Little River County, Arkansas severe weather history spans 432 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 43.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,127 nationally and #41 in Arkansas.
432
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
12
Direct injuries
$9.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Little River County, Arkansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Little River County, Arkansas severe weather history averages 6.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 112 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 99 events fall before 1990 and 333 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Little River County, Arkansas record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $5.8M 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 Little River County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 186 | 0 | $1.6M | 91 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 181 | 0 | $0 | 2.75 | 1960–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 30 | 0 | $470K | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Tornado | 24 | 2 | $5.8M | F3 | 1954–2021 |
| Lightning | 4 | 1 | $104K | 0 | 1996–2007 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2018 |
| Flood | 3 | 2 | $1.0M | 0 | 2015–2021 |
Decade by decade
Little River County, Arkansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
22 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 20 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-05-04 | EF3 | 1 | 22 | 71.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1982-04-02 | EF3 | 1 | 4 | 52.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-10-13 | EF2 | 1 | 4 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-10-17 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-11-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-05-13 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-04-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-01-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-04-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Little River County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 13, 2014 | Tornado | COMET | 1 | 4 | $200K |
| Apr 2, 1982 | Tornado | 1 | 2 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 8, 2021 | Flood | JEWELL | 1 | 0 | $2K |
| May 25, 2015 | Flood | LANESPORT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 9, 2006 | Lightning | ASHDOWN | 1 | 0 | $100K |
| Oct 17, 1980 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Jul 7, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Dec 4, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | ASHDOWN | 0 | 1 | $400K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado quickly spun up, embedded in a squall line across Little River County in Southwest Arkansas. A National Weather Service Storm Survey crew determined that an EF-2 tornado touched down 9 miles west of Ashdown, Arkansas near the Arden community. The tornado touched down just south of Hwy. 32 where it snapped and uprooted numerous trees. The tornado then crossed Hwy. 32 where it completely destroyed a mobile home with 5 family members inside. A 33 year old male was killed and a 34 year old female was critically injured after being thrown from the mobile home. Three children, a 16 year old female, an 11 year old male and a 6 year old male were injured when they were trapped in the debris. The tornado also damaged another nearby mobile home as it quickly moved northeast, lifting it as it crossed CR. 16.
A downburst occurred on the southwest side of Ashdown which resulted in numerous trees and powerlines to be snapped in the town of Ashdown. As many as 50 county and city roads were closed in Little River County from the damaging winds which started approximately 8AM west of Ashdown. In the town of Ashdown trees were noted to point NE and N away from the downburst region very indicative of a strong straight line wind. Damage included numerous homes and businesses as well as a school. Very little structural damage occurred from the wind alone. Most of the damage was the result of falling trees. Maximum winds are estimated at 95-105 mph.
John Moon, who lives near Hwy 108 West of Ashdown, had three chicken houses, one metal building and farm equipment destroyed and a fourth house damaged. In addition, he lost 44,000 two day old chicks with an estimated total damage of $350 thousand dollars. Moon was inside one of the chicken houses when the winds struck. A large fan fell on his back causing minor injuries. The winds also damaged the home of Ashdown Police Sargent Danny Hallet, Hwy 108 west of Ashdown. Windows were broken out on his patrol car and a camper trailer was overturned. Two other homes reported roof damage; several trees were uprooted and some snapped off above the ground accounting for the remainder of monetary loss.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
11,821
Population (ACS)
$114K
Median home value
23
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 Little River County, Arkansas?
432 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths and $9.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Little River County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 186 recorded events — 43.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Little River County?
22 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 20 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Little River County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Little River County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Little River County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Little River County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 44 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Little River 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
- Lincoln County 243
- Logan County 416
- Lee County 122
- Lonoke County 852
- Lawrence County 405
- Madison County 503
Cite this page
“Little River County, Arkansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arkansas/little-river-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.