St. James 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. James Parish: 3.
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.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 29, 2021Hurricane (Typhoon), St. James$250 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread wind damage occurred across the parish. Numerous trees and powerlines were downed. Most homes in the eastern half of the parish suffered at least minor to moderate roof or other damage, and some older homes and trailers were completely destroyed due to roofs or walls being sheared off. 48 parish buildings, including the parish emergency operations center and both water plants, suffered damage ranging from minor to severe. The majority of roads within the parish were left impassable due to downed trees, power lines and poles, or other debris. One man was killed when Ida���s winds caused his shed to collapse on him. 100% of the parish was left without power and the…

2. Sep 11, 2024Flash Flood$18.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Francine produced heavy rain across the parish with widespread totals of 4-8 inches. The highest totals were across northern portions of the parish and resulted in numerous streets being impassable due to high water. Hwy 20 was impassable between Vacherie and Chackbay due to high water from the rainfall. Flooding in the parish also affected a few homes, and water was also pushed into several additional homes from vehicles driving down flooded roads. In total, approximately 250 structures suffered damage from either wind or flooding, with an estimated damage cost of 15-18 million dollars across the parish.

3. Aug 28, 2012Storm Surge/Tide, St. James$8.5 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,…

4. Aug 28, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), St. James$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…

5. Sep 25, 2002Tropical Storm, St. James$6.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical Storm Isidore moved steadily northward across the central Gulf of Mexico on September 24 and September 25, 2002 before moving ashore near Grand Isle early on the morning on Thursday, September 26, 2002. The tropical storm moved steadily north across southeast Louisiana and by the afternoon of September 26 was located in central Mississippi downgraded to a tropical depression. Tropical Storm Isidore had a large circulation with tropical storm force winds extending several hundreds of miles from its center. Prior to moving onto the Yucatan Peninsula earlier in the week and weakening, Isidore was classified as a major hurricane. Swells from the distant hurricane resulted in…

6. Oct 2, 2002Hurricane (Typhoon), St. James$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…

7. Oct 28, 2020Tropical Storm, St. James$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Zeta produced tropical storm force winds which downed trees, power lines, and power |poles across the parish. Roughly 1000 customers were without power at the peak.

8. Sep 1, 2008Hurricane (Typhoon), St. James$2.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Gustav affected over 500 homes with 5 homes being destroyed, 3 receiving major damage, and 138 minor damage. Many businesses also received damage and numerous trees and utility poles were knocked down. The damage was caused by the high winds associated with Gustav.

9. Sep 23, 2005Tropical Storm, St. James$1.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tropical depression moving west through the Turks and Caicos Islands developed into Tropical Storm Rita on the afternoon of September 18th. Rita moved west through the central Bahamas on the 19th and strengthened into a category 2 hurricane on the 20th while moving across the Florida Straits. After entering the Gulf of Mexico on the 21st, Rita rapidly intensified as it moved west northwest. Rita strengthened to a category 5 storm on the afternoon of the 21st and reached its peak intensity the next day 570 miles east southeast of Galveston, Texas with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and a minimum central pressure of 897 mb. Rita turned northwest and weakened to a category 3…

10. Sep 11, 2024Tropical Storm, St. James$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Francine brought damaging winds and flooding rain to the parish. Tropical storm force winds downed trees and powerlines throughout the 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

105°FAug 27, 2023

All-time low

11°FDec 23, 1989

Warmest night

84°F3 times, most recently Jun 19, 2022

Coldest day

26°FJan 11, 1962

Wettest day

12.24 inMay 8, 1995

Snowiest day

8.0 inJan 21, 2025

Hottest year

2023mean 73.4°F

Coldest year

1968mean 65.9°F

Wettest year

1991102.37 in

Driest year

200038.88 in

Snowiest season

8.0 in2024-25

Station New Orleans Airport (USW00012916), -3 ft elevation, 27.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00012916.
• 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.