40
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
62
Direct injuries
$33.0M
Property damage
Tornado in Hot Spring County, Arkansas: 40 recorded events between 1950 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #620 nationally and #21 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Hot Spring County, Arkansas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Hot Spring County is the 1990s, when 8 of the county's 40 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Hot Spring County archive, tornado makes up 6.6% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #620 for this hazard and #21 within Arkansas, putting it in the 78.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Hot Spring County with 11 recorded events, while Feb is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-03-01 | EF4 | 24.0 mi | 527 yd | Crossed in |
| 1999-01-21 | EF3 | 11.0 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
| 1982-04-25 | EF3 | 9.0 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 1957-05-13 | EF3 | 14.7 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-07 | EF2 | 12.2 mi | 600 yd | Touched down here |
| 2017-03-24 | EF2 | 1.1 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 2013-05-30 | EF2 | 9.0 mi | 300 yd | Crossed in |
| 2005-11-27 | EF2 | 4.2 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1999-03-05 | EF2 | 23.0 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 1996-09-26 | EF2 | 9.0 mi | 60 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 23, 1982 | F3 | 0 | 29 | $25.0M | |
| Sep 26, 1996 | MALVERN | F2 | 0 | 15 | $2.1M |
| Mar 1, 1997 | FRIENDSHIP | F4 | 0 | 11 | $2.0M |
| Nov 16, 1988 | F2 | 0 | 4 | $2.5M | |
| May 17, 2002 | MALVERN | F1 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Dec 2, 1982 | F1 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 18, 2025 | DUFFIE | EF0 | $0 |
| May 20, 2025 | DUFFIE | EF1 | $0 |
| Nov 5, 2022 | TWIN OAKS | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 25, 2017 | GLEN ROSE | EF0 | $0 |
| May 30, 2013 | BONNERDALE | EF1 | $5K |
| May 20, 2011 | EBENEZER | EF0 | $25K |
| Apr 25, 2011 | BONNERDALE | EF1 | $75K |
| Sep 13, 2008 | GLEN ROSE | EF1 | $30K |
| Apr 4, 2008 | DIAMONDHEAD | EF1 | $100K |
| Apr 4, 2008 | LAMBERT | EF1 | $15K |
Other hazards here
More from Hot Spring County
- Thunderstorm Wind 298
- Hail 193
- Flash Flood 55
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado moved out of Montgomery County east-northeast of Welsh and entered Hot Spring County west-southwest of Bonnerdale. In Hot Spring County, the tornado blew down trees and damaged outbuildings. The tornado exited Hot Spring County north-northwest of Bonnerdale and entered Garland County south-southwest of Meyers.
This tornado exited Montgomery County 4.2 miles east-northeast of Welsh and entered Hot Spring County 1.6 miles west of Bonnerdale. In Hot Spring County, trees were uprooted. This is the fourth segment of a four-segment tornado.
This tornado continued northeast from Clark County into Hot Spring County, then crossed over Sycamore Drive. A home off of Sycamore Drive was heavily damaged as |it shifted off the concrete foundation but was still mostly intact. |Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted along the path. The tornado |would then cross Hwy 128 twice, once east of Caney and second north |of Caney, downing many more trees, including a tree falling on a |house resulting in structural damage. The tornado continued |northeast crossing Caney Cemetery Road and Burris Loop. A home |sustained minor to moderate roof damage on Burris Loop. The tornado |appears to have dissipated east of Hwy 128 and north of Burris Loop. This tornado had a path length of 3.8 miles, rated an EF1, with maximum estimated sustained winds of 110 mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Hot Spring County, Arkansas?
40 tornado events are recorded in Hot Spring County between 1950 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Hot Spring County?
The strongest tornado on record in Hot Spring County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Hot Spring County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Hot Spring County, Arkansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arkansas/hot-spring-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.