St. Helena Parish

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within St. Helena Parish: 2.
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.

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 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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 29, 2021Hurricane (Typhoon), St. Helena$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread damage to trees and powerlines occurred throughout the parish, with mostly minor to moderate structural damage. Most structural damage was in the form of roof damage, carports damaged, or other fascia damage. However, some homes suffered major damage due to falling trees. At the peak, 100% of the parish was without power.

2. Aug 12, 2016Flash Flood$22.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sixteen to twenty inches of rainfall over a 2 day period led to widespread flash flooding in St. Helena Parish. As water drained into area rivers, rapid rises and record flooding occurred along the Amite and Tickfaw Rivers. As floodwaters rose, numerous high water rescues were necessary across the parish. Road closures due to high water were common and over 400 homes and businesses suffered various degrees of damage. A section of Louisiana Highway 10 near the Coleman Town community was overtopped with some of the road washed out. In Greensburg, flood waters rose high enough to enter the parish hospital. Two fatalities are attributed to the flash flooding. A 54 year old man drowned…

3. Aug 28, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), St. Helena$8.4 million
   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. Oct 2, 2002Hurricane (Typhoon), St. Helena$5.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Lili, a major hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico, during the daylight hours of October 2, 2002 moved steadily northwest around 15 mph toward the Louisiana coast during the evening hour. The hurricane weakened rapidly to a Saffir Simpson Scale Category 1 Hurricane by the time it made landfall during the morning of October 3rd along the south central Louisiana coast. The hurricane continued to moved north northwest across south central Louisiana before turning northeast across the northern portion of the state. Due to the rapid weakening, no sustained hurricane force winds were measured in southeast Louisiana. However, storm surge was significant across the southeast…

5. Aug 28, 2012Hurricane (Typhoon), St. Helena$4.0 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,…

6. Mar 10, 2016Flash Flood$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An estimated 6 to 10 inches of rain fell across southeast St Helena Parish during the late evening and overnight hours. Parish emergency management reported that 61 homes had some type of flooding and 46 roadways were damaged by flooding.

7. Oct 9, 2020Tropical Storm, St. Helena$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Delta produced minor to moderate impacts as a result of sustained tropical storm force winds. Peak gusts estimated in the 50 to 60 mph range were felt across the parish. Several trees were downed and at the peak, about 70 percent of the parish was without|power.

8. Sep 1, 2008Hurricane (Typhoon), St. Helena$260,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Gustav affected 18 homes with 1 home being destroyed, 4 receiving major damage, and 7 minor damage. A number of trees and utility poles were knocked down. The damage was caused by high wind gusts associated with Gustav.

9. Nov 15, 2006Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down near the intersection of Louisiana Highways 441 and 1046 and moved northeast to Tangipahoa Parish line west of Arcola. One fatality occurred near the initial touchdown when the tornado struck a small frame house and close-by travel trailer. Both house and travel trailer next to the house were destroyed with debris piled about 25 yards to the northeast. A 43 year-old male in the travel trailer was fataly injured. The tornado continued northeast with damage primarily to trees, powerlines and house roofs.

10. Jun 8, 2018Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Scattered wind damage was noted to trees and a few outbuildings along Louisiana Highway 16. The width of damage was about a half mile along Highway 16. A large outbuilding had much of it's metal roof lifted off. Several trees and large branches were blown down north along Tranquility Drive. South of Highway 16, a carport collapsed at a residence on Dennis Lee Road, and a few trees in the area were blown down. Damage was classified as a downburst due to the wide area of damage and a lack of rotation noted in the debris field.

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

106°FAug 30, 2000

All-time low

2°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

83°FJul 29, 1990

Coldest day

19°FJan 10, 1962

Wettest day

10.98 inOct 4, 1964

Snowiest day

4.7 inFeb 23, 1968

Hottest year

2023mean 68.3°F

Coldest year

1976mean 63.3°F

Wettest year

200285.53 in

Driest year

196336.86 in

Snowiest season

7.0 in1967-68

Station Mccomb Airport (USW00093919), 405 ft elevation, 30.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 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 USW00093919.
• 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.