a Category 1 Hurricane near Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River on the evening of the 28th. A second landfall occurred near Port Fourchon the following morning. The storm weakened to a tropical storm on the afternoon of the 29th about 50 miles west southwest of New Orleans, and weakened further to a tropical depression on the afternoon of the 30th near Monroe,…

10. Oct 28, 2020Hurricane (Typhoon), Upper Plaquemines$25.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Zeta produced widespread wind damage throughout the parish with trees, power lines and power poles snapping in the wind. Hundreds of structures suffered minor wind damage and some experiencing major |damage across the northern portion of the parish. At least one mobile home was completely destroyed, along with one large metal building. At the peak the parish experienced a near 100 percent power outage. The Belle chasse ASOS recorded a peak wind gust of 87 mph. Ahead of the storm, the parish issued voluntary evacuation orders for the entire East Bank of the parish as well as portions of the West Bank. 48 people sheltered in a parish shelter, and an unknown number evacuated to other areas.

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

104°F2 times, most recently Aug 28, 2023

All-time low

6°FFeb 13, 1899

Warmest night

85°F3 times, most recently Aug 8, 1980

Coldest day

25°FJan 11, 1962

Wettest day

13.08 inOct 2, 1937

Snowiest day

10.0 inFeb 14, 1895

Hottest year

2023mean 73.2°F

Coldest year

1895mean 67.0°F

Wettest year

1991111.81 in

Driest year

191733.07 in

Station New Orleans Audubon (USW00012930), 20 ft elevation, 18.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to June 30, 2026; 90.2% 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 USW00012930.
• 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.