Cleveland County, Arkansas severe weather history spans 269 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 49.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,971 nationally and #68 in Arkansas.
269
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$5.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Cleveland County, Arkansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Cleveland County, Arkansas severe weather history averages 3.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 107 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 29 events fall before 1990 and 240 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $1.8M 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 Cleveland County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 134 | 0 | $1.8M | 78 | 1978–2026 |
| Hail | 80 | 0 | $0 | 3 | 1975–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 29 | 0 | $806K | 0 | 1999–2023 |
| Tornado | 11 | 0 | $1.2M | F2 | 1953–2012 |
| Flood | 10 | 0 | $1.8M | 0 | 2008–2013 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2013 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $15K | 0 | 2010–2010 |
Decade by decade
Cleveland County, Arkansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
12 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-01-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 19.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-03-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-05-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 25.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2001-11-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 19.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1982-04-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-05-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 19.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-01-07 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-05-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-11-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-07-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Cleveland County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 8, 1953 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $3K | |
| May 13, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | RYE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An old, unoccupied house was destroyed. Two houses had much of the roofs blown off. A house trailer was destroyed by falling trees. Several chicken houses were destroyed. Roof and shingle damage occurred to several other houses. A number of barns and outbuildings were damaged. Hundreds of trees were blown down.
Numerous roads were flooded. Eight large culverts were washed out. A culvert was washed out along Gullett Road in the Orlando community, leaving three households stranded. A bridge across Moro Creek at Darby Crossing was floating and was damaged.
Flash flooding, which developed on the morning of the 24th, became widespread areal flooding later on the 24th and continued into the 25th. Several county roads suffered significant damage. A bridge on Prairie Road, east of Kingsland, was damaged. Roads closed due to high water included Darby Crossing Road north of Kingsland, Brushy Creek Road between Rison and Woodlawn, Dunkeffie Road west of Kedron, and Harmony Church Road at Rye. The county road department had to repair washouts on 85 roads.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
7,453
Population (ACS)
$138K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Apr 5, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | EM |
| Apr 4, 2023 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Aug 27, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE LAURA | EM |
| Jul 10, 2020 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Cleveland County, Arkansas?
269 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $5.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Cleveland County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 134 recorded events — 49.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Cleveland County?
12 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 9 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Cleveland County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Cleveland County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Cleveland County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Cleveland County as very low risk, placing it in the 9 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Cleveland 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
- Cleburne County 367
- Columbia County 464
- Clay County 337
- Conway County 547
- Clark County 638
- Craighead County 646
Cite this page
“Cleveland County, Arkansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arkansas/cleveland-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.