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Southern Sebastian; Craig; Ottawa; Creek; Okfuskee; Haskell; Latimer; Northern Le Flore; Northeast Osage; Central and Southern Sequoyah; Central Le Flore; Southern Le Flore
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North and Central Sebastian; Southern Crawford; Central and Southern Franklin; Pushmataha; Choctaw; Washington; Nowata; Tulsa; Rogers; Mayes; Okmulgee; Wagoner; Muskogee; McIntosh; Pittsburg; Southeast Osage
Sebastian County, Arkansas severe weather history spans 1,038 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 45.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #127 nationally and #3 in Arkansas.
1,038
Recorded events
21
Direct deaths
344
Direct injuries
$173.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Sebastian County, Arkansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Sebastian County, Arkansas severe weather history averages 14.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 271 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 124 events fall before 1990 and 914 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Sebastian County, Arkansas record is tornado, responsible for 16 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $163.4M 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 Sebastian County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 470 | 2 | $1.9M | 75 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 386 | 0 | $2.9M | 4.5 | 1956–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 106 | 2 | $5.0M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 43 | 16 | $163.4M | F4 | 1954–2025 |
| Flood | 19 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2023 |
| Lightning | 9 | 0 | $301K | 0 | 1998–2014 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1999 |
| Heat | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Sebastian County, Arkansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
42 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 37 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968-04-19 | EF4 | 14 | 270 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-04-21 | EF3 | 2 | 89 | 10.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1980-04-07 | EF2 | 0 | 8 | 5.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-12-21 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 3.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 8 | 5.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-02-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 21.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-07-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-11-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-04-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Sebastian County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 1968 | Tornado | 14 | 270 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 22, 1996 | Tornado | FT SMITH | 2 | 40 | $150.0M |
| Aug 24, 2019 | Flash Flood | LAVACA | 1 | 0 | $400K |
| Jun 24, 2019 | Flash Flood | GREENWOOD | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 22, 2019 | Flood | OAK PARK | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 18, 1986 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| May 17, 1986 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Apr 7, 1980 | Tornado | 0 | 8 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Portions of Highways 96 and 255 were closed near Lavaca. Portions of Highway 22 were closed near Fort Chaffee. Reportedly, 38 homes were flood-damaged in Fort Smith and seven were flood-damaged in Barling. A woman delivering newspapers drove into flood water across Kinkead Avenue on the east side of Fort Smith, and was washed off the road where she drowned.
Near catastrophic flooding occurred along the Arkansas River with residential subdivisions and businesses flooded in Fort Smith. Numerous roads were closed. A man drove around a barricade near Fort Chaffee on the 28th, was washed off the road into the flooded river, and drowned. Monetary damage from this flood is unknown.
A gustnado occurred at 122 am near Phoenix and 46th street in Fort Smith and was on the ground for approximately 20 seconds. 3 warehouses and 2 office buildings were heavily damaged. A motor home,construction trailer and cessna airplane were also destroyed. There was also damage to a hangar at the Fort Smith airport and minor damage was done to 2 commuter planes.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
128,900
Population (ACS)
$176K
Median home value
21
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
- Ft Smith 290
- Greenwood 148
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Sebastian County, Arkansas?
1,038 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 21 direct deaths and $173.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Sebastian County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 470 recorded events — 45.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Sebastian County?
42 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 37 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Sebastian County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Sebastian County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Sebastian County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Sebastian County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 87 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Sebastian 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
- Searcy County 303
- Sevier County 469
- Scott County 344
- Sharp County 368
- Saline County 842
- Stone County 273
Cite this page
“Sebastian County, Arkansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arkansas/sebastian-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.