Monroe, LA Tornado History — 132 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Monroe, LA had?
Monroe has had 132 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 10 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Monroe?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Monroe was an EF2 on January 5, 2025.
When is tornado season in Monroe?
April is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Monroe, with 45 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 Monroe
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 50 total, averaging 2.5 per year over this window.
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 Monroe
10 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Monroe since 1950, across 5 events. 156 injuries have been reported across all events. 2001 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F3 on November 24, 2001, which caused 3 fatalities along a 30.0-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Monroe
About Tornadoes in Monroe
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.
A thousand-yard-wide F4 tornado carved a nine-mile path through the Monroe area on April 1, 1983, killing two people and injuring twenty. The setting helps explain why such storms find this corner of Louisiana. Monroe lies along the Ouachita River in low, open country where humid air off the Gulf of Mexico flows north almost unimpeded, meeting cold fronts and jet-stream energy sweeping in from the southern Plains. When those ingredients come together — especially in spring, though winter systems can supply them too — thunderstorms here encounter little terrain to disrupt their rotation.
The archive maintained by the NOAA Storm Prediction Center shows this threat reaching across generations of Monroe families. On March 22, 1953, an F2 tornado on a long track through the region killed two people and injured twenty-two. An F3 claimed one life near the city on January 18, 1973, and another F3 killed three on November 24, 2001. On April 25, 2019, an EF3 with a path 1,000 yards wide struck the area, killing two, and the following spring, on April 12, 2020, an EF3 caused damage estimated near 250 million dollars. The pattern carried into January 5, 2025, when an EF2 tracked roughly nine miles through the area. The skies that earlier generations of this city learned to watch still deserve the same respect today.