88
Recorded events
18
Direct deaths
115
Direct injuries
$124.0M
Property damage
Tornado in Lonoke County, Arkansas: 88 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #87 nationally and #2 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Lonoke County, Arkansas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Lonoke County is the 2000s, when 24 of the county's 88 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 Lonoke County archive, tornado makes up 10.3% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #87 for this hazard and #2 within Arkansas, putting it in the 97.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for tornado in Lonoke County with 25 recorded events, while Aug 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952-03-21 | EF4 | 7.6 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1952-03-21 | EF3 | 16.2 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-29 | EF3 | 17.2 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
| 2023-03-31 | EF3 | 34.2 mi | 800 yd | Crossed in |
| 1997-03-01 | EF3 | 13.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1988-11-15 | EF2 | 49.0 mi | 250 yd | Crossed in |
| 1952-03-21 | EF2 | 13.3 mi | 417 yd | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-02 | EF2 | 40.7 mi | 300 yd | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-15 | EF2 | 7.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 2010-04-30 | EF2 | 34.7 mi | 1,000 yd | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 21, 1952 | F3 | 9 | 9 | $250K | |
| Mar 29, 1976 | F3 | 5 | 64 | $25.0M | |
| Nov 16, 1988 | F2 | 2 | 8 | $25.0M | |
| Mar 21, 1952 | F4 | 2 | 6 | $250K | |
| Sep 24, 2005 | BEVIS CORNER | F2 | 0 | 5 | $0 |
| Apr 18, 1978 | F2 | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Feb 24, 2001 | LONOKE | F1 | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | FURLOW | F2 | 0 | 3 | $150K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 2025 | MOUNTAIN SPGS | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | SOUTH BEND | EF2 | $4.3M |
| Jun 10, 2021 | TOMBERLIN | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 10, 2021 | BLAKEMORE | EFU | $0 |
| Jan 11, 2020 | SEATON | EF1 | $40K |
| Mar 9, 2019 | MELBA | EF1 | $15K |
| Mar 9, 2019 | CULLER | EF1 | $300K |
| Mar 9, 2019 | TOLTEC | EF1 | $60K |
| Apr 30, 2017 | RYAN | EF1 | $10K |
| Oct 13, 2014 | ENGLAND FLYING SVC A | EF1 | $75K |
Other hazards here
More from Lonoke County
- Thunderstorm Wind 371
- Hail 274
- Flash Flood 71
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado destroyed 51 large steel power transmission towers. These towers carried 500 kilovolt transmission lines. For the most part, the towers fell into open farm fields, but one fell into a pond on a fish farm. The power cables that fell with the towers blocked a number of roads, including Arkansas Highway 31. Power poles, power lines, and trees were blown down as well.
This tornado exited Pulaski County south-southeast of Jacksonville and entered Lonoke County north of Kerr. In Lonoke County, the tornado affected the South Bend and Furlow communities, then continued to the northeast, passing south of Cabot and east of Ward. A Red Cross survey indicated: 20 houses and 14 mobile homes destroyed, 27 houses and 6 mobile homes with major damage, 50 houses and 22 mobile homes with minor damage, and 15 houses and 14 mobile homes affected. In addition, numerous trees and power lines were blown down. The tornado exited Lonoke County north-northeast of Jacksons Store and entered White County southeast of Beebe.
This tornado continued from Pulaski County into Lonoke County|within Holland Bottoms State Wildlife Area west of Kerr Station Road. Many trees|were snapped or uprooted in this wildlife area. ||The tornado exited the wildlife area into the Parnell community, with more|roofs damaged and some garages destroyed along Oliver Lane. The|tornado crossed Arkansas Highway 89 near Russell Road, destroying a|mobile home. The tornado continued into some more rural areas of|southeast Cabot, with some damage to a few homes and several more|trees uprooted or snapped. The tornado finally lifted between|Arkansas Highway 321 and Campground Road west of Laser Lane. This tornado was rated an EF2 with maximum estimated winds of 132 mph within Lonoke County. This tornado tracked for a total distance of 34.2 miles across two counties.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Lonoke County, Arkansas?
88 tornado events are recorded in Lonoke County between 1951 and 2025, causing 18 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Lonoke County?
The strongest tornado on record in Lonoke County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Lonoke 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 Lonoke County, Arkansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arkansas/lonoke-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.