Madison County, Arkansas severe weather history spans 503 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 42.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #863 nationally and #29 in Arkansas.
503
Recorded events
9
Direct deaths
9
Direct injuries
$5.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Madison County, Arkansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Madison County, Arkansas severe weather history averages 7.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 180 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 38 events fall before 1990 and 465 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Madison County, Arkansas record is flash flood, responsible for 7 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $2.7M in reported property damage. In total, 5 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Madison County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 212 | 0 | $1.0M | 83 | 1959–2025 |
| Hail | 202 | 0 | $500K | 4.5 | 1962–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 60 | 7 | $1.2M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Tornado | 28 | 2 | $2.7M | F3 | 1955–2025 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2002–2002 |
Decade by decade
Madison 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: 22 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-04-21 | EF3 | 2 | 6 | 15.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1962-03-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-05-05 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 13.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-11-15 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 15.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 14.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-05-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-10-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-03-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.4 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Madison County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 22, 1996 | Tornado | ST PAUL | 2 | 6 | $1.0M |
| Apr 29, 2017 | Flash Flood | FORUM | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 25, 2011 | Flash Flood | WITTER | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 23, 2004 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 2 | 0 | $200K |
| Jan 5, 1998 | Flash Flood | SOUTH PORTION | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| Apr 22, 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | VENUS | 0 | 2 | $70K |
| May 6, 1960 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Several rounds of thunderstorms during the April 20s caused periodic flash flooding over much of Madison County. For the 72 hour period ending 7 am cdt April 24, Huntsville and St. Paul received 6.57 and 6.35 inches of rain respectively. Numerous roads were flooded and as much as $100,000 damage was done to them. Some homes in the Witter area were also flooded. However; the most major event occured around 645 am cdt on the 24th. A pickup truck containing 4 occupants stalled in high water over a bridge crossing Hock Creek 5 miles southwest of Huntsville. A 3 year old girl and a 2 year old boy were swept away in the flood waters and died. The woman driving the truck and another child escaped.On April 25th, the governor of Arkansas declared Madison county a disaster area.
The Madison County sheriff died when his patrol car was swept off of a low-water bridge over the White River on County Road 112 near St. Paul around 7:00 am. The river was swollen by heavy rains during the night. The 24-hour rainfall ending at 7 AM for St. Paul was 3.39 inches.
A tornado developed northwest of Clifty, where it severely damaged three chicken houses and damaged a home. It moved east-northeast damaging an additional chicken house, several homes, and snapped trees along Highway 127. The tornado then damaged a mobile home, another chicken house, and trees as it crossed Highway 23. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 95 to 105 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
17,329
Population (ACS)
$178K
Median home value
30
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 |
| 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 |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Madison County, Arkansas?
503 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 9 direct deaths and $5.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Madison County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 212 recorded events — 42.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Madison County?
28 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 22 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Madison County?
30 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Madison County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Madison County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Madison County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 45 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Madison 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
- Lonoke County 852
- Marion County 341
- Logan County 416
- Miller County 576
- Little River County 432
- Mississippi County 510
Cite this page
“Madison County, Arkansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arkansas/madison-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.