Historical record — not a forecast
New Orleans
New Orleans, LA has had 46 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being Camille (1969, Category 5 Hurricane).
Location 01
New Orleans
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The historical record
Storm history
46 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of New Orleans since 1851, based on NOAA’s HURDAT2 best-track data (1851-2025). Atlantic storm counts before the mid-20th century undercount storms that stayed at sea; aircraft reconnaissance began in the 1940s and systematic satellite coverage in 1966. Storms that struck populated coastline are the most reliably recorded part of the record.
By storm category
- Tropical Depression
- 10
- Tropical Storm
- 23
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 4
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 4
- Category 3 Hurricane
- 4
- Category 5 Hurricane
- 1
By decade
- 1850s
- 1
- 1860s
- 4
- 1870s
- 1
- 1880s
- 1
- 1890s
- 4
- 1910s
- 2
- 1920s
- 2
- 1930s
- 4
- 1940s
- 3
- 1950s
- 2
- 1960s
- 1
- 1970s
- 5
- 1980s
- 2
- 1990s
- 1
- 2000s
- 6
- 2010s
- 2
- 2020s
- 5
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- Camille (1969, Category 5 Hurricane, 150 kt) passed within 58.2 km in 1969
- Most recent
- Francine (2024, Tropical Storm, 45 kt) passed within 60.8 km in 2024
- Coordinates
- 30.05342, -89.93450
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Camille (1969) — Category 5 Hurricane, 150 kt, passed within 58.2 km on 1969-08-18
- Katrina (2005) — Category 3 Hurricane, 110 kt, passed within 36.1 km on 2005-08-29
- Unnamed storm (1855) — Category 3 Hurricane, 110 kt, passed within 53.9 km on 1855-09-16
- Ida (2021) — Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt, passed within 66.3 km on 2021-08-30
- Unnamed storm (1860) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 41.4 km on 1860-08-12
- Unnamed storm (1947) — Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt, passed within 65.6 km on 1947-09-19
- Unnamed storm (1893) — Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt, passed within 63.5 km on 1893-10-02
- Unnamed storm (1860) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 51.7 km on 1860-09-15
Historical return intervals
These are plain historical averages — years of record divided by how many times a storm of that strength has passed within 75 km. They are not a probability or a forecast of a future storm; they describe how often storms of each strength have occurred in the past.
- Tropical storm strength or greater
- on average every 4.9 years, historically
- Hurricane strength
- on average every 13.5 years, historically
- Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
- on average every 35.0 years, historically
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near New Orleans?
Since 1851, 46 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of New Orleans, LA, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect New Orleans?
Camille (1969, Category 5 Hurricane, 150 kt) passed within 58.2 km in 1969, reaching Category 5 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for New Orleans?
No. This page presents only historical, already-occurred storm data. It contains no forecast, prediction, or safety or evacuation guidance. Return-interval figures above are historical averages, not a probability of a future storm. See our methodology.
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