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Clay County, Arkansas severe weather history spans 337 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 48.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,574 nationally and #61 in Arkansas.
337
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$25.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Clay County, Arkansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Clay County, Arkansas severe weather history averages 4.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 108 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 41 events fall before 1990 and 296 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Clay County, Arkansas record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $16.0M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Clay County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 162 | 0 | $2.4M | 90 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 110 | 0 | $531K | 4.5 | 1957–2026 |
| Tornado | 27 | 2 | $16.0M | F4 | 1964–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 27 | 0 | $1.3M | 0 | 2001–2025 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $5.0M | 0 | 2000–2017 |
| Lightning | 2 | 1 | $10K | 0 | 1996–2011 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2023 |
Decade by decade
Clay County, Arkansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
28 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 23 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-01-21 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 16.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-03-14 | EF3 | 3 | 0 | 81.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2018-02-24 | EF2 | 1 | 5 | 41.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-05-16 | EF2 | 1 | 1 | 15.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 24.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-03-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-09-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-01-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-01-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-01-24 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 8.1 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Clay County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 1990 | Tornado | 1 | 1 | $0 | |
| Feb 24, 2018 | Tornado | KNOBEL | 1 | 0 | $500K |
| Aug 8, 2011 | Lightning | HARGRAVE CORNER | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The one fatality was east of Knobel Arkansas near the intersection of Highway 90 and Highway 135 in a mobile home. A few homes, trees and power poles were damaged as the tornado tracked toward the St. Francis River. The path was intermittent. The tornado continued into Dunklin County.
A tornado briefly touched down southwest of the Corning Municipal Airport and traveled northeast across the northern portion of the airport. Two hangars were extensively damaged with a few others receiving minor damage. Many of the aircraft that were housed inside the hangar were heavily damaged as well. Two homes near the airport had windows blown out and a shed had the roof blown off. The tornado continued northeast crossing Highway 67. Power poles along the highway were knocked down. A clear path was seen in the bean field north of Highway 67. The tornado lifted near County Road 135. Large amounts of debris were found nearly 1.5 miles away from the airfield with one 930 pound piece of equipment found nearly a quarter of mile away from the building which it was being stored.
Heavy rain during late April into the beginning of May caused the St. Francis River to rise above flood stage. The river rose to near record levels in the beginning of May and remained above flood stage through the end of May. A break in the levee in Butler County, Missouri, north of Clay County, caused some concern that additional flood water would move into Clay County. However, the water never made it into Clay County. A few homes sustained minor damage. Several roads were closed and/or sustained damage. Several hundred acres of cropland was flooded. A man drowned when his boat capsized in the flood waters.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,280
Population (ACS)
$95K
Median home value
25
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| May 21, 2025 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 5, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | EM |
| Aug 27, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE LAURA | EM |
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Clay County, Arkansas?
337 events are on record between 1957 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $25.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Clay County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 162 recorded events — 48.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Clay County?
28 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 23 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Clay County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Clay County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Clay County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clay County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 72 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Clay County, Arkansas severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Clark County 638
- Cleburne County 367
- Chicot County 489
- Cleveland County 269
- Carroll County 411
- Columbia County 464
Cite this page
“Clay County, Arkansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arkansas/clay-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.