USA.com / Louisiana / Saint Martin County / Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes

Saint Martin County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes

Basic InfoPopulation/RacesIncome/CareersHousingEducationOthers

Hot Louisiana Rankings

Fastest / Slowest Growing Counties in LA

Richest / Poorest Counties by Income in LA

Expensive / Cheapest Homes by County in LA

Most / Least Educated Counties in LA

Fastest / Slowest Growing Cities in LA

High / Low LA Cities by Males Employed

High / Low LA Cities by Females Employed

Best / Worst Cities by Crime Rate in LA

Richest / Poorest Cities by Income in LA

Expensive / Cheapest Homes by City in LA

Most / Least Educated Cities in LA

The chance of earthquake damage in Saint Martin County is about the same as Louisiana average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Saint Martin County is higher than Louisiana average and is much higher than the national average.

Topics:Earthquake Index Volcano Index Tornado Index Other Weather Extremes Events Volcanos Nearby Historical Earthquake Events Historical Tornado Events

Earthquake Index, #48

Saint Martin County	0.01
Louisiana	0.03
U.S.	1.81

The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.

Volcano Index, #1

Saint Martin County	0.0000
Louisiana	0.0000
U.S.	0.0023

The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.

Tornado Index, #13

Saint Martin County	278.36
Louisiana	235.86
U.S.	136.45

The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.

Other Weather Extremes Events

A total of 4,658 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Saint Martin County were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:

Type	Count	Type	Count	Type	Count	Type	Count	Type	Count
Avalanche:	0	Blizzard:	0	Cold:	5	Dense Fog:	2	Drought:	22
Dust Storm:	0	Flood:	369	Hail:	1,020	Heat:	7	Heavy Snow:	4
High Surf:	0	Hurricane:	13	Ice Storm:	9	Landslide:	0	Strong Wind:	12
Thunderstorm Winds:	2,814	Tropical Storm:	16	Wildfire:	1	Winter Storm:	8	Winter Weather:	8
Other:	348

Volcanos Nearby

No volcano is found in or near Saint Martin County.

Historical Earthquake Events

No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Saint Martin County.

No historical earthquake events found in or near Saint Martin County.

Historical Tornado Events

A total of 79 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Saint Martin County.

Distance (miles)	Date	Magnitude	Start Lat/Log	End Lat/Log	Length	Width	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage	Crop Damage	Affected County
13.3	1992-11-21	2	30°05'N / 91°52'W	30°16'N / 91°47'W	13.00 Miles	73 Yards	0	3	250K	0	St. Martin
14.0	1975-04-30	2	30°02'N / 91°53'W	30°05'N / 91°47'W	7.10 Miles	50 Yards	0	1	250K	0	Iberia
15.2	2007-02-13	2	30°13'N / 91°51'W	30°16'N / 91°48'W	4.00 Miles	300 Yards	0	3	1.5M	0K	St. Martin
		Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Wind speeds were estimated between 110 and 120 mph, or on the low end of EF2. This tornado was spawned by the same storm that produced the Youngsville tornado. The tornado began southwest of the intersection of Poydras Highway and Eunice Road and moved northeast, ending past Nursery Highway. Several brick homes had roofs removed near the highs school, with one home losing most of its second floor. A total of 44 homes were damaged or destroyed, with 80 homes impacted by the tornado. Three injuries occurred in a small brick home where the roof blew off, causing a brick wall and other debris to land on them. Several trees were damaged or uprooted. This was the strongest tornado in southwest Louisiana since the November 23 2004 tornado outbreak. EPISODE NARRATIVE: An approaching cold front resulted in showers and thunderstroms across southwest Louisiana, some of which became severe. Several tornadoes touched down across Acadiana.
15.4	1952-04-04	2	29°52'N / 91°37'W	29°56'N / 91°33'W	6.40 Miles	20 Yards	0	3	2.5M	0	St. Mary
15.6	1972-05-12	2	30°08'N / 91°21'W		1.00 Mile	100 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Iberville
17.2	1992-11-21	2	30°03'N / 91°55'W	30°05'N / 91°52'W	2.00 Miles	73 Yards	0	1	250K	0	Iberia
17.4	1992-11-01	2	30°05'N / 91°54'W		0.50 Mile	40 Yards	0	0	25K	0	St. Martin
18.4	1975-03-18	2	30°02'N / 91°56'W	30°04'N / 91°53'W	4.10 Miles	50 Yards	0	2	250K	0	Iberia
19.7	1989-06-08	2	30°21'N / 91°29'W	30°23'N / 91°24'W	5.00 Miles	77 Yards	2	30	2.5M	0	Iberville
19.8	1953-11-21	2	30°11'N / 91°56'W	30°22'N / 91°51'W	13.60 Miles	300 Yards	0	0	250K	0	St. Martin
20.8	1953-11-21	2	30°06'N / 91°59'W	30°11'N / 91°56'W	6.80 Miles	300 Yards	0	2	250K	0	Lafayette
21.7	1977-09-14	2	29°57'N / 91°55'W		0.20 Mile	27 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Iberia
22.2	1969-12-25	3	30°08'N / 91°21'W	30°11'N / 91°08'W	13.50 Miles	50 Yards	0	1	25K	0	Iberville
22.7	1977-04-21	3	30°18'N / 91°57'W	30°19'N / 91°54'W	3.80 Miles	440 Yards	1	11	2.5M	0	St. Martin
23.7	1967-05-01	2	30°05'N / 91°13'W		1.00 Mile	50 Yards	0	1	25K	0	Iberville
24.2	1974-10-29	3	30°11'N / 92°04'W	30°12'N / 91°57'W	7.30 Miles	167 Yards	0	1	250K	0	Lafayette
24.2	1952-04-04	2	30°24'N / 91°55'W	30°24'N / 91°48'W	7.20 Miles	67 Yards	0	0	250K	0	St. Martin
24.6	1989-06-08	2	30°23'N / 91°24'W	30°26'N / 91°20'W	5.00 Miles	77 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	West Baton Rouge
25.3	1969-12-06	2	30°09'N / 92°02'W		0.50 Mile	33 Yards	0	0	3K	0	Lafayette
25.4	1971-09-16	2	29°46'N / 91°30'W		0.50 Mile	50 Yards	0	0	25K	0	St. Mary
27.3	1987-02-15	2	29°58'N / 91°12'W	30°00'N / 91°10'W	3.00 Miles	173 Yards	0	4	250K	0	Assumption
28.7	1977-03-28	2	30°12'N / 92°11'W	30°12'N / 91°59'W	12.00 Miles	100 Yards	0	1	2.5M	0	Lafayette
28.7	2004-01-25	2	30°09'N / 92°06'W	30°09'N / 92°05'W	1.00 Mile	10 Yards	0	3	1.0M	0	Lafayette
		Brief Description: A short-lived tornado destroyed two brick homes and two mobile homes, and damaged at least another 15 homes and businesses. One lady broke her shoulder when the mobile home she was in flipped over, trapping her. The other two injuries were minor - cuts and bruises.
28.9	1983-01-31	2	30°23'N / 91°14'W		0.50 Mile	33 Yards	0	0	25K	0	West Baton Rouge
28.9	1965-01-08	2	30°18'N / 92°03'W		1.00 Mile	33 Yards	0	0	3K	0	Lafayette
29.4	1980-10-18	2	30°19'N / 92°03'W				0	4	250K	0	Lafayette
29.6	1992-06-13	2	30°14'N / 92°06'W	30°19'N / 92°03'W	6.00 Miles	60 Yards	0	0	250K	0	Lafayette
29.8	1995-12-17	2	30°33'N / 91°33'W		0.20 Mile	20 Yards	0	1	200K	0	Pointe Coupee
		Brief Description: Fifteen mobile homes were destroyed, four sustained major damage and two minor damage. A child was injured when struck by a Christmas tree. A National Weather Service official surveyed the damage area.
30.2	2008-05-15	2	30°07'N / 92°09'W	30°10'N / 92°05'W	5.00 Miles	200 Yards	0	0	300K	0K	Lafayette
		Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This is a continuation of the tornado that began west of Maurice in Vermilion Parish. It strengthened to EF-2 intensity before dissipating a mile west of the Acadiana Mall. Near the Duhon and West Broussard Road intersection, one permanent home had the roof completely blown off, hitting the neighboring house and causing extensive damage. The two people inside the roof-less home escaped injury. Other homes along the path received minor roof or siding damage, and many trees were blown down. EPISODE NARRATIVE: As a cold front approached, a squall line developed. Additional storms sprung up in front of the squall line, and where storms merged, a few tornadoes touched down. Along the squall line, winds of 60 mph blew down trees and caused minor damage to homes.
30.6	1952-04-04	2	30°22'N / 92°08'W	30°24'N / 91°55'W	13.20 Miles	67 Yards	4	33	250K	0	St. Landry
31.5	1972-02-29	3	30°32'N / 91°23'W		1.00 Mile	200 Yards	0	3	250K	0	West Baton Rouge
31.7	1965-06-27	2	30°21'N / 91°09'W		0.50 Mile	33 Yards	0	0	25K	0	East Baton Rouge
32.5	1957-10-15	3	30°28'N / 92°05'W	30°34'N / 91°44'W	22.00 Miles	100 Yards	0	10	250K	0	St. Landry
32.8	1983-01-31	2	30°28'N / 91°56'W	30°34'N / 91°54'W	7.00 Miles	100 Yards	0	0	25K	0	St. Landry
33.0	1957-11-13	3	30°21'N / 92°07'W	30°22'N / 92°04'W	3.60 Miles	200 Yards	0	0	0K	0	Plaquemines
33.6	1957-10-15	3	30°34'N / 91°44'W	30°39'N / 91°29'W	15.90 Miles	100 Yards	1	19	250K	0	Pointe Coupee
33.7	1964-10-03	2	29°55'N / 91°06'W		1.50 Miles	100 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Assumption
33.9	1982-01-30	2	29°59'N / 91°04'W		3.00 Miles	10 Yards	0	1	25K	0	Assumption
34.6	1970-03-17	3	29°42'N / 91°18'W		1.00 Mile	50 Yards	0	2	250K	0	St. Mary
34.7	1975-05-08	2	30°25'N / 91°11'W	30°24'N / 91°05'W	6.20 Miles	50 Yards	0	0	0K	0	East Baton Rouge
35.3	1957-11-07	3	30°21'N / 92°10'W	30°21'N / 92°07'W	3.30 Miles	200 Yards	2	5	250K	0	St. Landry
36.0	1989-06-08	2	30°31'N / 91°15'W	30°31'N / 91°11'W	3.50 Miles	60 Yards	0	2	2.5M	0	West Baton Rouge
36.1	1982-05-07	2	29°47'N / 92°08'W	29°52'N / 92°05'W	5.00 Miles	100 Yards	0	0	3K	0	Vermilion
36.2	1983-02-09	3	30°34'N / 92°00'W	30°34'N / 91°52'W	7.00 Miles	150 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	St. Landry
36.4	1958-11-14	2	30°28'N / 91°09'W		2.00 Miles	17 Yards	0	0	25K	0	East Baton Rouge
36.5	1974-01-19	2	29°57'N / 91°02'W		0.30 Mile	27 Yards	0	0	3K	0	Assumption
36.6	1950-03-19	2	30°06'N / 91°00'W		1.00 Mile	50 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Ascension
36.6	1965-01-22	2	30°06'N / 91°00'W		1.00 Mile	267 Yards	0	0	250K	0	Ascension
36.6	1976-01-25	2	30°06'N / 91°00'W		1.10 Miles	33 Yards	0	7	2.5M	0	Ascension
36.9	1989-05-18	2	30°14'N / 92°13'W		1.00 Mile	40 Yards	0	1	250K	0	Acadia
37.6	1957-11-07	3	30°21'N / 92°12'W	30°21'N / 92°10'W	2.30 Miles	200 Yards	2	5	250K	0	Acadia
38.0	1983-01-31	3	30°01'N / 92°16'W	30°05'N / 92°13'W	6.00 Miles	100 Yards	1	0	250K	0	Vermilion
38.0	1953-05-16	2	30°25'N / 92°14'W	30°34'N / 91°56'W	20.60 Miles	150 Yards	0	3	250K	0	St. Landry
38.0	1983-02-09	3	30°25'N / 92°10'W	30°34'N / 92°00'W	13.00 Miles	150 Yards	0	7	2.5M	0	St. Landry
38.1	1961-09-10	2	29°42'N / 91°12'W		1.00 Mile	100 Yards	0	16	25K	0	St. Mary
38.3	1957-10-23	2	29°56'N / 91°06'W	29°56'N / 90°55'W	11.00 Miles	100 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Assumption
39.0	1983-02-09	3	30°24'N / 92°11'W	30°25'N / 92°10'W	1.00 Mile	150 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Acadia
39.9	1973-09-12	2	29°50'N / 91°05'W	29°50'N / 90°59'W	6.20 Miles	50 Yards	0	3	250K	0	Assumption
39.9	1989-06-08	2	30°31'N / 91°11'W	30°33'N / 91°06'W	6.00 Miles	60 Yards	0	58	2.5M	0	East Baton Rouge
40.0	1969-12-25	3	30°00'N / 92°16'W		1.50 Miles	100 Yards	1	8	250K	0	Vermilion
40.6	1971-05-11	2	30°31'N / 92°07'W		0.10 Mile	17 Yards	0	0	0K	0	St. Landry
40.9	1973-04-26	3	30°30'N / 91°05'W		0.30 Mile	70 Yards	0	0	25K	0	East Baton Rouge
41.0	1967-05-01	2	30°00'N / 92°17'W		2.00 Miles	50 Yards	0	4	250K	0	Vermilion
41.5	1961-09-10	3	30°00'N / 92°18'W	30°05'N / 92°18'W	5.70 Miles	283 Yards	1	55	2.5M	0	Vermilion
42.0	1953-05-16	2	30°24'N / 92°14'W	30°25'N / 92°14'W	1.10 Miles	150 Yards	0	0	250K	0	Acadia
42.5	1971-09-16	3	30°27'N / 91°02'W	30°33'N / 91°04'W	7.30 Miles	83 Yards	0	3	2.5M	0	East Baton Rouge
42.6	1977-04-20	2	30°25'N / 90°59'W		0.20 Mile	67 Yards	0	1	250K	0	East Baton Rouge
43.5	1975-05-09	2	30°13'N / 92°22'W	30°21'N / 92°16'W	11.10 Miles	50 Yards	0	0	0K	0	Acadia
43.7	1961-11-13	2	30°36'N / 91°10'W	30°39'N / 91°10'W	3.40 Miles	50 Yards	0	1	250K	0	East Baton Rouge
44.1	1968-04-23	2	30°08'N / 92°21'W		1.00 Mile	67 Yards	0	0	3K	0	Acadia
46.4	1975-05-09	2	30°26'N / 92°18'W		2.00 Miles	27 Yards	0	0	0K	0	Acadia
46.6	1974-10-29	3	30°13'N / 92°22'W	30°22'N / 92°22'W	10.30 Miles	200 Yards	0	0	0K	0	Acadia
47.3	2009-12-24	2	30°14'N / 92°24'W	30°19'N / 92°22'W	7.00 Miles	100 Yards	0	4	4.0M	0K	Acadia
		Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The Atwood Acres tornado touched down near the Interstate 10 and Highway 1121 intersection just northwest of Crowley, then moved north-northeast for 7 miles before ending just east of the Schule Road/Casanova Road intersection about 2 miles east of Maxie. The tornado first knocked down a few trees at a business along Interstate 10, with one tree falling on a car. Several trees were blown down behind some homes along Highway 1121 before more trees and a fence were blown down along Hensgen Road just west of Highway 13. The tornado crossed Highway 13 and caused roof damage to a home on the east side of the highway, before moving into the Atwood Acres subdivision. Here, the tornado caused major damage to 4 well-constructed homes and minor to moderate damage to approximately 26 other homes across the eastern half of the subdivision. One brick home completely lost its roof, with four family members inside receiving cuts and bruises, and three other homes received major damage to their roofs and walls. numerous trees, fences, and power lines were also blown down, with debris littering much of the subdivision and adjacent forests. The tornado continued northeastward and damaged another home just north of the subdivision, before passing through unaccessible forested areas. Several more trees were damagd at the Ellis Road/Parish Road 4-46 intersection. Curving more northward, the tornado moved generally along and just east of Ellis Road, with one barn destroyed at the intersection with Floyd Williams Road, and one oil storage tank blown down east of the Rifle Lane intersection. The final damage noted was to more trees near the Schule Road/Casanova Road intersection. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A powerful upper level storm system moved across the Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley from Wednesday, December 23, 2009, through Thursday, December 24, 2009. Numerous showers and elevated thunderstorms, including some supercells, repeatedly developed and moved northward across much of southwest Louisiana and the northern Gulf of Mexico from late Wednesday evening into Thursday morning. As the main upper level system approached Louisiana early Thursday morning, a squall line developed across east Texas and moved rapidly eastward across Louisiana, causing several reports of wind damage in southern Louisiana. Meanwhile, some of the elevated supercells became surface-based and tracked north-northeastward across south-central and east-central Louisiana, spawning at least a dozen tornadoes. In addition, the widespread rainfall caused flooding in some of these same areas. In total, at least 12 tornadoes affected portions of Vermilion, Acadia, St. Landry, Evangeline, and Avoyelles Parishes within a two hour timespan from 7-9 AM. Seven tornadoes affected Acadia Parish alone, the biggest single outbreak of tornadoes ever recorded in that parish. Three tornadoes were rated EF2, three were rated EF1, and six were rated EF0. Other tornadoes likely occurred that were reported by area residents but could not be confirmed by NWS storm surveys. These included a likely tornado just east of I-49 in extreme northeastern Evangeline Parish, a possible tornado about 8 miles southwest of Gueydan, and another east of Palmetto in far northeastern St. Landry Parish. This was the largest outbreak of tornadoes in the NWS Lake Charles county warning area since November 23, 2004.
47.7	1969-04-12	3	30°12'N / 90°54'W	30°17'N / 90°45'W	10.70 Miles	100 Yards	0	1	250K	0	Ascension
48.0	1983-02-09	3	30°26'N / 92°20'W	30°29'N / 92°18'W	3.00 Miles	150 Yards	0	0	250K	0	Acadia
48.2	1968-11-30	2	30°48'N / 91°48'W		0.50 Mile	33 Yards	0	1	25K	0	St. Landry
48.3	2002-10-29	2	30°36'N / 92°10'W	30°38'N / 92°12'W	5.00 Miles	20 Yards	0	0	5.0M	0	St. Landry
		Brief Description: A strong tornado moved across the small community of Prairie Ronde, destroying the school. Several neighboring houses also received major damage.
48.4	1984-10-14	3	30°39'N / 91°09'W	30°43'N / 91°06'W	5.00 Miles	150 Yards	0	3	250K	0	East Baton Rouge
48.6	1992-03-05	2	30°30'N / 92°19'W	30°31'N / 92°16'W	3.00 Miles	173 Yards	0	4	2.5M	0	St. Landry

* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.