Tornadoes and Hail in Louisiana, May 19, 1983

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Louisiana, May 19, 1983
Start: 1983-05-19T00:05
End: 1983-05-19T23:35
Location: Louisiana

May 19, 1983 · NWS AT · 23 events in 10 counties and zones

14 thunderstorm wind, 7 tornado, 2 hail, 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: 1
Injuries: 51
Property damage: $78 million
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

14 thunderstorm wind, 7 tornado, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Tensas

When: May 19, 12:05 AM CST
Where: Tensas County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 32.070, -91.230

Thunderstorm Wind, Tensas

When: May 19, 12:15 AM CST
Where: Tensas County
Coordinates: 32.000, -91.330

Tornado, Sabine

When: May 19, 9:36 PM CST
Where: Sabine County
Rating: F3
Path length: 3 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 31.600, -93.530

Hail, Sabine

When: May 19, 9:36 PM CST
Where: Sabine County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 31.470, -93.580

Thunderstorm Wind, Sabine

When: May 19, 9:36 PM CST
Where: Sabine County
Coordinates: 31.470, -93.580

Thunderstorm Wind, Sabine

When: May 19, 9:50 PM CST
Where: Sabine County
Coordinates: 31.630, -93.700

Thunderstorm Wind, Sabine

When: May 19, 9:55 PM CST
Where: Sabine County
Coordinates: 31.780, -93.700

Tornado, Natchitoches

When: May 19, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Natchitoches County
Rating: F3
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 31.780, -93.080

Thunderstorm Wind, Natchitoches

When: May 19, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Natchitoches County
Coordinates: 31.680, -93.300

Thunderstorm Wind, Natchitoches

When: May 19, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Natchitoches County
Coordinates: 31.680, -93.100

Hail, Grant

When: May 19, 10:30 PM CST
Where: Grant County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 31.670, -92.900

Thunderstorm Wind, Grant

When: May 19, 10:30 PM CST
Where: Grant County
Coordinates: 31.670, -92.900

Tornado, Winn

When: May 19, 10:35 PM CST
Where: Winn County
Rating: F3
Path length: 23 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Injuries: 10 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 31.870, -92.920

Thunderstorm Wind, Winn

When: May 19, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Winn County
Coordinates: 32.080, -92.500

Tornado, St. Helena

When: May 19, 11:05 PM CST
Where: St. Helena County
Rating: F3
Path length: 5 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 30 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 31.870, -92.300

Thunderstorm Wind, La Salle

When: May 19, 11:05 PM CST
Where: La Salle County
Coordinates: 31.650, -92.150

Thunderstorm Wind, Caldwell

When: May 19, 11:05 PM CST
Where: Caldwell County
Coordinates: 32.070, -92.120

Tornado, La Salle

When: May 19, 11:15 PM CST
Where: La Salle County
Rating: F3
Path length: 7 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 31.930, -92.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Caldwell

When: May 19, 11:15 PM CST
Where: Caldwell County
Coordinates: 32.030, -92.150

Thunderstorm Wind, Caldwell

When: May 19, 11:15 PM CST
Where: Caldwell County
Coordinates: 32.170, -92.100

Tornado, Caldwell

When: May 19, 11:20 PM CST
Where: Caldwell County
Rating: F3
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 250 yd
Injuries: 6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 32.180, -91.980

Tornado, Franklin

When: May 19, 11:35 PM CST
Where: Franklin County
Rating: F2
Path length: 8 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 31.980, -91.820

Thunderstorm Wind, Catahoula

When: May 19, 11:35 PM CST
Where: Catahoula County
Coordinates: 31.830, -91.720

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, St. Helena	1983-05-19				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.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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: 10045129, 10045130, 10045131, 10045132, 10045133, 10045134, 10045135, 10045136, 10045137, 10045138, 10045139, 10045140, 10045141, 10045142, 10045143, 10045144, 10045145, 10045146, 10045147, 10045148, 10045149, 10045150, 10045151.