Acadia Parish, Louisiana Hurricane History

No active tropical cyclones are within 500 miles of Acadia Parish, Louisiana as of Thursday, 10 September 2026. Official forecasts at nhc.noaa.gov.

Since 1856, 31 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Acadia Parish, Louisiana — about one every 5.5 years. Of those, 7 were at hurricane strength at their closest approach. The most recent was Delta (2020), which passed 22 miles away on 10 October 2020.

Storms within 50 mi

At hurricane strength

5.5

Avg. years between

Years since the last

Storm tracks within 50 miles

TS / TDCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5

Each line is one storm track, coloured by the strongest category it reached while within 50 miles. The dashed ring marks that 50-mile radius; hairlines are one-degree graticule. Source: NOAA NHC HURDAT2.

How strong they get

Cat 2 · 2Cat 1 · 9TS / TD · 20

The 31 storms by the strongest category each reached while within 50 miles. 2 of them reached Cat 2.

Key facts

Most recentDelta (2020) — 22 mi away, 10 October 2020
Strongest stormUnnamed Storm (1856) — 90 kt (104 mph) at its strongest within 50 miles
Closest pass on recordLili (2002) — 3.1 miles
Closest major hurricane (Cat 3+)None on record
Passes within 25 miles16 of 31
Peak monthSeptember — 13 storms (42% of all)
Most active year1926 — 2 storms
Most active decade1980s, 2000s and 2010s — 3 storms
Major hurricanes (Cat 3+) within 50 mi0
Record span1856–2020

When storms arrive

JFMAMJJASOND

Storms by month of closest approach; the peak is highlighted and labelled. In Acadia Parish, Louisiana, September is the most active month, with 13 of the 31 recorded storms (42%). The primary season runs August to October, accounting for 87% of all activity. The 1980s, 2000s and 2010s are tied as the most active decades on record, with 3 storms. 0 of the 31 storms were major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger) while within 50 miles.

J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
0	0	0	0	0	1	3	10	13	4	0	0

Activity by decade

19002000

Tropical cyclones passing within 50 miles, by decade, 1850s to 2020s. Decades with no storms are shown as empty columns. Comparing two equal 38-year windows inside the aircraft-reconnaissance era: 7 storms in 1950–1987 against 9 in 1988–2025.

1850s	1860s	1870s	1880s	1890s	1900s	1910s	1920s	1930s	1940s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	2	3	1	3	3	1

Every tropical or subtropical cyclone within 50 miles

Storm	Closest approach	Distance	Status	Wind
Delta (2020)	10 Oct 2020	22.3 mi	Cat 1	71 kt
Barry (2019)	13 Jul 2019	14.9 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Harvey (2017)	30 Aug 2017	46.2 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Lee (2011)	4 Sep 2011	35.1 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Gustav (2008)	1 Sep 2008	23.7 mi	Cat 1	64 kt
Lili (2002)	3 Oct 2002	3.1 mi	Cat 1	64 kt
Bertha (2002)	7 Aug 2002	40.8 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Andrew (1992)	26 Aug 1992	43.6 mi	Cat 1	75 kt
Beryl (1988)	10 Aug 1988	30.0 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Juan (1985)	30 Oct 1985	14.8 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Danny (1985)	15 Aug 1985	11.6 mi	TS / TD	63 kt
Carmen (1974)	8 Sep 1974	3.2 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Edith (1971)	16 Sep 1971	20.5 mi	Cat 1	72 kt
Unnamed Storm (1966)	27 Jul 1966	13.0 mi	TS / TD	23 kt
Unnamed Storm (1955)	27 Aug 1955	10.2 mi	TS / TD	37 kt
Barbara (1954)	29 Jul 1954	44.4 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1947)	20 Sep 1947	37.3 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Unnamed Storm (1940)	24 Sep 1940	10.5 mi	TS / TD	33 kt
Unnamed Storm (1937)	3 Oct 1937	24.6 mi	TS / TD	31 kt
Unnamed Storm (1932)	19 Sep 1932	41.1 mi	TS / TD	49 kt
Unnamed Storm (1926)	22 Sep 1926	25.6 mi	TS / TD	28 kt
Unnamed Storm (1926)	26 Aug 1926	32.4 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1914)	19 Sep 1914	20.3 mi	TS / TD	29 kt
Unnamed Storm (1911)	13 Aug 1911	49.1 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1908)	1 Aug 1908	21.1 mi	TS / TD	36 kt
Unnamed Storm (1905)	29 Sep 1905	16.8 mi	TS / TD	38 kt
Unnamed Storm (1898)	20 Sep 1898	10.4 mi	TS / TD	41 kt
Unnamed Storm (1886)	15 Jun 1886	32.5 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Unnamed Storm (1875)	18 Sep 1875	37.9 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1865)	7 Sep 1865	47.7 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Unnamed Storm (1856)	11 Aug 1856	30.5 mi	TS / TD	60 kt

Post-tropical and extratropical passes

A further 3 systems passed within 50 miles after losing tropical characteristics. These are excluded from the counts above because they were no longer tropical cyclones at their closest approach — but several were highly damaging, so they are listed here.

Storm	Status	Closest approach	Distance	Wind
Nicholas (2021)	Remnant low	15 Sep 2021	6.4 mi	25 kt
Beta (2020)	Post-tropical	23 Sep 2020	32.2 mi	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1863)	Post-tropical	30 Sep 1863	12.1 mi	40 kt

About this data. Computed from NOAA's HURDAT2 Atlantic and Northeast Pacific hurricane databases (hurdat2-1851-2025-02272026.txt), covering 1856–2025. Tracks are recorded every six hours and are interpolated to one-hour steps before distances are measured, so closest-approach figures are not distorted by the sampling interval. Distances are measured to the parish's Census internal point, not to its nearest boundary, so a storm listed at 55 miles may still have crossed the coastline — see Methodology. Records before about 1900 are sparser and less precise than modern ones, and storms that stayed at sea were less likely to be recorded at all.

How Acadia Parish, Louisiana compares

Among the 2,208 U.S. counties and county-equivalents that have recorded at least one tropical cyclone within 50 miles, Acadia Parish, Louisiana ranks #498 — more exposed than 77.4% of them. Within Louisiana it ranks #36 of 64, against a state average of 37.0 storms per parish.

Notable storms

Cat 2 Unnamed Storm (1856) passed 30 miles away on 11 August 1856 as a tropical storm, reaching 90 kt (104 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 2 Carmen (1974) passed 3 miles away on 8 September 1974 as a hurricane, reaching 85 kt (98 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 1 Andrew (1992) passed 44 miles away on 26 August 1992 as a hurricane, reaching 80 kt (92 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 1 Gustav (2008) passed 24 miles away on 1 September 2008 as a hurricane, reaching 76 kt (87 mph) while within 50 miles.

27 of the 31 storms made a documented landfall somewhere along their track.

How often to expect a storm

A return interval of 5.5 years does not mean storms arrive on a schedule. It is simply 31 storms spread over the 170 years from 1856 to 2025. 3 separate years saw more than one storm pass within 50 miles while stretches of a decade or more have passed with none. The longest recorded quiet stretch was 12 years, between 1886 and 1898. It has been 5 years since the last one; 14 of the 27 gaps in this record were longer than that.

Common questions

How many hurricanes have hit Acadia Parish, Louisiana?

7 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Acadia Parish, Louisiana at hurricane strength since 1856. Counting all tropical cyclones — including tropical storms and depressions — the total is 31.

When was the last hurricane in Acadia Parish, Louisiana?

Delta (2020), on 10 October 2020, passing 22 miles away — 6 years ago. The most recent tropical cyclone of any strength was Delta (2020) in 2020.

What was the strongest storm to affect Acadia Parish, Louisiana?

Unnamed Storm (1856), which reached 90 kt (104 mph) while within 50 miles; its closest approach was 30 miles.

How often do hurricanes hit Acadia Parish, Louisiana?

On average, one tropical cyclone passes within 50 miles every 5.5 years — 31 storms over the 170 years from 1856 to 2025, the end of the HURDAT2 record. That is a historical average, not a schedule or a forecast.

Nearby parishes

Acadia Parish, Louisiana borders or sits close to 4 other parishes with a published storm record. Lafayette Parish, Louisiana has 40 on record.

Lafayette Parish, Louisiana40 storms within 50 mi Vermilion Parish, Louisiana39 storms within 50 mi St. Landry Parish, Louisiana37 storms within 50 mi Evangeline Parish, Louisiana35 storms within 50 mi