Tangipahoa Parish

Every recorded tornado

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

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 12, 2016Flash Flood$629 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Twelve to eighteen inches of rainfall over a 2 day period led to widespread flash flooding across roughly the northwestern half of Tangipahoa Parish. As water drained into the local rivers, record levels were recorded on the Tangipahoa and Natalbany Rivers. Additional details of the river flooding can be found in the flood report for the parish. As floodwaters rose, hundreds of high water rescues were necessary across the parish. On Friday the 12th, I-55 was closed due to high water near exit 40 in Independence and from exit 50 to exit 53 between Fluker and Arcoloa. More than 11,000 homes and businesses suffered various degrees of flooding, though it's difficult to determine how…

2. Aug 13, 2016Flood$315 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Twelve to eighteen inches of rainfall over a 2 day period led to widespread flash flooding across the northwestern half of Tangipahoa Parish, details of which are contained in the flash flood report for the parish. As water drained into the local rivers, major to record flooding occurred along the Tangipahoa River. Flooding far exceeded the 1% annual risk flood plain. Interstate 55 was closed from exit 50 to exit 53 between Fluker and Arcola due to water over the roadway. Additionally, the entirety of Interstate 12 through Tangipahoa Parish was closed as flood crests on both the Tangipahoa and Natalbany Rivers pushed high water onto the roadway. The end time of the event is based…

3. Aug 29, 2021Hurricane (Typhoon), Southern Tangipahoa$300 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ida���s winds downed trees and power lines parish-wide as the eastern eyewall traversed far western portions of the parish. Many structures throughout the parish suffered at least minor to moderate roof or other fascia damage, and numerous buildings suffered other major damage from roof failure or falling trees. Most roads in the parish were impassable due to downed trees, power lines and poles, or other debris. There were two indirect fatalities in the parish: one nursing home death and one due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

4. Aug 13, 2016Flood$105 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Twelve to eighteen inches of rainfall over a 2 day period led to widespread flash flooding across the northwestern half of Tangipahoa Parish, details of which are contained in the flash flood report for the parish. As water drained into the local rivers, major to record flooding occurred along the Natalbany River. The entirety of Interstate 12 through Tangipahoa Parish was closed as flood crests on both the Tangipahoa and Natalbany Rivers pushed high water onto the roadway. The end time of the event is based on when the Natalbany River dropped below flood stage near Baptist. In all, 11,000 homes and businesses suffered various degrees of flooding throughout the parish, though it's…

5. Aug 29, 2021Hurricane (Typhoon), Northern Tangipahoa$100 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ida���s winds downed trees and power lines parish-wide as the eastern eyewall traversed far western portions of the parish. Many structures throughout the parish suffered at least minor to moderate roof or other fascia damage, and numerous buildings suffered other major damage from roof failure or falling trees. Most roads in the parish were impassable due to downed trees, power lines and poles, or other debris. There were two indirect fatalities in the parish: one nursing home death and one due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

6. Aug 28, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Tangipahoa$84.7 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…

7. Aug 28, 2021Storm Surge/Tide, Southern Tangipahoa$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Storm surge from Lake Pontchartrain flooded mainly marshy areas south of Hyw 22 in the far southern end of the parish. Estimated peak inundation was 5-7 feet.

8. Aug 28, 2012Storm Surge/Tide, Southern Tangipahoa$26.8 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,…

9. Sep 25, 2002Tropical Storm, Tangipahoa$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…

10. Oct 2, 2002Hurricane (Typhoon), Tangipahoa$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…

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.

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.
• 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.