Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Sharp; Randolph; Independence; Lawrence; Jackson; Conway; Faulkner; White; Woodruff; Perry; Garland; Saline; Pulaski; Lonoke; Prairie; Monroe; Hot Spring; Grant; Jefferson; Arkansas; Lincoln; Desha; Drew; Southern Johnson County; Southern Pope County; Western and Northern Logan County; Northwest Yell County; Southern and Eastern Logan County; Yell Excluding Northwest
Arkansas County, Arkansas severe weather history spans 477 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 44.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #960 nationally and #34 in Arkansas.
477
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
34
Direct injuries
$91.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Arkansas County, Arkansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Arkansas County, Arkansas severe weather history averages 6.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 128 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 82 events fall before 1990 and 395 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Arkansas County, Arkansas record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $84.3M 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 Arkansas County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 214 | 2 | $3.0M | 74 | 1959–2026 |
| Hail | 134 | 0 | $54K | 4.5 | 1961–2026 |
| Tornado | 49 | 0 | $84.3M | F3 | 1950–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 48 | 0 | $275K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Flood | 18 | 0 | $3.6M | 0 | 2008–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2013 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
Arkansas County, Arkansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
51 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 41 touched down inside it and 10 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968-04-03 | EF4 | 5 | 16 | 33.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-05-10 | EF3 | 0 | 9 | 14.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-02-24 | EF3 | 0 | 28 | 29.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2001-02-24 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 42.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1983-05-14 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-02-09 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 10.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-05-02 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-05-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-03-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.6 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Arkansas County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 1 | $0 | |
| Apr 29, 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | DE WITT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 11, 2008 | Tornado | FUESS | 0 | 9 | $75.0M |
| Aug 24, 1950 | Tornado | 0 | 7 | $25K | |
| Mar 27, 1961 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $250K | |
| Feb 9, 1965 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Nov 27, 1994 | Tornado | DeWitt to 3.5 SSE St. | 0 | 3 | $5.0M |
| Jul 20, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | DE WITT | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado touched down west of Stuttgart, near the Arkansas/Prairie County line. The tornado then moved toward the east-southeast, passing through the southern sections of Stuttgart. Most of the damage in the city was along and a few blocks to the north of 22nd Street (Arkansas Highway 130). The tornado then passed through the southern part of the Country Club Estates area and moved out across farmsteads, finally taking a turn toward the southeast and ending northeast of Almyra. Altogether, some 800 homes were damaged, along with 82 businesses, and approximately 750 vehicles. Two schools, a community college's training center, a nursing home, and a sports complex were also damaged. Six people had to be rescued after the building housing a dollar store collapsed, trapping the people inside. About 3800 customers lost electric service in the Stuttgart area, and about 2000 customers were without telephone service. Seventy-five animals were treated for minor injuries at Stuttgart's animal shelter.
An F1 tornado touched down 4 miles south southwest of DeWitt, near the Indiana community, and traveled 16 miles on the ground before lifting in the White River National Wildlife Refuge. The worst damage occurred at the DeWitt airport, where four planes were destroyed and two others were damaged. Three people were injured 3.5 miles south of St. Charles when the house trailer that they were in was thrown against a large tree, nearly splitting the trailer in half. Elsewhere, another house trailer was overturned, two trailers and a house lost their roofs, and several other houses were damaged. Several outbuildings were blown away, a couple of farm shops were destroyed, and a large barn lost part of its roof. Trees and power lines were blown down all along the tornado's path. Total damage was around $700,000.
Heavy rain caused the White River at St. Charles to flood. Approximately 20 homes were affected. Jack's Bay Road, Ander's Bay Lane, Shepherd Point Lane, Hays Lake Lane, Nady Road, Arkansas Highway 17 at Ethel, Gander Street Road and Refuge Road were closed due to flooding. Numerous hunting properties also were flooded. The flooding continued into April.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
16,515
Population (ACS)
$138K
Median home value
20
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 |
| Nov 14, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Aug 27, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE LAURA | EM |
| Jul 10, 2020 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Arkansas County, Arkansas?
477 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $91.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Arkansas County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 214 recorded events — 44.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Arkansas County?
51 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 41 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Arkansas County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Arkansas County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Arkansas County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Arkansas County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 63 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Arkansas 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
- Ashley County 485
- Baxter County 558
- Benton County 1,224
- Boone County 467
- Bradley County 269
- Calhoun County 279
Cite this page
“Arkansas County, Arkansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arkansas/arkansas-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.