Fulton County, Arkansas severe weather history spans 308 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 47.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,743 nationally and #64 in Arkansas.
308
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
32
Direct injuries
$11.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Fulton County, Arkansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Fulton County, Arkansas severe weather history averages 4.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 120 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 27 events fall before 1990 and 281 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Fulton County, Arkansas record is tornado, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $5.9M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Fulton County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 145 | 0 | $1.5M | 78 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 88 | 0 | $60K | 4.25 | 1967–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 33 | 0 | $2.7M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Tornado | 22 | 4 | $808K | F4 | 1959–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2024 |
| Flood | 7 | 1 | $5.9M | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $2K | 0 | 2008–2008 |
Decade by decade
Fulton County, Arkansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
24 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 17 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982-12-24 | EF4 | 0 | 11 | 63.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1982-04-02 | EF3 | 2 | 2 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-26 | EF3 | 1 | 17 | 34.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1961-05-07 | EF3 | 0 | 10 | 43.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2001-02-24 | EF2 | 1 | 3 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-03-14 | EF2 | 1 | 15 | 11.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-09-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-06-24 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 17.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-05-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-11-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 13.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Fulton County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1982 | Tornado | 2 | 2 | $250K | |
| Mar 15, 1959 | Tornado | 1 | 15 | $25K | |
| Feb 24, 2001 | Tornado | UNION | 1 | 3 | $0 |
| Mar 20, 2012 | Flood | FRENCH | 1 | 0 | $20K |
| Dec 24, 1982 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Aug 2, 1986 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 4 | $0 | |
| Apr 3, 1999 | Tornado | MAMMOTH SPG | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Nov 6, 2005 | Tornado | MOKO | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rain caused flooding along the South Fork of the Spring River. On the 24th at the Kia Kima Scout Reservation, a 4 year-old boy was helping clean up the area. According to news reports, a group of older boys left the clean-up site to return to the camping area. Sometime thereafter, the younger boy asked if he could catch up with the other boys. At some point, the boy ended up drowning in the river, which was described as high and rolling. His body was recovered on the 28th.
A strong tornado was spawned in southern Fulton County about 3 miles west of Union. The tornado moved quickly northeast, and caused considerable damage. Roofs were damaged at several homes, with a dairly barn heavily damaged. Three mobile homes were destroyed. In one of the mobile homes about 5.5 miles southwest of Salem, four people were injured. An 18 month old boy died from his injuries the next day after being transported to a hospital in Little Rock. There was extensive tree damage, with many cedar trees twisted or downed. The tornado travelled about 8 miles before dissipating 3.8 miles southwest of Salem.
Arkansas Highway 395 north of Salem was closed due to high water. On Arkansas Highway 223 south of Viola, a 22-foot bridge collapsed due to flooding. Two people were rescued at Sadler Falls due to flooding. The South Fork River overflowed its banks in Salem and flooded a construction site for a new baseball complex. Water flooded 120 homes in the county.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
12,302
Population (ACS)
$114K
Median home value
28
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 |
| May 30, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 27, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE LAURA | EM |
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Fulton County, Arkansas?
308 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths and $11.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Fulton County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 145 recorded events — 47.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Fulton County?
24 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 17 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Fulton County?
28 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Fulton County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Fulton County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Fulton County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 51 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Fulton 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
- Franklin County 698
- Garland County 818
- Faulkner County 825
- Grant County 380
- Drew County 367
- Greene County 347
Cite this page
“Fulton County, Arkansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arkansas/fulton-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.