Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Louisiana, January 31, 1983

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Louisiana, January 31, 1983
Start: 1983-01-31T15:45
End: 1983-01-31T23:45
Location: Louisiana

January 31, 1983 · NWS AT · 23 events in 14 counties and zones

16 thunderstorm wind, 7 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 2
Injuries: 2
Property damage: $825,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 23

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

16 thunderstorm wind, 7 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, East Baton Rouge

When: January 31, 3:45 PM CST
Where: East Baton Rouge County
Coordinates: 30.650, -91.150

Thunderstorm Wind, East Feliciana

When: January 31, 3:45 PM CST
Where: East Feliciana County
Coordinates: 30.720, -91.150

Tornado, Cameron

When: January 31, 5:41 PM CST
Where: Cameron County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Property damage: $30
Coordinates: 29.770, -93.600

Tornado, East Feliciana

When: January 31, 6:00 PM CST
Where: East Feliciana County
Rating: F2
Path length: 3 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 30.720, -92.370

Tornado, Calcasieu

When: January 31, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Calcasieu County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 30.230, -93.230

Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson Davis

When: January 31, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Jefferson Davis County
Coordinates: 30.350, -92.670

Thunderstorm Wind, Acadia

When: January 31, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Acadia County
Coordinates: 30.220, -92.370

Tornado, Vermilion

When: January 31, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Vermilion County
Rating: F3
Path length: 6 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 30.020, -92.270

Thunderstorm Wind, Avoyelles

When: January 31, 9:20 PM CST
Where: Avoyelles County
Coordinates: 31.030, -92.200

Tornado, Avoyelles

When: January 31, 9:30 PM CST
Where: Avoyelles County
Rating: F3
Path length: 5 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 30.930, -92.170

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Landry

When: January 31, 9:35 PM CST
Where: St. Landry County
Coordinates: 30.730, -91.970

Thunderstorm Wind, Avoyelles

When: January 31, 9:40 PM CST
Where: Avoyelles County
Coordinates: 30.980, -92.070

Thunderstorm Wind, Avoyelles

When: January 31, 9:40 PM CST
Where: Avoyelles County
Coordinates: 31.030, -92.180

Thunderstorm Wind, Rapides

When: January 31, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Rapides County
Coordinates: 31.000, -92.300

Tornado, St. Landry

When: January 31, 10:15 PM CST
Where: St. Landry County
Rating: F2
Path length: 7 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 30.470, -91.930

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Martin

When: January 31, 10:30 PM CST
Where: St. Martin County
Coordinates: 30.320, -91.800

Thunderstorm Wind, Pointe Coupee

When: January 31, 10:35 PM CST
Where: Pointe Coupee County
Coordinates: 30.580, -91.620

Thunderstorm Wind, Iberville

When: January 31, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Iberville County
Coordinates: 30.400, -91.430

Thunderstorm Wind, Iberville

When: January 31, 11:15 PM CST
Where: Iberville County
Coordinates: 30.170, -91.150

Thunderstorm Wind, Pointe Coupee

When: January 31, 11:15 PM CST
Where: Pointe Coupee County
Coordinates: 30.530, -91.350

Tornado, West Baton Rouge

When: January 31, 11:30 PM CST
Where: West Baton Rouge County
Rating: F2
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 30.380, -91.230

Thunderstorm Wind, East Baton Rouge

When: January 31, 11:35 PM CST
Where: East Baton Rouge County
Coordinates: 30.550, -91.120

Thunderstorm Wind, East Baton Rouge

When: January 31, 11:45 PM CST
Where: East Baton Rouge County
Coordinates: 30.470, -91.170

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Vermilion	1983-01-31				Direct
Tornado, Avoyelles	1983-01-31				Direct

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
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 1983 Every state in 1983 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Louisiana, 1983

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: 10046208, 10046209, 10046210, 10046211, 10046212, 10046213, 10046214, 10046215, 10046216, 10046217, 10046218, 10046219, 10046220, 10042654, 10042863, 10042864, 10042865, 10042866, 10042867, 10042868, 10042869, 10042870, 10042871.