Tornadoes · United States · Louisiana
1971 tornadoes in Louisiana
20 tornadoes touched down in Louisiana in 1971, 39 percent below the average of the record for the state. They killed 48 people and injured 529. 1 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3158 to 206 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261 to 318 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
Every tornado in Louisiana in 1971
February 12 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 12 | 3:50 AM CST | F3 | Calcasieu Parish | 3.6 | 150 | 1 | $500,000 to $5 million |
February 21 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 21 | 2:50 PM CST | F5 | Inverness tornado | 109.2 | 500 | 47 | 510 | $5 million to $50 million |
March 10 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 10 | 2:00 AM CST | F2 | Orleans Parish | 7.5 | 300 | 1 | 7 | $500,000 to $5 million |
May 7 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 7 | 1:30 AM CDT | F2 | Madison Parish | 1.0 | 17 | 2 | $5,000 to $50,000 |
May 11 3 tornadoes
June 8 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 8 | 7:35 PM CDT | F0 | Richland Parish | 0.2 | 17 | $500 to $5,000 |
June 22 2 tornadoes
September 16 7 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 16 | 8:20 AM CDT | F1 | Saint Martin Parish | 6.3 | 50 | 6 | $5,000 to $50,000 | |
| September 16 | 9:07 AM CDT | F3 | East Baton Rouge Parish | 7.3 | 83 | 3 | $500,000 to $5 million | |
| September 16 | 9:15 AM CDT | F1 | Iberville Parish | 0.2 | 33 | |||
| September 16 | 10:00 AM CDT | F2 | St. Mary Parish | 0.5 | 50 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| September 16 | 12:02 PM CDT | F0 | Plaquemines Parish | 0.2 | 33 | |||
| September 16 | 1:00 PM CDT | F2 | Tangipahoa Parish | 4.1 | 150 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| September 16 | 1:30 PM CDT | F1 | Tangipahoa Parish | 1.0 | 33 |
September 19 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 19 | 4:00 PM CDT | F2 | Tangipahoa Parish | 0.2 | 50 | $500 to $5,000 |
December 6 2 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 6 | 10:15 AM CST | F1 | Lafourche Parish | 4.3 | 27 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| December 6 | 1:30 PM CST | F1 | Orleans Parish | 0.5 | 50 | $5,000 to $50,000 |
Nearby
Every tornado in Louisiana since 1950Warnings in force in LouisianaThe live radar over Louisiana
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.