Rapides Parish tornado history

82 tornadoes touched Rapides Parish, Louisiana between 1950 and 2025 — about 1.1 a year. The strongest was rated F4 (Dec 3, 1953). Tornadoes here killed 16 and injured 104 people.

82tornadoes since 1950

F4strongest rating

16killed · 104 injured

85.5 milongest path · 1953

(E)F0(E)F1(E)F2(E)F3(E)F4(E)F5· dots = start point only

By rating

(E)F018

(E)F141

(E)F217

(E)F35

(E)F41

(E)F50

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: December.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
Dec 3, 1953	F4	85.5 mi	300 yd	50	9
Nov 7, 1957	F3	13.3 mi	67 yd	16	3
Dec 16, 2019	EF3	62.6 mi	550 yd	0	1
Jan 6, 1951	F3	16.8 mi	317 yd	11	0
Jun 5, 1981	F3	4.3 mi	40 yd	10	0
Jun 22, 1971	F3	0.1 mi	17 yd	0	0
Oct 23, 1957	F2	18.3 mi	100 yd	1	1
Apr 22, 2020	EF2	9 mi	550 yd	0	1
Mar 30, 1976	F2	42.1 mi	77 yd	3	0
Oct 31, 2018	EF2	37.9 mi	500 yd	2	0
Nov 19, 1991	F2	10 mi	100 yd	1	0
Apr 22, 2020	EF2	8.4 mi	500 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Killed
Mar 4, 2025	EF1	6.8 mi	100 yd	0
Dec 26, 2024	EF1	1.9 mi	150 yd	0
Dec 26, 2024	EF1	1.4 mi	100 yd	0
May 30, 2024	EF1	4.1 mi	50 yd	0
Nov 20, 2023	EF0	2.8 mi	75 yd	0
Dec 13, 2022	EF1	2.7 mi	100 yd	0
Dec 13, 2022	EF1	7.3 mi	150 yd	0
Apr 7, 2021	EF1	0.9 mi	200 yd	0
Apr 22, 2020	EF2	8.4 mi	500 yd	0
Apr 22, 2020	EF2	9 mi	550 yd	1
Apr 22, 2020	EF1	3.9 mi	500 yd	0
Apr 22, 2020	EF1	5.4 mi	200 yd	0

Deadliest: Dec 3, 1953, F4, 9 killed.

Nearby counties

Grant Parish, LA30 Avoyelles Parish, LA54 Evangeline Parish, LA40 Vernon Parish, LA59 LaSalle Parish, LA25 Allen Parish, LA27 Natchitoches Parish, LA66 Winn Parish, LA43

Questions

How many tornadoes has Rapides Parish, Louisiana had?

82 tornadoes touched Rapides Parish, Louisiana between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 1.1 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Rapides Parish?

The strongest rating recorded was F4 on Dec 3, 1953, with a 85.5-mile path and 9 deaths.

When is tornado season in Rapides Parish?

Most of its tornadoes happened in December (17 of 82). Tornadoes can occur in any month, so keep alerts on year-round.

Right now: live tornado warnings map · alerts for your location. Dates link to that day’s full storm reports where available (2004 onward).