Parishes with the most tornadoes in Louisiana
It's been a busy year for tornadoes in the U.S. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as many as 1,155 twisters have touched down across the country since the start of the year, above the average for this time of year.
A single day can drive up tornado counts. March 31, 2023, accounted for 163 tornadoes across the Midwest and South. Tornado activity usually peaks in the spring and early summer, and the pace of tornadoes usually slows around late summer. A smaller-scale second tornado season emerges in the fall, mostly in the Gulf Coast states.
Stacker used data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information to find the parishes in Louisiana that have experienced the most tornadoes since 2000. While data is available going back to 1950, tornado tracking by the National Weather Service became more robust and accurate in the 1990s. Since parishes can vary in size, they are ranked by the number of tornadoes per 100 square miles. Parishes that experienced less than five tornadoes are not included.
The counties that encounter the most tornadoes aren't all in the infamous Tornado Alley. When adjusted for county area, the top 10 counties that experienced the most tornadoes since 2000 are from nine different states, all in the Southeast with the exception of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.
Research has shown that Tornado Alley is shifting due to warming temperatures fueled by climate change. In the future, the Southeast could become the region that receives the bulk of the country's tornadoes. It's a concerning trend as the South is more populated than the Great Plains and has a higher concentration of mobile homes than other parts of the country, making the storms potentially deadlier and costlier.
As of August 2023, 75 people have died from tornadoes this year, and over 60% of those deaths occurred in mobile homes.
The best way to stay protected during tornadoes is to have multiple ways of receiving storm updates including social media, radio, television, and sirens, and to immediately seek shelter in a basement or interior room without windows when a tornado watch escalates to a warning.
Read on to see which parishes experience the most tornadoes in Louisiana.
#50. Vermilion Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 21 (1.79 per 100 square miles)
- #1,214 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#49. Franklin Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (1.92 per 100 square miles)
- #1,116 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#48. Plaquemines Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (1.92 per 100 square miles)
- #1,113 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#47. Vernon Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 26 (1.96 per 100 square miles)
- #1,095 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#46. Sabine Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (1.96 per 100 square miles)
- #1,091 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
#45. Allen Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (2.10 per 100 square miles)
- #982 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#44. St. Bernard Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (2.12 per 100 square miles)
- #972 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#43. Grant Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (2.18 per 100 square miles)
- #943 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
#42. Caldwell Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.27 per 100 square miles)
- #874 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#41. Concordia Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (2.30 per 100 square miles)
- #858 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#40. Assumption Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (2.36 per 100 square miles)
- #817 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#39. St. Helena Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.45 per 100 square miles)
- #751 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#38. Morehouse Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 20 (2.52 per 100 square miles)
- #723 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2
#37. Ouachita Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (2.62 per 100 square miles)
- #666 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#36. Winn Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 25 (2.63 per 100 square miles)
- #660 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#35. Bienville Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 22 (2.71 per 100 square miles)
- #629 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2
#34. LaSalle Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (2.72 per 100 square miles)
- #627 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#33. Lincoln Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (2.76 per 100 square miles)
- #608 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#32. Washington Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (2.84 per 100 square miles)
- #572 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#31. Jefferson Davis Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (2.92 per 100 square miles)
- #540 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#30. Livingston Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (2.93 per 100 square miles)
- #534 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#29. Beauregard Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 34 (2.94 per 100 square miles)
- #529 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2
#28. Natchitoches Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 37 (2.95 per 100 square miles)
- #520 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#27. De Soto Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 26 (2.97 per 100 square miles)
- #514 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
#26. Evangeline Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 20 (3.02 per 100 square miles)
- #489 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#25. Rapides Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 40 (3.03 per 100 square miles)
- #487 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#24. Bossier Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 26 (3.10 per 100 square miles)
- #462 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#23. Catahoula Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 23 (3.25 per 100 square miles)
- #399 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#22. St. John the Baptist Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (3.29 per 100 square miles)
- #387 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#21. Calcasieu Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 35 (3.29 per 100 square miles)
- #385 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3
#20. Union Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 29 (3.31 per 100 square miles)
- #380 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2
#19. St. James Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (3.31 per 100 square miles)
- #377 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#18. Red River Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (3.34 per 100 square miles)
- #370 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
#17. Richland Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (3.40 per 100 square miles)
- #348 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#16. Avoyelles Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 29 (3.48 per 100 square miles)
- #330 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#15. East Baton Rouge Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (3.51 per 100 square miles)
- #322 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#14. Tangipahoa Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 28 (3.54 per 100 square miles)
- #315 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
#13. St. Landry Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 34 (3.68 per 100 square miles)
- #287 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
#12. Jackson Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 21 (3.69 per 100 square miles)
- #284 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
#11. Madison Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 24 (3.84 per 100 square miles)
- #259 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#10. West Carroll Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (3.89 per 100 square miles)
- #250 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
#9. Webster Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 24 (4.05 per 100 square miles)
- #225 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
#8. St. Tammany Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 36 (4.26 per 100 square miles)
- #191 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#7. St. Charles Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (4.30 per 100 square miles)
- #184 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#6. Ascension Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (4.48 per 100 square miles)
- #156 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#5. Caddo Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 49 (5.58 per 100 square miles)
- #74 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2
#4. Lafayette Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (5.58 per 100 square miles)
- #73 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#3. Acadia Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 41 (6.26 per 100 square miles)
- #45 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
#2. New Orleans
- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (7.67 per 100 square miles)
- #18 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
#1. Jefferson Parish
- Tornadoes since 2000: 31 (10.49 per 100 square miles)
- #3 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
