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Garland County, Arkansas severe weather history spans 818 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 42.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #275 nationally and #9 in Arkansas.
818
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
69
Direct injuries
$54.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Garland County, Arkansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Garland County, Arkansas severe weather history averages 11.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 225 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 126 events fall before 1990 and 692 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Garland County, Arkansas record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $40.1M 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 Garland County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 344 | 3 | $5.6M | 70 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 303 | 0 | $5K | 4 | 1956–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 71 | 0 | $2.0M | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Tornado | 41 | 1 | $40.1M | F3 | 1955–2024 |
| Lightning | 28 | 1 | $899K | 0 | 1998–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 15 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2023 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $5.4M | 0 | 2008–2018 |
Decade by decade
Garland County, Arkansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
43 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 38 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-25 | EF3 | 1 | 20 | 16.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-03-05 | EF3 | 0 | 6 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-05-26 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 28.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-03-14 | EF2 | 1 | 7 | 11.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-03-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-25 | EF2 | 0 | 9 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-25 | EF2 | 0 | 10 | 14.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-11-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2005-11-27 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 13.8 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Garland County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | HAWES | 2 | 0 | $15K |
| Apr 25, 2011 | Tornado | OZARK LITHIA | 1 | 20 | $21.0M |
| Jun 5, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | FOUNTAIN LAKE (UNINCORPORATED) | 1 | 0 | $25K |
| Aug 11, 2006 | Lightning | HOT SPGS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 25, 2011 | Tornado | MADDOX | 0 | 10 | $5.0M |
| Apr 25, 2011 | Tornado | MADDOX | 0 | 9 | $3.0M |
| Mar 6, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $250K | |
| May 6, 1961 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Homes were destroyed in the Walnut Valley, Ozark Lithia, Ranch Estates, and Mountain Valley areas. Church buildings and the Teen Challenge building on Arkansas Highway 7 were badly damaged. Vehicles were piled up in the parking lot of the church. An 8-month old baby was killed in the Walnut Valley area. A Red Cross survey indicated approximately 25 houses and 21 mobile homes were destroyed, 22 houses and 5 mobile homes suffered severe damage, 18 houses and 4 mobile homes had minor damage, and 5 houses and 2 mobile homes were affected. A two-story house had its top floor removed. Several outbuildings and a well-constructed barn were destroyed. A portion of the tornado's track was determined during an aerial survey by the Arkansas Forestry Commission. This tornado exited Garland County northwest of the incorporated portion of Fountain Lake and entered Saline County in Hot Springs Village.
Thunderstorm winds knocked down a few trees and power lines around the 2400 block of Park Ave. (Arkansas Highway 7) in Hot Springs. Traffic came to a halt on the highway due to the fallen trees. A 25 year-old woman, who was stopped in traffic, was killed when another tree fell, crushing the cab of the pickup truck she was driving. No one else was in the vehicle.
This tornado began just to the southwest of Jessieville, causing tree damage around an Arkansas Forestry Commission building. The tornado then quickly moved northeast into Jessieville, and caused damage to a few homes in town. Most notably, damage was noted to several buildings on the campus of Jessieville High School, and three out of four fixed light poles for the football field were bent over. The tornado continued to move northeast, doing damage to a pole barn just north of town, before finally dissipating.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
100,035
Population (ACS)
$194K
Median home value
21
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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Hot Spgs 212
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Garland County, Arkansas?
818 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths and $54.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Garland County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 344 recorded events — 42.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Garland County?
43 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 38 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Garland County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Garland County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Garland County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Garland County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 89 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Garland 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
- Fulton County 308
- Grant County 380
- Franklin County 698
- Greene County 347
- Faulkner County 825
- Hempstead County 556
Cite this page
“Garland County, Arkansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arkansas/garland-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.