The U.S. state of Louisiana experiences several tornadoes per year. There have been at least 2,514 recorded tornadoes since 1950. At least 267 people have been killed and 3,861 others have been injured by these tornadoes. Numerous other tornadoes occurred within the state prior to 1950, but only tornadoes that caused fatalities or were estimated to have been F2 or greater intensity on the Fujita scale were recorded.
The deadliest tornadoes to impact Louisiana mostly took place prior to 1950, before tornado warnings could be issued by forecasters. A total of 1,078 fatalities and 5,079 injuries were recorded during this time period, and all but one of the state's ten deadliest tornadoes had taken place. The three deadliest tornadoes took place in 1908, which impacted Concordia Parish, Amite, and Gilliam. The former two took place during the 1908 Dixie tornado outbreak, the first of which killed 39 people, and the second killed 47 people within the state. The lattermost tornado killed 49 people, making it Louisiana's deadliest tornado on record.
Starting in 1950, forecasters were allowed to issue their own tornado warnings, which led to the amount of tornado-related fatalities significantly decreasing over time. However, several deadly and destructive tornadoes still took place after 1950. In 1964, a deadly tornado produced by Hurricane Hilda killed 22 people and injured 165 others in Larose. The first and only tornado to cause F5-rated damage within the state of Louisiana took place in 1971, which destroyed multiple structures outside of Delhi and killed 11 people within the state. Louisiana's costliest tornadoes took place in 1978 and 2020, the former struck the ShreveportâÂÂBossier City metropolitan area, causing $250 million (1978 USD) in damage and killing two people. The latter tornado struck Monroe and also caused $250 million (2020 USD) in damage.
Louisiana is located in Dixie Alley, which is an expanse of land stretching from eastern Texas to southwestern North Carolina. Tornadoes occur most frequently during the afternoon and early evening hours in Louisiana, and most activity occurs during the spring months of March through May. However, in the southern part of the state, tornado activity is more likely to remain consistent throughout the year, while reaching a minimum during the summer months of July and August. Due to Dixie Alley's close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, tornadic storms in that region are often high-precipitation supercells which produce rain-wrapped tornadoes that are difficult to spot, resulting in a higher risk of fatalities. Tornadoes in Dixie Alley are also more likely than those in other regions to occur at night and tend to travel faster, making them more likely to catch people unprepared.
The number of tornadoes that have been recorded within Louisiana is the highest within the 21st century. This is partially due to the fact that overall tornado counts tend to show higher numbers in more recent years, mainly due to improved detection and reporting of weak tornadoes.
A total of 86 known significant tornadoes impacted Louisiana before 1925, which killed 817 people and injured 2,716 others. During this time frame, 21 intense tornadoes impacted Louisiana. This was the state's deadliest time frame for tornadoes, with each tornado killing an average of 9.5 people. Five of the state's 10 deadliest tornadoes took place during this period, including its three deadliest tornadoes in Gilliam, Amite, and Concordia Parish, all three of which took place in 1908.
A total of 132 known significant tornadoes impacted Louisiana from 1925 to 1949, which resulted in 261 deaths and 2,363 injuries. Out of these tornadoes, 26 of these were intense, the deadliest of which struck the city of Minden, killing 28 people and injuring 400 others. Several other places were significantly impacted by intense tornadoes during this time period, including Bastrop, Pleasant Hill, Rodessa, Shreveport, and Cotton Valley. The tornadoes which impacted these cities all caused significant loss of life, with each one killing at least 10 people.
Between 1950 and 1974, a total of 432 recorded tornadoes impacted Louisiana, resulting in 184 deaths and 1,863 injuries. Forty-five of these tornadoes were intense, and the deadliest tornado was one produced by a supercell embedded within Hurricane Hilda which struck Larose and resulted in 22 fatalities. Starting in 1950, following the first successful "tornado forecast" for the Tinker Air Force Base tornadoes in Oklahoma two years prior, forecasters were allowed to issue tornado warnings, which helped to significantly decrease tornado casualties. Louisiana's first and only tornado to cause F5-rated damage also took place during this time frame, which was the 1971 Inverness tornado. This tornado struck Delhi and the nearby communities of Waverly and Transylvania, which killed 11 people within the state.
From 1975 to 1999, a total of 841 recorded tornadoes occurred in Louisiana, which caused 35 deaths and 1,327 injuries. During this time period, 50 intense tornadoes took place. Multiple destructive tornadoes impacted the ShreveportâÂÂBossier City area. These included an F4 tornado on December 3, 1978, which killed two people and caused $250 million (1978 USD) in damage, an F3 tornado on November 15, 1987, which killed one person and caused $50 million (1987 USD) in damage, as well as the deadliest tornado to strike the state during this time frame, which was an F4 tornado that killed seven people and caused $8 million (1999 USD) on April 3, 1999. In 1983, two other F4-rated tornadoes caused major damage within the cities of LaPlace and Collinston.
Since 2000, a total of 1,241 recorded tornadoes have impacted Louisiana, which have killed 48 people and injured 671 others. Twenty-two of these tornadoes were intense. Several tornadoes struck highly-populated cities, including two EF3 tornadoes that struck the New Orleans metropolitan area in 2017 and 2022, the latter of which killed two people. On April 12, 2020, the Monroe tornado took place, which caused $250 million (2020 USD) in damage. Another EF3 tornado struck Ruston on April 25, 2019, killing two people and causing $50 million in damage (2019 USD). The 2010 Yazoo City tornado caused EF3-rated damage in areas north of Tallulah on April 24, 2010, before causing devastating damage and killing 10 people in Yazoo City, Mississippi as it traveled along a path. Another EF4 tornado leveled homes outside of Atlanta on November 29 of the same year.