Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Hurricane History

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

Since 1855, 64 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana — about one every 2.7 years. Of those, 26 were at hurricane strength at their closest approach. The most recent was Francine (2024), which passed 48 miles away on 12 September 2024.

Storms within 50 mi

At hurricane strength

2.7

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 4 · 4Cat 3 · 4Cat 2 · 5Cat 1 · 14TS / TD · 37

The 64 storms by the strongest category each reached while within 50 miles. 4 of them reached Cat 4.

Key facts

Most recentFrancine (2024) — 48 mi away, 12 September 2024
Strongest stormIda (2021) — 130 kt (150 mph) at its strongest within 50 miles
Closest pass on recordUnnamed Storm (1977) — 2.2 miles
Closest major hurricane (Cat 3+)Unnamed Storm (1860) — 9.0 miles
Passes within 25 miles28 of 64
Peak monthSeptember — 27 storms (42% of all)
Most active year1971 — 3 storms
Most active decade1970s — 8 storms
Major hurricanes (Cat 3+) within 50 mi8
Record span1855–2024

When storms arrive

JFMAMJJASOND

Storms by month of closest approach; the peak is highlighted and labelled. In Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, September is the most active month, with 27 of the 64 recorded storms (42%). The primary season runs August to October, accounting for 81% of all activity. The 1970s was the most active decade on record, with 8 storms. 8 of the 64 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	6	6	17	27	8	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: 17 storms in 1950–1987 against 18 in 1988–2025.

1850s	1860s	1870s	1880s	1890s	1900s	1910s	1920s	1930s	1940s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
1	4	2	5	5	2	2	1	2	5	5	3	8	3	2	7	1	6

Every tropical or subtropical cyclone within 50 miles

Storm	Closest approach	Distance	Status	Wind
Francine (2024)	12 Sep 2024	48.4 mi	TS / TD	62 kt
Ida (2021)	29 Aug 2021	26.3 mi	Cat 4	118 kt
Claudette (2021)	19 Jun 2021	37.5 mi	TS / TD	38 kt
Zeta (2020)	28 Oct 2020	20.0 mi	Cat 2	95 kt
Marco (2020)	25 Aug 2020	49.3 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Cristobal (2020)	7 Jun 2020	11.7 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Isaac (2012)	29 Aug 2012	22.6 mi	Cat 1	69 kt
Gustav (2008)	1 Sep 2008	44.0 mi	Cat 2	92 kt
Katrina (2005)	29 Aug 2005	26.2 mi	Cat 3	110 kt
Cindy (2005)	6 Jul 2005	2.5 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Bill (2003)	30 Jun 2003	44.2 mi	TS / TD	48 kt
Isidore (2002)	26 Sep 2002	5.0 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Bertha (2002)	5 Aug 2002	21.3 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Allison (2001)	11 Jun 2001	44.2 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Hermine (1998)	20 Sep 1998	44.8 mi	TS / TD	33 kt
Danny (1997)	18 Jul 1997	22.3 mi	Cat 1	65 kt
Florence (1988)	10 Sep 1988	24.4 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Beryl (1988)	9 Aug 1988	23.1 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Juan (1985)	31 Oct 1985	33.5 mi	TS / TD	57 kt
Bob (1979)	11 Jul 1979	30.4 mi	TS / TD	57 kt
Unnamed Storm (1978)	10 Aug 1978	49.0 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1977)	25 Oct 1977	2.2 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1975)	17 Oct 1975	19.8 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1975)	29 Jul 1975	37.0 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Fern (1971)	6 Sep 1971	25.5 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1971)	1 Sep 1971	21.4 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1971)	9 Aug 1971	24.4 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1966)	26 Jul 1966	45.6 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Debbie (1965)	30 Sep 1965	21.2 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Betsy (1965)	10 Sep 1965	20.2 mi	Cat 3	105 kt
Esther (1957)	18 Sep 1957	48.4 mi	TS / TD	53 kt
Flossy (1956)	24 Sep 1956	44.5 mi	Cat 1	75 kt
Unnamed Storm (1956)	13 Jun 1956	34.7 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1955)	27 Aug 1955	43.7 mi	TS / TD	44 kt
Brenda (1955)	1 Aug 1955	40.6 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Unnamed Storm (1949)	4 Sep 1949	36.0 mi	TS / TD	48 kt
Unnamed Storm (1948)	4 Sep 1948	11.2 mi	Cat 1	64 kt
Unnamed Storm (1947)	19 Sep 1947	20.9 mi	Cat 2	91 kt
Unnamed Storm (1947)	22 Aug 1947	32.1 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1944)	10 Sep 1944	36.6 mi	TS / TD	54 kt
Unnamed Storm (1939)	26 Sep 1939	6.4 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Unnamed Storm (1936)	27 Jul 1936	9.8 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1923)	26 Jun 1923	14.2 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1915)	29 Sep 1915	13.2 mi	Cat 2	90 kt
Unnamed Storm (1914)	18 Sep 1914	43.6 mi	TS / TD	32 kt
Unnamed Storm (1901)	14 Aug 1901	29.0 mi	Cat 1	75 kt
Unnamed Storm (1900)	13 Sep 1900	41.2 mi	TS / TD	39 kt
Unnamed Storm (1895)	15 Aug 1895	29.1 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1893)	2 Oct 1893	20.0 mi	Cat 4	115 kt
Unnamed Storm (1893)	7 Sep 1893	34.6 mi	Cat 1	70 kt
Unnamed Storm (1892)	12 Sep 1892	10.6 mi	TS / TD	46 kt
Unnamed Storm (1890)	27 Aug 1890	45.9 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1889)	23 Sep 1889	31.3 mi	Cat 1	70 kt
Unnamed Storm (1888)	19 Aug 1888	47.5 mi	Cat 2	83 kt
Unnamed Storm (1887)	19 Oct 1887	2.2 mi	Cat 1	65 kt
Unnamed Storm (1885)	21 Sep 1885	42.1 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1885)	30 Aug 1885	44.8 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1879)	7 Oct 1879	38.0 mi	TS / TD	48 kt
Unnamed Storm (1877)	18 Sep 1877	5.2 mi	Cat 1	70 kt
Unnamed Storm (1869)	5 Sep 1869	7.8 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Unnamed Storm (1867)	4 Oct 1867	21.3 mi	Cat 2	90 kt
Unnamed Storm (1860)	15 Sep 1860	26.2 mi	Cat 2	90 kt
Unnamed Storm (1860)	11 Aug 1860	9.0 mi	Cat 3	105 kt
Unnamed Storm (1855)	16 Sep 1855	32.4 mi	Cat 3	110 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
Olga (2019)	Post-tropical	26 Oct 2019	49.4 mi	45 kt
Bonnie (2010)	Remnant low	25 Jul 2010	2.2 mi	22 kt
Unnamed Storm (1932)	Post-tropical	16 Oct 1932	30.0 mi	50 kt

About this data. Computed from NOAA's HURDAT2 Atlantic and Northeast Pacific hurricane databases (hurdat2-1851-2025-02272026.txt), covering 1855–2025. 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 Jefferson Parish, Louisiana compares

Among the 2,208 U.S. counties and county-equivalents that have recorded at least one tropical cyclone within 50 miles, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana ranks #84 — more exposed than 96.2% of them. Within Louisiana it ranks #2 of 64, against a state average of 37.0 storms per parish.

Notable storms

Cat 4 Ida (2021) passed 26 miles away on 29 August 2021 as a hurricane, reaching 130 kt (150 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 4 Betsy (1965) passed 20 miles away on 10 September 1965 as a hurricane, reaching 115 kt (132 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 4 Unnamed Storm (1893) passed 20 miles away on 2 October 1893 as a hurricane, reaching 115 kt (132 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 4 Katrina (2005) passed 26 miles away on 29 August 2005 as a hurricane, reaching 113 kt (130 mph) while within 50 miles.

53 of the 64 storms made a documented landfall somewhere along their track.

How often to expect a storm

A return interval of 2.7 years does not mean storms arrive on a schedule. It is simply 64 storms spread over the 171 years from 1855 to 2025. 14 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 13 years, between 1901 and 1914. It has been 1 year since the last one; 30 of the 47 gaps in this record were longer than that.

Common questions

How many hurricanes have hit Jefferson Parish, Louisiana?

26 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana at hurricane strength since 1855. Counting all tropical cyclones — including tropical storms and depressions — the total is 64.

When was the last hurricane in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana?

Francine (2024), on 12 September 2024, passing 48 miles away — 2 years ago. The most recent tropical cyclone of any strength was Francine (2024) in 2024.

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

Ida (2021), which reached 130 kt (150 mph) while within 50 miles; its closest approach was 26 miles.

How often do hurricanes hit Jefferson Parish, Louisiana?

On average, one tropical cyclone passes within 50 miles every 2.7 years — 64 storms over the 171 years from 1855 to 2025, the end of the HURDAT2 record. That is a historical average, not a schedule or a forecast.

Nearby parishes

Jefferson Parish, Louisiana borders or sits close to 7 other parishes with a published storm record. Lafourche Parish, Louisiana has 65 on record.

Lafourche Parish, Louisiana65 storms within 50 mi Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana59 storms within 50 mi St. Charles Parish, Louisiana59 storms within 50 mi Orleans Parish, Louisiana53 storms within 50 mi St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana51 storms within 50 mi Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana50 storms within 50 mi St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana49 storms within 50 mi