Drought, Caddo
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM CST to May 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Caddo forecast zone
- Crop damage
- $4.0 million
- Coordinates
- 32.580, -93.882 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought in Louisiana, May 1 to 31, 1996
May was not only abnormally hot and dry but was the sixth driest and the fifth hottest on record. There were numerous problems in northwest Louisiana attributed to the heat which included profit loses in the lumber market, agriculture and food production industries.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- $4.0 million
- Events
- 4
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS SHV wrote it up.
May was not only abnormally hot and dry but was the sixth driest and the fifth hottest on record. There were numerous problems in northwest Louisiana attributed to the heat which included profit loses in the lumber market, agriculture and food production industries. Area lakes and reservoirs suffered also with many reaching near record low water levels.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Drought, Bossier
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM CST to May 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Bossier forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 32.679, -93.605 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, De Soto
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM CST to May 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- De Soto forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 32.056, -93.737 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Sabine
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM CST to May 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Sabine forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 31.564, -93.555 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Drought
- A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Drought in Texas, May 1 to 31, 1996
- Cold in Iowa, May 1 to 31, 1996
- Drought in Texas, May 1 to 31, 1996
- Drought in Texas, May 1 to 31, 1996
- Drought in Texas, May 1 to 31, 1996
- Tornado in Ohio, May 1, 1996
- Wildfire in California, May 1 to 3, 1996
- Flooding in Indiana, May 1 to 26, 1996
- Flooding in Illinois, May 1 to 31, 1996
- Flooding in Indiana, May 1 to 20, 1996
- Flood in Illinois, May 1 to 26, 1996
- Flooding in Missouri, May 1 to 31, 1996
More
Every storm in Louisiana in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, May 1996
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: 5545758, 5545759, 5545760, 5545761.