NEW ORLEANS — In your Breakdown, we’re taking a look at how often we see tornadoes in Louisiana.
We’re cueing up the Tornado Archive, which is a data preservation project by researchers and meteorologists.
It shows that from 1980 to the end of 2022, there were about 1,800 tornadoes in the state of Louisiana. 72 people died, and another 1,500 were hurt.
But when we compare those numbers to some states that sit squarely in tornado alley, Louisiana appears to have it a bit easier. Kansas saw nearly double Louisiana’s number of tornados in the same time frame. In the same time frame, more than 2,650 tornadoes hit Oklahoma, and more than 2,000 swept through Mississippi.
The New Orleans area has had some notable – even deadly – tornadoes since the turn of the century.
But have they increased in frequency?
Breaking it down by the decades using Tornado Archive data: in the 80s, there were an average of 34 tornados per year. In the 90s, that jumps to 43. And by the 2010s, an average of 59 tornados per year were sweeping through the state.
- 1980-1989 – 310 total tornadoes (34.4/year)
- 1990 – 1999 – 389 310 total tornadoes (43.2/year)
- 2000 – 2009 – 433 310 total tornadoes (48.11/year)
- 2010 – 2019 – 528 310 total tornadoes (58.66/year)
It looks like a clear increase, but that includes all tornadoes - even EF-0s - that were more difficult to detect in the 80s and 90s.
Looking at the data for only EF-2 tornadoes and stronger changes the story.
In the 80s, there were an average of less than 10 ‘strong’ tornadoes per year. In the 90s, there was an average of six. In the early aughts, just five.
- 1980-1989 – 86 total EF-2 or stronger tornadoes (9.5/year)
- 1990 – 1999 – 54 total EF-2 or stronger tornadoes (6/year)
- 2000 – 2009 – 45 total EF-2 or stronger tornadoes (5/year)
- 2010 – 2019 – 59 total EF-2 or stronger tornadoes (6.5/year)
The number of EF-2 or stronger tornadoes simply has not increased considerably in the last 40 years. What has changed is how much knowledge is available to us.
Our radar is more accurate, and drones can find evidence of tornado activity even in marshy areas or woods. With social media, we’re more aware than ever of what’s happening in neighborhoods outside of our own.
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