Izard County, Arkansas severe weather history spans 354 recorded events between 1950 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 41.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,463 nationally and #54 in Arkansas.
354
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
60
Direct injuries
$37.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Izard County, Arkansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Izard County, Arkansas severe weather history averages 4.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 175 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 33 events fall before 1990 and 321 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Izard County, Arkansas record is tornado, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $19.5M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Izard County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 146 | 0 | $1.1M | 78 | 1973–2022 |
| Hail | 135 | 0 | $0 | 8 | 1958–2022 |
| Tornado | 25 | 4 | $19.5M | F4 | 1950–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 24 | 0 | $1.3M | 0 | 1998–2023 |
| Flood | 15 | 0 | $15.8M | 0 | 2008–2025 |
| Lightning | 5 | 0 | $189K | 0 | 2007–2011 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2022 |
Decade by decade
Izard County, Arkansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
27 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 19 touched down inside it and 8 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-02-05 | EF4 | 13 | 139 | 121.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1996-04-14 | EF4 | 7 | 35 | 44.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-03-14 | EF4 | 0 | 5 | 116.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1996-03-05 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 46.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1950-03-26 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 5.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1950-12-02 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 7.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-03-06 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 11.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-04-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-03-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 20.1 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Izard County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 1996 | Tornado | SYLAMORE | 2 | 30 | $5.0M |
| Feb 6, 2008 | Tornado | GUION | 2 | 20 | $11.5M |
| Jan 14, 2007 | Heavy Rain | ZION | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 7, 2022 | Tornado | SAGE | 0 | 5 | $325K |
| Mar 6, 1996 | Tornado | MELBOURNE | 0 | 2 | $1.0M |
| Nov 16, 1988 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K | |
| May 13, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K | |
| Mar 27, 1950 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado moved out of Stone County, northeast of Mountain View, into Izard County, just northwest of Guion. A survey by the Federal Emergency Management Agency indicated 106 residential structures (houses and mobile homes) suffered damage. This included 43 residences destroyed, 14 with major damage, 36 with minor damage, and 13 others affected. A cattle farmer lost hundreds of cattle to the tornado. Two fatalities occurred: One in a mobile home in the Rose Trail area, and the other in a mobile home at Zion. The tornado continued into Sharp County, in the area northwest of Evening Shade.
Heavy rainfall increased water levels along a number of low water crossings across Izard County. A vehicle attempted to drive through a low water crossing along the Piney Fork of the Strawberry River, northeast of Zion, and was swept downstream. The only person in the vehicle was the driver who drowned.
Heavy rain caused the White River at Calico Rock to go well above major flood level. The river crested less than a foot lower than the December, 1982 flood crest, but there has been substantial development in the floodplain during the last 25 years. Water was covering Arkansas Highways 5 and 56. The foot bridges that crossed Calico Creek were washed out. Water got into the lower units of a motel, into a business in Peppersauce Alley, buildings on Chesmond Landing, and many houses. At least 20 homes in Mt. Olive and 13 in Guion were flooded or totally washed away. Over 40 homes sustained some degree of damage and about 20 were washed away by the floodwaters. There was a fishing outfitting businesses that was destroyed, with the business and the dock with boats and equipment torn away by the swift waters. There were also reports of large round hay bales and cattle, both alive and dead, in the river.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,009
Population (ACS)
$129K
Median home value
31
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 |
| May 8, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Izard County, Arkansas?
354 events are on record between 1950 and 2025, causing 5 direct deaths and $37.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Izard County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 146 recorded events — 41.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Izard County?
27 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 19 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Izard County?
31 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Izard County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Izard County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Izard County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 53 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Izard 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
- Independence County 559
- Jackson County 501
- Howard County 590
- Jefferson County 663
- Hot Spring County 609
- Johnson County 549
Cite this page
“Izard County, Arkansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arkansas/izard-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.