Vernon Parish

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Vernon Parish: 10.
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 26, 2020Hurricane (Typhoon), Vernon$900 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees power lines and poles were blown down across the parish. Homes and businesses were damaged from fallen trees, or from the winds. All of the parish was without power immediately after the storm. A 14-year-old female died from a fallen tree. Wind gusts ranged from 100 to 120 mph.

2. Mar 10, 2016Flood$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Water quickly rose along the Sabine River on the 10th as flood water flowed into the basin from Toledo Bend and from the area tributaries. The river set a record crest on the 11th of 53.82 feet at Burkeville which was 5.77 feet above the previous record set in 1999. Areas along and west of Louisiana Highway 111 were flooded with the worst hit community being Evans were almost every home flooded, some were flooded to the roof tops. Around 400 structures were reported flooded with around 200 considered majorly damaged or destroyed in Vernon Parish. Highway 8 near the river was heavily scoured with the south side of the road collapsing near the stateline. The bridge across the river…

3. Oct 9, 2020Tropical Storm, Vernon$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind gusts to around 65 mph and heavy rainfall lead to numerous downed trees and power lines across the parish. Minor flooding was caused by 4 to 8 inches of rainfall. A wind gust of 61 mph was recorded at Fort Polk while a peak gust of 66 mph was recorded at the Vernon RAWs.

4. Aug 26, 2023Wildfire, Vernon$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Four main wildfires occurred in Vernon Parish at the end of August with over 9,000 acres burned. One home and multiple outbuildings were burned in the Ida Fire with approximately 3,628 acres affected. The Highway 113 Fire was along the Vernon and Rapides Parish line with more than half inside of Vernon Parish. It burned just over 7,124 acres burned in total of pine forest. The Lion's Camp Road Fire did not destroy any homes, however 785 acres burned of pine forest. The Miller Fire was along the Sabine River and burned over 1.300 acres of forest.

5. Mar 10, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extensive damage was done to portions of Fort Polk. Most of the damage was done to roofs and sidings on housing units. At Timber Ridge housing, shingles were stripped from the westward facing roofs, some roof jacks were ripped out, vents were peeled back, and flying objects became projectiles, causing damage to parked vehicles. Several residences reported roofs being lifted off their homes and placed back down. A portion of the roof at an airport hangar was ripped off, causing minor damage to cars in the parking lot. Numerous trees were downed all across the area.

6. Mar 20, 2012Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms trained over the same area through the afternoon and evening across portions of Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana. Betwen 10 and 14 inches of rain flooded cars and closed and/or washed out some roadways around Hornbeck and Leesville. Cars were reported to be trapped and/or floating on Highway 171 from Hornbeck to Rosepine during the event. OEP reported 22 homes were flooded.

7. Dec 16, 2019Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado began in Beauregard Parish and moved into Vernon Parish near the intersection of John Brewer and Borel Roads as an EF3 with winds estimated at 152 MPH. A fatality occurred on Borel Road as the tornado passed around 11:18 am CST. Extensive damage occurred to well built homes as well as mobile homes. This developing long track tornado continued moving northeast crossing Churchman Road where it ripped large open areas off home roofs. Winds were estimated at 135 mph. The tornado moved across forest areas of the southeast part of the Fort Polk Army Base. The tornado crossed into the east central part of Vernon Parish where trees and several homes were damaged around the…

8. Sep 23, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Vernon$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Rita made landfall around 230 am on September 24th in Cameron Parish near Johnson Bayou as a category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 120 mph. Wind gusts over 110 mph were recorded in Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes. This resulted in numerous trees and power lines downed. In parts of Beauregard, Jeff Davis, and Vermilion Parishes, winds blew over 90 mph. The remainder of southwest Louisiana saw wind gusts in excess of 50 mph. Only one direct fatality has been reported. A man drowned near a sunken shrimping vessel near the Calcasieu ship channel. Estimated damages in southwest Louisiana total near 4 billion dollars, with the bulk of that loss in Cameron and Calcasieu…

9. Nov 1, 2009Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   River flooding along the Sabine River during the first week of November 2009 caused an estimated $500,000 damage to roads in western Vernon Parish.

10. Mar 9, 2016Flash Flood$700,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy rain fell during the 9th and 10th with over 10 inches of rain falling during the 10th. Widespread flooding was reported in Northwest Vernon Parish. Roads were closed and some were washed out. A couple dozen homes were flooded during the event.

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

110°F2 times, most recently Aug 25, 2023

All-time low

1°FJan 25, 1948

Warmest night

90°FSep 21, 1910

Coldest day

20°FDec 23, 1989

Wettest day

12.47 inMar 21, 2012

Snowiest day

10.0 inFeb 13, 1960

Hottest year

2023mean 69.9°F

Coldest year

1976mean 63.9°F

Wettest year

200488.90 in

Driest year

201030.32 in

Snowiest season

10.0 in1959-60

Station Leesville (USC00165266), 28 ft elevation, 3.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1903 to October 21, 2026; 99.3% 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 USC00165266.
• 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.