Tornadoes · United States · Louisiana

1973 tornadoes in Louisiana

30 tornadoes touched down in Louisiana in 1973, 8 percent below the average of the record for the state. They killed 1 people and injured 52.

1972 1974 The whole country in 1973

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 1973

January 18 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
January 18	2:15 PM CST	F3	Caldwell Parish	38.0	73	1	2	$5,000 to $50,000
January 18	5:00 PM CST	F2	Madison Parish	0.2	100		4	$5,000 to $50,000

January 20 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
January 20	5:45 PM CST	F2	Red River Parish	7.7	100			$5,000 to $50,000

March 24 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 24	9:55 AM CST	F1	Evangeline Parish	7.4	50			$50,000 to $500,000
March 24	6:30 PM CST	F1	Livingston Parish	1.0	50			$5,000 to $50,000

April 17 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
April 17	2:30 AM CST	F1	Avoyelles Parish	1.0	220		$50,000 to $500,000
April 17	7:32 AM CST	F3	Calcasieu Parish	0.5	10	1	$5,000 to $50,000
April 17	9:30 AM CST	F3	Calcasieu Parish	0.5	10		$5,000 to $50,000
April 17	5:00 PM CST	F1	Vermilion Parish	0.3	50		$500 to $5,000

April 26 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 26	4:30 AM CST	F3	East Baton Rouge Parish	0.3	70			$5,000 to $50,000

May 7 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 7	2:50 AM CDT	F2	Webster Parish	0.5	27		2	$5,000 to $50,000

May 24 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 24	5:00 PM CDT	F0	Jefferson Parish	0.1	27			$50 to $500

June 7 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 7	3:45 PM CDT	F0	East Baton Rouge Parish	0.1	10

June 20 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 20	4:10 PM CDT	F0	Calcasieu Parish	0.2	23

July 23 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 23	12:12 PM CDT	F0	Vermilion Parish	1.0	10

September 4 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 4	5:15 PM CDT	F1	Franklin Parish	5.4	100			$500 to $5,000

September 5 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 5	4:00 PM CDT	F2	Madison Parish	27.8	100		4	$5,000 to $50,000

September 11 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 11	2:30 PM CDT	F0	Acadia Parish	8.5	50			$50 to $500

September 12 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 12	5:15 PM CDT	F1	Vermilion Parish	4.9	50		4	$5,000 to $50,000
September 12	8:30 PM CDT	F2	Assumption Parish	6.2	50		3	$50,000 to $500,000

October 31 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 31	3:00 AM CST	F1	Vermilion Parish	2.0	50			$5,000 to $50,000

November 20 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
November 20	11:25 AM CST	F1	Beauregard Parish	51.0	100	1	$5,000 to $50,000
November 20	1:35 PM CST	F1	Morehouse Parish	1.0	200		$500,000 to $5 million
November 20	3:00 PM CST	F0	Concordia Parish	1.5	100		$500 to $5,000

November 24 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 24	8:50 PM CST	F0	Morehouse Parish	0.3	50			$500 to $5,000

November 27 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 27	12:28 PM CST	F0	Tensas Parish	2.0	60
November 27	1:00 PM CST	F0	Sabine Parish	0.1	10			$50 to $500

December 3 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
December 3	9:15 PM CST	F2	Beauregard Parish	1.5	100		5	$500,000 to $5 million
December 3	11:45 PM CST	F2	Richland Parish	36.1	50		23	$500,000 to $5 million

December 4 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
December 4	1:10 AM CST	F2	East Baton Rouge Parish	42.7	80		3	$500,000 to $5 million

Nearby

Every tornado in Louisiana since 1950 Warnings in force in Louisiana The 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.