Louisiana Flooding

Losses, 2024 dollars

$13 billion

Losses at the time

$10 billion

Deaths

13

The losses and deaths are NCEI’s, counting everything the disaster did. The episodes below are only what the Weather Service filed in its Storm Events record, which counts damage differently and often not at all, so the two never add up and are shown apart.

• Flash Flood in Arizona, August 10, 2016$5,000 · 1 eventThunderstorms with heavy rain developed across the west central deserts, including much of central La Paz county, during the late afternoon hours on August 10th.
• Flash Flood in New Mexico, August 10, 20161 eventAn upper level trough was moving into the western U.S. with southwest flow tapping deep tropical moisture from the Baja region. Slow moving storms developed and produced locally heavy rain across portions of eastern Grant County and subsequent flash flooding.
• Flash Flood in Minnesota, August 10, 20161 eventThunderstorms brought heavy rain to parts of the Minnesota North Shore the evening of August 10th. There was flooding over Highway 61 near Silver Bay, MN. There were reports of total rainfall ranging from about 2 to around 6.5 near the Silver Bay area.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, August 10 to 11, 201656 kt wind · 3 eventsSeveral waves of thunderstorms that moved across southern Minnesota, and into west central Wisconsin between the late afternoon of Wednesday, August 10th, through Thursday morning, August 11th, caused damage near Ellsworth.
• Flash Flooding in West Virginia, August 10, 2016$10,000 · 2 eventsThunderstorms formed after dark in central West Virginia. With high freezing levels and precipitable water values, heavy rain was the primary result of evening convection. Thunderstorms moved slowly north along and to the west of the I-79 corridor.
• Flash Flood and Flood in Arizona, August 10, 2016$15,000 · 56 kt wind · 3 eventsThunderstorms developed across portions of south central Arizona, including the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, during the evening hours on August 10th.
• Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in Minnesota, August 10 to 11, 2016$240,000 · 6 eventsRepeated rounds of thunderstorms with heavy rain moved across portions of southeast Minnesota on August 11th. This heavy rain produced flash flooding across portions of Wabasha County. Mudslides and washouts occurred along U.S.
• Flash Flooding and Flooding in Wisconsin, August 10 to 16, 2016$5.7 million · 14 eventsRepeated rounds of thunderstorms with heavy rain moved across western Wisconsin on August 11th. This heavy rain produced flash flooding in parts of Buffalo and Trempealeau Counties. In Buffalo County, Mondovi, Gilmanton and Cream were hit hard by the flash flooding.
• Flash Flooding in Arizona, August 11, 20163 eventsA 70 knot jet streak moved over the area during the early morning hours and triggered thunderstorms with heavy rain.
• Flash Flood and Flood in Arizona, August 11 to 12, 2016$140,000 · 2 eventsLeftover moisture from Tropical Storm Javier continued to cause heavy rain and flooding on August 11th, mainly in Pinal County. Runoff continued into August 12th.
• Flooding and Heavy Rain in Arizona, August 11, 20163 eventsScattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms developed across south central Arizona, including the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, during the early morning hours on August 11th.
• Flash Flooding in Mississippi, August 11 to 13, 2016$6.9 million · 4 eventsA slow moving low pressure system brought multiple rounds of widespread showers and thunderstorms to the area. The system tapped into deep tropical moisture resulting in very intense rainfall across a large portion of the area.
• Flooding and Damaging Winds in Connecticut, August 11, 20161 injured · $136,000 · 50 kt wind · 14 eventsA few afternoon showers and thunderstorms developed in the deep moisture across northern Connecticut. Several of these storms produced wind damage, flooding, and numerous lightning strikes.
• Flash Flood in Mississippi, August 11, 20161 eventHeavy rain caused flooding in Stone County.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, August 11, 2016$45,000 · 50 kt wind · 7 eventsVery moist and unstable conditions were across the region on the backside of an upper level ridge. Scattered thunderstorms developed in the afternoon with isolated damage and flash flooding.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, August 11, 201652 kt wind · 4 eventsA cold front slowly worked south into northeast Nebraska and west central Iowa during the afternoon of August 11th as a weak storm system crossed the northern Plains.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in New Jersey, August 11 to 12, 201660 kt wind · 3 eventsA weak trough of low pressure moved through the region which led to the development of showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms became severe and produced heavy rainfall.
• Flash Flooding in Connecticut, August 11, 20162 eventsWeak shortwave forcing in a high precipitable water environment resulted in heavy rain and flash flooding across portions of northern Middlesex County.
• Flash Flooding and Lightning Strike in Iowa, August 11 to 12, 2016$2.0 million · 9 eventsWidespread showers and thunderstorms developed late in the evening of August 11th and continued overnight into August 12th along and ahead of a cold front that moved southeastward across Iowa. These showers and thunderstorms produced very heavy rainfall across eastern Iowa.
• Flash Flood in South Dakota, August 11, 20161 eventHeavy rains of 2 to 3 inches flooded some roads in Hughes county near the Joe Creek Recreation Area.
• Flash Flooding in South Dakota, August 11 to 12, 20162 eventsA slow moving line of thunderstorms brought very heavy rains to Codington county especially in and around Watertown. Three to as much as five inches of rain occurred in just over a few hours bringing flash flooding to the Watertown area.
• Flood in South Dakota, August 12 to 14, 20161 eventRunoff from heavy rains brought the Elm River near Frederick above the flood stage of 13 feet in the early morning hours of the 12th. The Elm River remained in minor flood stage before falling back to below flood stage during the mid morning hours of the 14th.
• Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Louisiana, August 12 to 14, 20161 death · 1 injured · $603 million · 50 kt wind · 14 eventsA very slow moving area of low pressure moved west across South Louisiana. Very high moisture content and slow moving bands of rain generated efficient rain producing storms that left rainfall totals at some locations over 20 inches.
• Flash Flooding in Mississippi, August 12, 2016$123,000 · 4 eventsA low pressure system moved very slowly across the northern Gulf of Mexico. North of this low pressure system, a very soupy airmass was in place over the region and helped produce flooding across portions of southwest Mississippi.
• Flash Flood and Flooding in Alabama, August 12, 20163 eventsHeavy rain produced flooding across portions of southwest Alabama.
• Flood and Damaging Winds in Massachusetts, August 12, 2016$90,000 · 50 kt wind · 10 eventsA mid level disturbance and an approaching cold front resulted in showers and thunderstorms developing over much of southern New England. Like the storms the previous day, frequent lightning accompanied these storms. In addition, wind damage and flooding occurred.
• Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in Texas, August 12, 2016$2,000 · 4 eventsAn upper level trough was over the Rocky Mountains, and an upper ridge was over the southern half of the country. A frontal boundary moved through the Permian Basin during the afternoon hours.
• Flash Flooding and Flooding in Missouri, August 12 to 15, 2016$1,000 · 52 kt wind · 12 eventsSeveral rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms caused minor flooding and wind damage reports.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Connecticut, August 12, 2016$230,000 · 50 kt wind · 8 eventsA mid level disturbance and an approaching cold front resulted in showers and thunderstorms developing over much of southern New England. Like the storms the previous day, frequent lightning accompanied these storms. In addition, wind damage and flooding occurred.
• Flooding and Damaging Winds in Rhode Island, August 12, 2016$150,000 · 50 kt wind · 13 eventsA mid level disturbance and an approaching cold front resulted in showers and thunderstorms developing over much of southern New England. Like the storms the previous day, frequent lightning accompanied these storms. In addition, wind damage and flooding occurred.
• Flash Flooding in Minnesota, August 12, 20163 eventsDuring the afternoon of Friday, August 12th, a slow moving storm system developed a small area of very heavy rainfall in southern Minnesota. Local radar had a rotating storm slowly wrapping around very heavy rainfall between Waseca, Waterville, and Lonsdale.
• Flash Flooding in Arizona, August 12, 20162 eventsMoisture began to decrease over Arizona during the day. However, there was enough moisture for a few storms to produce heavy rain.
• Flash Flooding and Flood in Illinois, August 12 to 13, 2016$2.4 million · 7 eventsAn approaching cold front triggered thunderstorms across central Illinois during the late afternoon and evening of August 12th. Due to copious amounts of moisture in the atmosphere and the slow-moving nature of the storms, extremely heavy rain fell along and just west of I-55.
• Flash Flood in Illinois, August 12, 20161 eventAfter morning storms across northern Illinois, late afternoon to evening storms produce 2 to 5 along and just north of the I-55 corridor.
• Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Missouri, August 12, 201652 kt wind · 3 eventsAnother round of storms moved through central Missouri. Some of the storms dumped heavy rain onto the already saturated soils causing flash flooding.
• Flash Flooding and Flooding in Illinois, August 13 to 17, 2016$36,000 · 14 eventsA series of thunderstorm complexes over a period of several days resulted in locally significant flash flooding. A cold front stalled across the Lower Ohio and Mid-Mississippi Valleys, where tropical moisture was already in place.
• Flash Flooding in Indiana, August 13, 2016$5,000 · 2 eventsBands of showers and thunderstorms, oriented from southwest to northeast, affected portions of central Indiana during the late morning through mid-afternoon of August 13th. Heavy downpours produced a couple flash flooding reports during the early to mid-afternoon timeframe.
• Flash Flood and Flooding in Massachusetts, August 13 to 14, 2016$181,000 · 50 kt wind · 23 eventsHeat, humidity, and a back door cold front all contributed to the development of showers and thunderstorms across southern New England. These storms resulted in damaging winds and localized flooding.
• Flash Flood in Illinois, August 13, 20161 eventSlow-moving thunderstorms produced heavy rainfall and flash flooding across portions of Clay County during the afternoon of August 13th. Doppler radar indicated that between 2.00 and 4.00 inches of rain fell southeast of Flora and southwest of Clay City.
• Flash Flooding in Missouri, August 13, 20162 eventsAnother round of storms moved through southeastern Missouri. Some of the storms dumped heavy rain onto the already saturated soils causing flash flooding.
• Flash Flooding and Flooding in Missouri, August 13 to 17, 20161 death · $220,000 · 12 eventsA series of thunderstorm complexes over a period of several days resulted in locally significant flash flooding. A cold front stalled across the Lower Ohio and Mid-Mississippi Valleys, where tropical moisture was already in place.
• Heavy Rain in Arkansas, August 13 to 15, 20162 eventsHeavy rainfall was noted in north and central Arkansas 8/13/16 and 8/15/16.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Texas, August 13, 2016$40,000 · 50 kt wind · 2 eventsA decaying tropical system entered Louisiana from the east. Far Southeast Texas was on the very edge of this system, however enough instability and moisture worked into the area to produce flooding and a severe storm.
• Heavy Rain in Hawaii, August 13 to 14, 20162 eventsAn upper trough, developing into a low, north of the Aloha State helped induce heavy showers over portions of leeward Big island. The rain produced small stream and drainage ditch flooding, and ponding on roadways. No serious injuries or property damage were reported.
• Flash Flood in New Hampshire, August 13, 20161 eventA backdoor cold front pushing into very warm and humid air across southwest New Hampshire was the focus for afternoon showers and thunderstorms. Precipitable water values near 2.00 inches produced very heavy rainfall with these storms.
• Flood and Damaging Winds in Rhode Island, August 13 to 14, 2016$15,000 · 50 kt wind · 3 eventsHeat, humidity, and a back door cold front all contributed to the development of showers and thunderstorms across southern New England. These storms resulted in damaging winds and localized flooding.
• Flash Flood in Texas, August 14, 20161 eventThunderstorms formed along a stationary front. Some of these storms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
• Flooding in Louisiana, August 14 to 31, 2016$1.4 billion · 10 eventsA area of low pressure slowly moved across South Louisiana during the 12th, 13th, and 14th. A widespread area of 6 inches or more fell across the region with some locations receiving more than 20 inches.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, August 14 to 16, 2016$16,000 · 50 kt wind · 4 eventsThe combination of a moist air mass and daytime heating helped generate showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours. Some of these storms produced gusty winds and flash flooding.
• Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, August 14, 2016$5,000 · 1 eventScattered thunderstorms developed along a weak boundary the afternoon of the 14th. A weak EFU tornado occurred in Belmont county, Ohio, while isolated flash flooding was reported in Fayette county in Pennsylvania.
• Flash Flooding in Arkansas, August 14, 20162 eventsThe combination of an upper level disturbance and the approach of a weak cold front caused showers and thunderstorms that were capable of producing flash flooding across portions of northeast Arkansas during the early evening hours of August 14th.
• Flood and Damaging Winds in Massachusetts, August 14, 2016$10,000 · 50 kt wind · 3 eventsA pre-frontal trough moved through southern New England resulting in a couple of showers and thunderstorms.
• Flood in Alaska, August 14 to 15, 20161 eventAn occluded weather front lifted over the northern inner channels of Southeast Alaska from the west from August 13th through the early morning hours of the 15th. This front was associated with a deep upper low pressure system over the northern Gulf of Alaska.
• Flash Flooding in Missouri, August 15, 2016$25,000 · 6 eventsAnother round of heavy rain moved through east central,southeast Missouri and southern Illinois. The soils were already saturated, so when an additional 5 to 6 inches fell, there were numerous reports of flash flooding.
• Flash Flooding in Illinois, August 15, 20162 eventsAnother round of heavy rain moved through east central,southeast Missouri and southern Illinois. The soils were already saturated, so when an additional 5 to 6 inches fell, there were numerous reports of flash flooding.
• Flooding and Heavy Rain in Arkansas, August 15 to 31, 20164 eventsHeavy rainfall caused flooding of rivers in parts of east and central Arkansas 8/15-17/16.
• Flooding in Illinois, August 15 to 28, 20164 eventsSeveral rounds of thunderstorms over a five-day period produced heavy rainfall across southern Illinois. Minor to moderate flooding occurred along the small rivers, such as the Big Muddy and Little Wabash Rivers.
• Flood in Virginia, August 15, 2016$2,000 · 1 eventIsolated storms produced some brief heavy rainfall on the afternoon of the 15th including a storm over the City of Roanoke that dropped 1 to 2 inches in less than 1 hour right over the urban center in mid-afternoon.
• Flooding in Illinois, August 15, 20162 eventsHeavy rainfall of up to 3 to 5 in east central Illinois and northwest Indiana caused minor flooding.
• Flooding in Indiana, August 15, 20162 eventsHeavy rainfall of up to 3 to 5 in east central Illinois and northwest Indiana caused minor flooding.
• Flash Flood in Indiana, August 15 to 16, 2016$5.1 million · 1 eventA tropical air mass worked north out of the Gulf States as weak low pressure deepened and moved into the western Great Lakes. The high moisture content, combined with very efficient rainfall processes allowed for a period of widespread rain across the forecast area.
• Flash Flooding in Texas, August 15 to 16, 20169 eventsThunderstorms formed along a stationary front. Some of these storms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
• Flash Flood in Michigan, August 16, 20161 eventA tropical air mass worked north out of the Gulf States as weak low pressure deepened and moved into the western Great Lakes. The high moisture content, combined with very efficient rainfall processes allowed for a period of widespread rain across the forecast area.
• Flooding in Michigan, August 16, 20164 eventsWidespread rainfall of 2 to 3 inches from the evening of August 15th to the early morning of August 16th lead to some flooding in urban areas of Detroit Metro Area and Midland.
• Flash Flooding in Texas, August 16, 2016$10,000 · 4 eventsShowers and thunderstorms were focused along a weak boundary over the region. Locally heavy rainfall produced flash flooding over portions of Jim Wells County during the late afternoon and early afternoon on the 16th.
• Flash Flooding in Arkansas, August 16, 20163 eventsA weak upper level trough of low pressure remained stationary from Central Texas northeast across Eastern Oklahoma, Northwest Arkansas, and into Southern Missouri on August 16th.
• Flooding in Indiana, August 16 to 20, 20162 eventsRainfall of 6 to more than 8 inches in southern Indiana from the 13th through the 15th caused lowland river flooding along portions of the White River in southwest Indiana. August 2016 was the wettest August of record for many areas of Indiana.
• Flash Flood and Hail in Wisconsin, August 16, 20160.88 in hail · 4 eventsThe afternoon of Tuesday, August 16th, a cluster of thunderstorms developed in northern Dunn and northern Chippewa counties of west central Wisconsin. Some of the storm trained across the same areas for an hour or two.
• Flash Flooding and Hail in Minnesota, August 16, 20161.5 in hail · 15 eventsThe afternoon of Tuesday, August 16th, a cluster of thunderstorms developed in the southwest suburbs of the Twin Cities near Shakopee and Chanhassen.
• Flash Flood in Arkansas, August 16, 2016$10,000 · 1 eventA stalled frontal boundary combined with rich Gulf moisture and daytime heating to produce showers and storms, some of which resulted in flash flooding.
• Flash Flooding and Hail in Colorado, August 16, 20160.88 in hail · 4 eventsStrong storms producing heavy rain and flash flooding of rural roads east of Colorado Springs, in the Turkey Creek area southwest of Colorado Springs, and in Pueblo.

Every billion-dollar disasterEvery storm of 2016Tornadoes in 2016

NOAA NCEI, U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2025), https://doi.org/10.25921/stkw-7w73, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.