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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kaplan, LA

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

54 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Kaplan, Louisiana since 1851, 24 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Delta in 2020. Since 1950, 151 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
24

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
30

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
151

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
6

7 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kaplan

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Kaplan, Louisiana, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2020DeltaOct 1035 miCategory 1 (84 mph)Category 4
2020LauraAug 2759 miCategory 4 (143 mph)Category 4
2019BarryJul 137 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
2017HarveyAug 3061 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 4
2012IsaacAug 3065 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 1
2011LeeSep 424 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2008GustavSep 133 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 4
2007HumbertoSep 1372 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 1
2004IvanSep 2355 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 5
2002LiliOct 31 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 4
1992AndrewAug 2638 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 5
1985JuanOct 303 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 1
1985DannyAug 1522 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 1
1980DanielleSep 570 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
1978DebraAug 2968 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1977BabeSep 545 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1974CarmenSep 811 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 4
1971EdithSep 162 miCategory 1 (83 mph)Category 5
1965BetsySep 1060 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 4
1964HildaOct 453 miCategory 2 (102 mph)Category 4
1959ArleneMay 3145 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1957BerthaAug 953 miTropical storm (61 mph)Tropical storm
1955Unnamed 1955 stormAug 2730 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1954BarbaraJul 2935 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1947Unnamed 1947 stormSep 1953 miCategory 1 (74 mph)Category 4
1943Unnamed 1943 stormSep 2045 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1940Unnamed 1940 stormSep 2431 miTropical storm (39 mph)Tropical storm
1940Unnamed 1940 stormAug 757 miCategory 2 (98 mph)Category 2
1938Unnamed 1938 stormAug 1566 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 2
1937Unnamed 1937 stormOct 319 miTropical storm (39 mph)Tropical storm
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1641 miCategory 2 (96 mph)Category 2
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 1931 miTropical storm (60 mph)Tropical storm
1931Unnamed 1931 stormJul 1566 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1926Unnamed 1926 stormAug 2653 miTropical storm (47 mph)Category 3
1920Unnamed 1920 stormSep 2254 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 2
1918Unnamed 1918 stormAug 652 miCategory 3 (121 mph)Category 3
1912Unnamed 1912 stormJun 1350 miTropical storm (67 mph)Tropical storm
1909Unnamed 1909 stormSep 2154 miCategory 2 (106 mph)Category 3
1908Unnamed 1908 stormAug 18 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1905Unnamed 1905 stormOct 964 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1905Unnamed 1905 stormSep 29overheadTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1898Unnamed 1898 stormSep 2022 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 1343 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 1
1886Unnamed 1886 stormOct 1271 miCategory 3 (121 mph)Category 3
1886Unnamed 1886 stormJun 1554 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 2
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 1557 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1879Unnamed 1879 stormSep 164 miCategory 3 (127 mph)Category 3
1877Unnamed 1877 stormSep 1873 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 1
1875Unnamed 1875 stormSep 1860 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1867Unnamed 1867 stormOct 461 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 2
1865Unnamed 1865 stormSep 1366 miCategory 2 (101 mph)Category 2
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 3010 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1860Unnamed 1860 stormOct 258 miCategory 2 (102 mph)Category 2
1856Unnamed 1856 stormAug 1130 miCategory 1 (84 mph)Category 4

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Kaplan: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Kaplan

By decade

  • 2020s4
  • 2010s19
  • 2000s34
  • 1990s27
  • 1980s18(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s27(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s16(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s6(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Kaplan, Louisiana
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Oct 29, 1974F321 mi31.3 mi2 / 52
Jan 31, 1983F34 mi6 mi1 / 0
Dec 25, 1969F33 mi1.5 mi1 / 8
Sep 10, 1961F32 mi5.7 mi1 / 55
Oct 29, 1974F320 mi7.3 mi0 / 1
Apr 4, 1952F324 mi36.7 mi0 / 10
Mar 5, 2011EF216 mi6.99 mi1 / 11
Aug 29, 2017EF223 mi2.18 mi0 / 0
Mar 21, 2012EF211 mi4.16 mi0 / 1
Dec 24, 2009EF218 mi6.64 mi0 / 4
Dec 24, 2009EF212 mi5.58 mi0 / 0
May 15, 2008EF212 mi7.6 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 151, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Kaplan while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

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