Lake Charles, LA Tornado History — 147 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Lake Charles, LA had?
Lake Charles has had 147 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 4 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Lake Charles?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Lake Charles was an EF0 on October 25, 2025.
When is tornado season in Lake Charles?
May is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Lake Charles, with 24 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 Lake Charles
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 58 total, averaging 2.9 per year over this window.
Preliminary tornado reports near Lake Charles since December 29, 2025
These is a preliminary report, not confirmed tornadoes. It has not yet been through an NWS damage survey, and is 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Preliminary reports are revised, merged, and sometimes withdrawn — historically about 23% are consolidated downward once surveys complete.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 Lake Charles. 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 Lake Charles
1 fatality has been recorded within 25 miles of Lake Charles since 1950, across 1 event. 63 injuries have been reported across all events. 1970 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F2 on October 11, 1970, which caused 1 fatality along a 1.0-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Lake Charles
About Tornadoes in Lake Charles
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.
Calcasieu Parish occupies flat coastal-plain ground in southwestern Louisiana, with Lake Charles near its heart and the Gulf of Mexico close enough that deeply humid marine air streams inland on almost any southerly wind. That moisture turns hazardous whenever something lifts it — cold fronts sweeping off the Texas plains in spring, or rain bands from landfalling tropical systems in autumn — so the parish faces tornado weather across much of the calendar.
The stronger entries in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center's file for this area come from the F-scale era. An F3 tornado carved a 36.7-mile path through the region on April 4, 1952, injuring 10 people. Another F3 struck on February 12, 1971, causing roughly $2.75 million in damage, and an F3 crossed the area again on November 22, 1992. An F2 on March 17, 1961 tracked an unusually long 40.4 miles, while an F2 on October 12, 1970 killed a resident despite traveling barely a mile.
Recent decades have kept that coastal character. An EF2 injured 2 people along a 2.2-mile track on October 27, 2021; an EF2 ran 25.21 miles across the parish on January 24, 2023; and another EF2 struck on May 13, 2024. Even the EF0 of October 26, 2025 fits a pattern in which cool-season fronts and tropical remnants alike can spin up damaging winds. The event list elsewhere on this page carries the fuller chronology.