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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Welsh, LA

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

45 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Welsh, Louisiana since 1851, 14 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Delta in 2020. Since 1950, 159 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
14

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
31

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
159

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
5

3 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Welsh

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Welsh, Louisiana, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2020DeltaOct 10overheadCategory 1 (83 mph)Category 4
2020LauraAug 2728 miCategory 4 (133 mph)Category 4
2019BarryJul 138 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 1
2017HarveyAug 3025 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 4
2017CindyJun 2255 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
2011LeeSep 455 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2008GustavSep 145 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 4
2007HumbertoSep 1337 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 1
2005RitaSep 2462 miCategory 2 (106 mph)Category 5
2004IvanSep 2373 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 5
2002LiliOct 328 miCategory 1 (74 mph)Category 4
1992AndrewAug 2668 miCategory 1 (90 mph)Category 5
1985JuanOct 3033 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1985DannyAug 1512 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 1
1982ChrisSep 1145 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1980DanielleSep 568 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1979ClaudetteJul 2464 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1978DebraAug 2934 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1974CarmenSep 821 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 4
1971EdithSep 1631 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 5
1965BetsySep 1074 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 4
1957BerthaAug 1054 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1957AudreyJun 2744 miCategory 2 (101 mph)Category 3
1955Unnamed 1955 stormAug 2717 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1954BarbaraJul 2925 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1947Unnamed 1947 stormSep 2052 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 4
1940Unnamed 1940 stormSep 24overheadTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1940Unnamed 1940 stormAug 762 miCategory 2 (98 mph)Category 2
1938Unnamed 1938 stormAug 1538 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 2
1937Unnamed 1937 stormOct 358 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 1965 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1926Unnamed 1926 stormAug 2638 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1920Unnamed 1920 stormSep 2273 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 2
1918Unnamed 1918 stormAug 634 miCategory 3 (113 mph)Category 3
1908Unnamed 1908 stormAug 11 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1905Unnamed 1905 stormSep 2934 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1898Unnamed 1898 stormSep 2013 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 1352 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 1
1886Unnamed 1886 stormOct 1347 miCategory 1 (85 mph)Category 3
1886Unnamed 1886 stormJun 1425 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 2
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 1554 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1875Unnamed 1875 stormSep 1834 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 3
1865Unnamed 1865 stormSep 1338 miCategory 1 (90 mph)Category 2
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 3014 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1856Unnamed 1856 stormAug 1156 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 4

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Welsh: 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 Welsh

By decade

  • 2020s17
  • 2010s37
  • 2000s27
  • 1990s25(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s16
  • 1970s18(3 EF3+)
  • 1960s13
  • 1950s6(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Welsh, Louisiana
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Oct 29, 1974F314 mi31.3 mi2 / 52
Nov 21, 1992F38 mi6 mi0 / 2
Apr 17, 1973F320 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Feb 12, 1971F320 mi3.6 mi0 / 1
Apr 4, 1952F34 mi36.7 mi0 / 10
Apr 10, 2024EF222 mi1.05 mi0 / 0
Oct 27, 2021EF225 mi2.2 mi0 / 2
Aug 29, 2017EF214 mi2.18 mi0 / 0
Mar 21, 2012EF224 mi4.16 mi0 / 1
Dec 24, 2009EF224 mi5.58 mi0 / 0
Jan 2, 1999F218 mi10 mi0 / 0
Jan 2, 1999F210 mi4 mi0 / 2

The strongest 12 of 159, 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 Welsh 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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