Lafayette, LA Tornado History — 209 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Lafayette, LA had?
Lafayette has had 209 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 12 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Lafayette?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Lafayette was an EF0 on June 10, 2025.
When is tornado season in Lafayette?
May is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Lafayette, with 39 on record. Spring through early summer (April–June) generally sees the highest activity across most of the central and southern United States.
At a Glance
Recent Tornado Activity Near Lafayette
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 64 total, averaging 3.2 per year over this window.
Preliminary tornado reports near Lafayette since December 29, 2025
These are 2 preliminary reports, not confirmed tornadoes. They have not yet been through an NWS damage survey, and are not counted in the confirmed totals above.
Preliminary reports are revised, merged, and sometimes withdrawn — historically about 23% are consolidated downward once surveys complete. Ratings are omitted until a survey assigns one.
Confirmed records above are complete through December 29, 2025. NOAA publishes the confirmed archive annually, so tornadoes after that date appear here first and move into the totals above once finalized.
Within 25 miles of Lafayette. Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center preliminary storm reports, updated daily.
Tornadoes by Decade
Tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita Rating
F0–F5 ratings (pre-2007) are grouped with their EF equivalents. The Enhanced Fujita scale replaced the original Fujita scale in February 2007.
Tornadoes by Month
Casualties on Record Near Lafayette
24 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Lafayette since 1950, across 14 events. 391 injuries have been reported across all events. 1957 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F3 on November 7, 1957, which caused 4 fatalities along a 9.2-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Lafayette
About Tornadoes in Lafayette
This overview was written August 10, 2026. The tornado counts and notable-event figures elsewhere on this page reflect the latest data and may differ from this summary.
Acadiana's flat sugarcane and rice country was raked on April 4, 1952, by an F3 tornado that ran 36.7 miles and injured 10 people, followed the same day by an F2 that killed 4 and injured 33 along a 20.4-mile track. Such days grow from the collision of warm, humid Gulf of Mexico air with advancing cold fronts and strong winds aloft — ingredients south Louisiana assembles in a distinct seasonal rhythm, with a springtime pulse and another window in the cool months, when sharp upper-level troughs dig toward the Gulf Coast.
That cool-season side of the calendar shows up repeatedly around Lafayette. On October 16, 1957, an F3 tracked 37.9 miles, killing 1 person and injuring 29; weeks later, on November 8, 1957, an F3 killed 4 people along a 9.2-mile path while an F1 nearby killed 2 more. On October 29, 1974, an F3 ran 31.3 miles through the area, killing 2, injuring 52, and causing $27.5 million in damage.
Recent decades carry the same rhythm. Tornadoes threaded through the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s, arriving with spring severe-weather days, cool-season frontal passages, and the occasional tropical system spinning up brief circulations in late summer and fall. The NOAA Storm Prediction Center's database underpins the event list elsewhere on this page, and its Lafayette entries read like a calendar of those same ingredients coming together.