Tornadoes in Louisiana, May 16, 1953

Name: Tornadoes in Louisiana, May 16, 1953
Start: 1953-05-16T03:30
End: 1953-05-16T20:00
Location: Louisiana

May 16, 1953 · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

5 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 5
Property damage: $1.0 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

5 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Acadia

When: May 16, 3:30 AM CST
Where: Acadia County
Rating: F2
Path length: 1.1 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 30.400, -92.230

Tornado, St. Landry

When: May 16, 3:30 AM CST
Where: St. Landry County
Rating: F2
Path length: 20.6 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 30.420, -92.230

Tornado, Caddo

When: May 16, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Caddo County
Rating: F0
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 32.430, -94.000

Tornado, Natchitoches

When: May 16, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Natchitoches County
Rating: F2
Path length: 28.5 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 31.980, -93.000

Tornado, Jackson

When: May 16, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Jackson County
Rating: F2
Path length: 22.5 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 32.300, -92.750

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Louisiana in 1953 Every state in 1953 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Louisiana, 1953

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10032679, 10032680, 10032681, 10032682, 10032683.