No active hurricanes threatening Baton Rouge right now

Could the next one hit soon? 161 hurricanes have impacted the Baton Rouge area since 1855 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

161
Hurricanes affecting Baton Rouge area
2024
Most recent
150 kt
Strongest peak winds
8 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Located upriver from the Gulf but on low, coastal plain terrain, Baton Rouge is more threatened by extreme rainfall and inland flooding from powerful landfalling hurricanes than by direct storm surge — Hurricane Ida (2021) demonstrated how intense rain and prolonged flooding can devastate the city well inland from the coast.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Baton Rouge area — including Port Allen, Brusly, Addis, Baker, Sunshine, Greenwell Springs, Saint Gabriel, Plaquemine. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Baton Rouge area?

Distribution of 161 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Baton Rouge, by month of closest approach.

J
F
M
A
1 M
11 J
18 J
39 A
67 S
25 O
N
D

Recent notable storms affecting the Baton Rouge area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2024 FRANCINE Cat 2 90 kt 53 mi
2021 IDA Cat 4 130 kt 25 mi
2021 NICHOLAS Cat 1 65 kt 53 mi
2020 ZETA Cat 3 100 kt 79 mi
2020 DELTA Cat 4 120 kt 89 mi
2020 MARCO Cat 1 65 kt 115 mi
2020 LAURA Cat 4 130 kt 134 mi
2020 SALLY Cat 2 95 kt 200 mi
2019 BARRY Cat 1 65 kt 82 mi
2017 HARVEY Cat 4 115 kt 102 mi
2017 NATE Cat 1 80 kt 130 mi
2012 ISAAC Cat 1 70 kt 21 mi
2009 IDA Cat 2 90 kt 161 mi
2008 GUSTAV Cat 4 135 kt 47 mi
2007 HUMBERTO Cat 1 80 kt 109 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2007 that came within 200 miles of Baton Rouge. Includes storms whose center stayed offshore or hit nearby cities — wind, surge, and rainfall impacts extend far beyond the storm's path.

All-time closest approaches to Baton Rouge

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1926 UNNAMED Cat 3 100 kt 8 mi Aug 26, 1926
1931 UNNAMED TS 60 kt 8 mi Jul 15, 1931
1863 UNNAMED TS 60 kt 12 mi Oct 01, 1863
1955 UNNAMED TS 45 kt 12 mi Aug 27, 1955
1959 ARLENE TS 55 kt 13 mi May 31, 1959
2011 LEE TS 50 kt 13 mi Sep 05, 2011
2004 MATTHEW TS 40 kt 18 mi Oct 10, 2004
1964 HILDA Cat 4 120 kt 19 mi Oct 04, 1964
1977 BABE Cat 1 65 kt 19 mi Sep 06, 1977
1888 UNNAMED Cat 3 110 kt 20 mi Aug 20, 1888
Showing the 10 closest of 161 total storms within 150 mi of Baton Rouge since 1855.

If a hurricane threatens Baton Rouge

  1. Know your evacuation zone. Look up yours by address via your state or county emergency management office (East Baton Rouge Parish and surrounding areas).
  2. Set up alerts ahead of time. During an active storm, watches and warnings change every six hours. Email or text alerts from TropicalInfo give you the official NHC update the moment it's posted, with a plain-language summary.
  3. Prep your supplies before the storm is named. Stores empty out within hours of a watch. The 72-hour rule: water, food, batteries, fuel, medications, important documents. Our alerts can notify you of a storm long before it makes the news — giving you more time to get what you need before the panic-buying starts.
  4. Follow the cone, not the line. The forecast track is a best estimate — the cone shows where the center is likely to go. Impacts extend hundreds of miles from the center.

Set up free location-based alerts for Baton Rouge

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Baton Rouge (30.4507°N, 91.1870°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Baton Rouge — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.