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Yell County, Arkansas severe weather history spans 598 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 42.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #586 nationally and #16 in Arkansas.
598
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
14
Direct injuries
$11.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Yell County, Arkansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Yell County, Arkansas severe weather history averages 8.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 167 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 63 events fall before 1990 and 535 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Yell County, Arkansas record is flood, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $3.8M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Yell County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 256 | 0 | $2.8M | 78 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 156 | 0 | $0 | 4 | 1956–2025 |
| Flood | 85 | 2 | $3.8M | 0 | 2008–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 47 | 0 | $1.5M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 33 | 0 | $3.7M | F3 | 1951–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 13 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2022 |
| Lightning | 4 | 1 | $1K | 0 | 1998–2014 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2012–2012 |
Decade by decade
Yell 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: 29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-02-05 | EF4 | 13 | 139 | 121.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-26 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 16.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-03-14 | EF3 | 0 | 7 | 12.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2006-01-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-10-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1980-04-07 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 20.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1980-04-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-02-22 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 26.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-10-23 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-11-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Yell County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 2008 | Flood | PLAINVIEW | 2 | 0 | $10K |
| Oct 28, 2014 | Lightning | GILKEY | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 26, 1976 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $2.5M | |
| Oct 23, 1951 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $0 | |
| Jul 13, 2001 | Lightning | DARDANELLE | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| May 10, 2015 | Flash Flood | SILLS | 0 | 2 | $10K |
| Feb 10, 1998 | Lightning | DANVILLE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
According to police reports, the driver of a small pick-up truck drove around barricades into a flooded portion of Arkansas Highway 28. The motorist continued through about 1/8 mile of flooded roadway until the water got so deep that the truck floated off the highway. The two occupants drowned. Water was reported to be so deep on the highway that only the tops of the guardrails were visible. The highway had been closed and barricaded for more than 24 hours when the fatalities occurred.
Heavy rain caused the Petit Jean River at Danville to go above flood stage. Upstream, Blue Mountain Lake rose to record levels and several feet of water was flowing through the emergency spillway. Numerous county roads were flooded and Arkansas Highways 27 and 10 were affected. Pastures along the river and the Petit Jean Wildlife Management Area were inundated.
Heavy rain in eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas caused the Arkansas River at Dardenelle to go above minor flood level. This was the fifth highest crest since completion of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. Damages were primarily losses to winter wheat and county roads.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
20,134
Population (ACS)
$144K
Median home value
22
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
- Danville 285
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Yell County, Arkansas?
598 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $11.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Yell County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 256 recorded events — 42.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Yell County?
34 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 29 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Yell County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Yell County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Yell County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Yell County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 59 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Yell 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
- Woodruff County 593
- White County 926
- Washington County 1,038
- Van Buren County 445
- Union County 519
- Stone County 273
Cite this page
“Yell County, Arkansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arkansas/yell-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.