313
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$3.4M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Pope County, Arkansas: 313 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 78. That places the county #410 nationally and #13 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Pope County, Arkansas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Pope County is the 2010s, when 85 of the county's 313 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 Pope County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 52.3% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #410 for this hazard and #13 within Arkansas, putting it in the 87.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Pope County with 62 recorded events, while Dec 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 23, 2015 | ECONOMY | 70 | 1 | 0 | $40K |
| May 15, 2022 | RUSSELLVILLE | 17 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Nov 16, 1988 | 0 | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| May 21, 2019 | ECONOMY | 74 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2026 | FREEMAN SPGS | 50 | $0 |
| Apr 15, 2026 | SCOTTSVILLE | 54 | $0 |
| Jun 7, 2025 | FREEMAN SPGS | 56 | $0 |
| May 20, 2025 | POTTSVILLE | 50 | $0 |
| May 18, 2025 | RUSSELLVILLE | 52 | $0 |
| May 18, 2025 | DOVER | 50 | $0 |
| Apr 30, 2025 | (RUE)RUSSELLVILLE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT | 55 | $0 |
| Apr 30, 2025 | OAKLAND HGTS | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 19, 2024 | RUSSELLVILLE | 52 | $0 |
| Aug 19, 2024 | DOVER | 52 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Pope County
- Hail 189
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
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.
Several trees were uprooted. Several buildings had signs blown in, windows blown in, and roofs with shingle damage. Winds blew in the glass doors of Fred's Pharmacy. All damage is consistent with straight-line winds of 75-85 mph.
Damage was noted on the campus of Arkansas Tech. Trees were snapped or uprooted. Large limbs were blown down and on the baseball field, the roof was blown off the dugout, and its contents were blown downwind. Also, the outfield fence was destroyed. The NWS Damage Survey confirmed straight-line winds of 80 to 90 mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Pope County, Arkansas?
313 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Pope County between 1956 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Pope County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Pope County measured 78.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Pope 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
“Thunderstorm Wind in Pope County, Arkansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arkansas/pope-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.