Parishes in Louisiana with the fastest-rising temperatures in the last 100 years
Parishes in Louisiana with the fastest-rising temperatures in the last 100 years
Hitting 116 degrees F in normally temperate Portland, Oregon. 105 degrees in Reno in September, just as summer is meant to be waning. And in California's Death Valley National Park, temperatures hit almost 130 degrees in the aptly named Furnace Creek, marking a world record for the hottest September day in history.
2021 and 2022 saw some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, as across the country extreme heat waves wreaked havoc on communities accustomed to more moderate weather. For many regions, the consequences were grave: in the 2021 Western heatwave, hundreds lost their lives, largely due to a lack of air conditioning, and wildfires ravaged the area.
Map of the past year's temperatures compared to the 100-year average
While not every parish in the nation has experienced such extreme heat, climate change has dramatically changed the heat landscape in nearly every state. Coastal regions and the Southern U.S. are particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures, and are also frequently targets of extreme weather events like hurricanes and tornadoes.
Just as all states are not impacted equally by rising temperatures, regions within states have also seen widely different temperature changes over the last decades. Factors such as proximity to urban areas, bodies of water, and mountains can dramatically change the climate of a region. Stacker cited data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Center for Environmental Information to identify the parishes in Louisiana with the greatest departure from average temperatures during the period December 2021 to November 2022 compared to the 1901-2000 average. Average temperature over the past year served as a tiebreaker. Additional data on recent average high and low temperatures for each parish is also included.
#50. St. Martin Parish
- #20 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 58.8 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.4 F (1.2 F above century average)
#49. La Salle Parish
- #15 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 54.9 F (1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.9 F (1.7 F above century average)
#48. Catahoula Parish
- #12 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 55.3 F (1.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79 F (1.8 F above century average)
#47. Concordia Parish
- #13 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 55.8 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79 F (1.5 F above century average)
#46. Iberville Parish
- #16 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 58.4 F (1.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.5 F (1.3 F above century average)
#45. St. Mary Parish
- #17 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 61.2 F (1.9 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.2 F (0.9 F above century average)
#44. Tensas Parish
- #12 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 54.8 F (1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.7 F (1.9 F above century average)
#43. West Feliciana Parish
- #13 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 57.4 F (2.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.6 F (0.7 F above century average)
#42. West Baton Rouge Parish
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 58 F (1.6 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.7 F (1.3 F above century average)
#41. Ascension Parish
- #16 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 58.4 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.8 F (1.7 F above century average)
#40. St. James Parish
- #17 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 59.1 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.8 F (1.5 F above century average)
#39. Assumption Parish
- #16 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 59.6 F (1.6 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.3 F (1.3 F above century average)
#38. Terrebonne Parish
- #16 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 62 F (1.8 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.8 F (1.2 F above century average)
#37. Winn Parish
- #13 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 54.3 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.5 F (1.9 F above century average)
#36. East Feliciana Parish
- #13 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 56.6 F (1.9 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.2 F (1.3 F above century average)
#35. East Baton Rouge Parish
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 57.6 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.8 F (1.7 F above century average)
#34. Lafourche Parish
- #14 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 61.5 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.3 F (1.6 F above century average)
#33. Claiborne Parish
- #12 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 53.4 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 77.1 F (2 F above century average)
#32. Richland Parish
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 54.2 F (1.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.4 F (2.3 F above century average)
#31. Caldwell Parish
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 54.2 F (1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.7 F (2.3 F above century average)
#30. Franklin Parish
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 54.6 F (1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.8 F (2.3 F above century average)
#29. Beauregard Parish
- #12 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 57.3 F (1.6 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.5 F (1.7 F above century average)
#28. Livingston Parish
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 57.5 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 80.1 F (2.1 F above century average)
#27. Ouachita Parish
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 53.7 F (1.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.2 F (2.4 F above century average)
#26. Madison Parish
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 54.6 F (1.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.2 F (2.1 F above century average)
#25. Natchitoches Parish
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 55.2 F (1.6 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.2 F (2 F above century average)
#24. St. Helena Parish
- #11 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 55.9 F (1.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.6 F (2.1 F above century average)
#23. St. John the Baptist Parish
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 59.1 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 80.2 F (2.1 F above century average)
#22. St. Charles Parish
- #11 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 60.3 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 80.2 F (2.1 F above century average)
#21. Union Parish
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 53.3 F (1.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 77.6 F (2.3 F above century average)
#20. Jefferson Parish
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 61.4 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.8 F (2.4 F above century average)
#19. Morehouse Parish
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 53.7 F (1.6 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 77.9 F (2.4 F above century average)
#18. Tangipahoa Parish
- #7 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 56.7 F (1.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 80.2 F (2.8 F above century average)
#17. Plaquemines Parish
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 62.8 F (1.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.1 F (2.6 F above century average)
#16. Lincoln Parish
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 53.6 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 77.7 F (2.6 F above century average)
#15. Jackson Parish
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 53.8 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.1 F (2.6 F above century average)
#14. West Carroll Parish
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 54.3 F (1.7 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 77.8 F (2.5 F above century average)
#13. East Carroll Parish
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 54.5 F (1.7 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 77.8 F (2.4 F above century average)
#12. Webster Parish
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 54.2 F (1.8 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.1 F (2.5 F above century average)
#11. St. Bernard Parish
- #6 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 61.7 F (1.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.9 F (2.8 F above century average)
#10. Caddo Parish
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 54.9 F (1.6 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.9 F (2.8 F above century average)
#9. Vernon Parish
- #6 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 56.1 F (2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.8 F (2.4 F above century average)
#8. Washington Parish
- #6 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 56.4 F (1.9 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.8 F (2.5 F above century average)
#7. Orleans Parish
- #6 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 60.9 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.6 F (2.9 F above century average)
#6. De Soto Parish
- #6 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 55 F (1.9 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.3 F (2.7 F above century average)
#5. St. Tammany Parish
- #6 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 57.8 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 80.4 F (3.1 F above century average)
#4. Bienville Parish
- #7 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 54.3 F (1.9 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.6 F (2.8 F above century average)
#3. Bossier Parish
- #7 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 54.8 F (2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 78.6 F (2.8 F above century average)
#2. Sabine Parish
- #5 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 55.3 F (2.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.7 F (2.7 F above century average)
#1. Red River Parish
- #6 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 55 F (2.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 79.5 F (2.9 F above century average)