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Pope County, Arkansas severe weather history spans 598 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 52.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #586 nationally and #16 in Arkansas.
598
Recorded events
9
Direct deaths
46
Direct injuries
$30.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Pope County, Arkansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Pope County, Arkansas severe weather history averages 8.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 154 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 78 events fall before 1990 and 520 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Pope County, Arkansas record is tornado, responsible for 7 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $21.5M 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 Pope County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 313 | 1 | $3.4M | 78 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 189 | 0 | $0 | 3 | 1964–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 37 | 0 | $3.4M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Tornado | 29 | 7 | $21.5M | F3 | 1953–2023 |
| Flood | 14 | 0 | $2.5M | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Lightning | 6 | 1 | $45K | 0 | 1999–2018 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2024 |
Decade by decade
Pope County, Arkansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
34 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 27 touched down inside it and 7 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 |
| 2011-05-24 | EF3 | 1 | 4 | 29.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-02-14 | EF3 | 1 | 5 | 33.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-03-14 | EF3 | 0 | 7 | 12.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-01-08 | EF2 | 1 | 2 | 20.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-05-05 | EF2 | 1 | 4 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-01-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2005-11-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-11-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 6.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Pope County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 5, 2008 | Tornado | GALLA ROCK | 5 | 15 | $11.5M |
| May 6, 1961 | Tornado | 1 | 4 | $25K | |
| Jan 8, 2008 | Tornado | MORELAND | 1 | 1 | $3.5M |
| Jul 6, 2018 | Lightning | OAKLAND HGTS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Dec 23, 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | ECONOMY | 1 | 0 | $40K |
| Mar 14, 1953 | Tornado | 0 | 7 | $3K | |
| Sep 4, 1970 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Feb 22, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K |
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 in central Pope County and tracked to the northeast. The Pope County Office of Emergency Management reported that 42 residential structures were affected. Of these, seven were destroyed, six had minor damage, and the rest had moderate to heavy damage. In addition, six chicken houses, two barns, and a number of outbuildings were destroyed, a travel trailer and motor home were overturned, and hundreds of trees were blown down. A 61 year-old man was killed and his wife was injured when their double-wide mobile home was destroyed on Simba Road, about 1.4 miles south-southeast of Appleton. Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe declared Pope County a state disaster area. The tornado continued into Conway County.
A 67 year old male was killed by a lightning strike. The man was outside working on his yard at the time of the strike. The time is estimated based on radar data, but there were storms near Russellville from 1 pm through 2 pm CDT.
Widespread tree damaged occurred, and about 30 homes were damaged by the falling trees. A wall of a food plant was blown down, and a rail station at another business was damaged. Several other businesses suffered damage, as well. Many power lines were blown down. A pavilion at a church collapsed. Two chicken houses were badly damaged.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
64,131
Population (ACS)
$170K
Median home value
19
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 |
| Aug 27, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE LAURA | EM |
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 8, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Russellville 119
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Pope County, Arkansas?
598 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 9 direct deaths and $30.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Pope County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 313 recorded events — 52.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Pope County?
34 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 27 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Pope County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Pope County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Pope County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pope County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 78 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Pope 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
- Polk County 533
- Prairie County 400
- Poinsett County 398
- Pulaski County 1,897
- Pike County 440
- Randolph County 343
Cite this page
“Pope County, Arkansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arkansas/pope-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.