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First recorded hurricane in New Orleans
The first well-documented hurricane hit Louisiana in 1722. It moved through Lesser Antilles before making landfall at the mouth of the Mississippi, then on to central Louisiana. Hurricane force winds lasted 15 hours. Thirty-six huts and the area hospital were destroyed. New Orleans had been constructed quickly in 1717 as it was selected the capital of the Louisiana Company. The St. Louis Church was destroyed and many ships were sunk in the area harbors and lakes. -
Hurricane of 1776
Some damage reported -
Hurricane of 1779
A hurricane made landfall at New Orleans. Spain had declared war on Great Britain. Bernardo de Galvez' ships (Governor of New Orleans) that were to be used to secretly seize the British post at Baton Rouge were grounded or destroyed, thus ruining his plans for invasion until the 27th. Some of the ships were found in the middle of woods after the storm.
During this storm, William Dunbar made observations that uncovered the true nature of tropical storms -
Hurricane of 1794
The storm surge produced crop damage, submerged the Plaquemines as deep as ten feet, engulfing Fort St. Phillip and drowning the chief engineer. The storm produced hail, not commonly associated with hurricanes and many lives and cattle were lost from Balize to Avoyelles Parish. -
Hurricane of 1800
A lesser documented hurricane struck New Orleans -
Hurricane of 1811
A lesser documented hurricane struck New Orleans. -
Hurricane of 1812
This hurricane struck during the war of 1812 and scattered the British fleet across the gulf. It destroyed the levee system and the storm surge submerged southern areas of the city. Plaquemines parish was fifteen feet under water. Sugar crops were destroyed, one hundred people died and losses totalled six million dollars. -
Racer's Storm
New Orleans experienced gale force winds which destroyed awnings, roofs, The city exchange on Lewis street, bayou St. John lighthouse, buildings, boats, and steamboats. Portions of New Orleans was submerged. -
1887
A hurricane hits Southeast Louisiana as a strong northeast wind blew across the area. Winds continued strong until the 18th. Rain was steady until the 19th when skies cleared, but the wind remained. It caused much destruction in New Orleans, where the pressure fell to 29.22"; they received their heaviest rain in years. Great damage was done to cane and cotton crops around Abbeville. Iberville Parish saw considerable damage. -
Gibson
Named Gibson by the Louisiana senator o the time, Gibson was the severest and most expensive hurricane to hit Louisiana since the Racer's storm of 1837. -
Betsy
Betsy Video Hurricane Betsy moved unusually fast through the Gulf at forward speeds of 22 mph, came ashore Grand Isle as a major hurricane. Winds gusted to 125 mph and the pressure fell to 28.75" at New Orleans. The sea level pressure there dropped to 28.00" at Grand Isle and Houma. Port Eads gauged winds to 136 mph. A 10 foot storm surge was produced causing New Orleans its worst flooding in decades... -
Camille
Camille Video Camille was the most intense hurricane known to ever make landfall in the United States also made its mark in Louisiana. The pressure fell to a very low 27.80" on Garden Island. Winds gusted to 125 mph at Slidell, and their pressure fell to 28.75" on the 9th. Almost total destruction was seen from Venice to Buras. Ostrica Lock saw a storm surge of 16 feet. Water over-washed U.S. Highway 90 to a depth of 10 feet. -
Bob
Hurricane Bob struck Terrebonne Bay on July 11th. was predictable in track and strength. The highest storm surge reported was 5.02 ft on the north end of the causeway bridge across Lake Pontchartrain. The pressure fell to 29.28" at Moisant Field, as winds gusted to 44 mph during the storm. One tornado was reported in Slidell. One person died, being blown off his roof as he was nailing it down during the hurricane. -
Andrew
Andrew Video After Andrew devistated southern Florida it moved into the Gulf of Mexico, Andrew again strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane and headed northwest toward Louisiana. It is estimated that 1,250,000 evacuated from parishes in southeastern and south-central Louisiana, and about 250,000 evacuated from Orange and Jefferson counties in Texas. -
Katrina
Katrina New Orleans Video Katrina Mississippi Video Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and deadliest U.S. hurricane on record (75 billion in physical damage, economic impact over 150 billion, death toll 1,837.) Katrina will be remembered for its catastrophic flooding in New Orleans due to levee failure. (80% of city submerged) -
Hurricane Who Dat
Hurricane Who Dat Five years after Katrina, visible reminders of the devastation remained. Condemned homes with personal messages from survivors and those who perished were still haunting the city. But a force of positive energy was brewing in the region and manifested itself in the form of Hurricane Who Dat. New Orleans and the surrounding Gulf Coast watched their Saints win a Superbowl. God Bless Buddy D.
