Bradley County, Arkansas

What hazards hit Bradley County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 115 since 1955. The rank column places the county among Arkansas's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Bradley County had?

NOAA records 21 tornadoes in Bradley County from 1954 to 2015, the strongest rated F4, with 7 deaths and 59 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 21 tornadoes whose track touched Bradley County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 21, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 7 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Arkansas.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Bradley County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 14, 2018 thunderstorm wind ($12,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

National Weather Service damage survey concludes tree damage near Sumpter, AR was the result of damaging thunderstorm winds. Damage was concentrated near the intersection of Arkansas Hwy 8, Bradley County Rd 42, and Jimmy Senn Rd. Several trees were uprooted, mostly east of Arkansas Hwy 8, with a couple of trees snapped. A metal outbuilding was damaged at a home across from Sumpter Methodist Church. Some fence damage was noted as well, but no other significant structural damage was observed. Estimated maximum wind speed is 90 mph.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 752580)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Bradley County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

Records by month in Bradley County. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Bradley County

FEMA's register lists 26 declarations that include Bradley County: 20 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (10) and hurricane (3).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Bradley County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 39 flood or flash flood records for Bradley County from 1997 to 2025, on 35 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Bradley County ranks 1584th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.4 million on 59 claims filed in Bradley County; the most in one year was 20 in 2009. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Bradley County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Bradley County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $5.8 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Bradley County

1. Union County 694
2. Ashley County 549
3. Drew County 480
4. Calhoun County 376
5. Bradley County 365
6. Cleveland County 365

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in ArkansasEvery Arkansas tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in ArkansasThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The Arkansas recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Bradley CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Bradley County's FEMA declarations (CSV)26 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis