Clay County, Arkansas

What hazards hit Clay County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 163 since 1957. 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 Clay County had?

NOAA records 27 tornadoes in Clay County from 1964 to 2026, the strongest rated F4, with 2 deaths and 1 injury 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 25 tornadoes whose track touched Clay County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 27: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 2 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 Clay County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 28, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($100,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Survey teams found substantial wind damage to trees and a few structures in the community of Piggott. Tree damage was relatively widespread, with numerous uprooted and downed trees. Minor structural damage and a few downed utility lines were also noted. The damage swath was approximately one mile wide, mainly affecting the northern side of town, with trees and debris blown to the southeast, consistent with an intense rear flank downdraft. Maximum wind speeds were estimated at around 80 mph.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1331130)

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

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 Clay 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 Clay County. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Clay County

FEMA's register lists 25 declarations that include Clay County: 19 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (13) and flood (5).

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 Clay County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 37 flood or flash flood records for Clay County from 1997 to 2025, on 32 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Clay County ranks 1003rd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $4.1 million on 180 claims filed in Clay County; the most in one year was 35 in 2017. 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 Clay County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clay County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $20.7 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 Clay County

1. Butler County, MO 1,035
2. Ripley County, MO 793
3. Dunklin County, MO 678
4. Greene County 578
5. Clay County 572
6. Randolph County 477

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 Clay CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Clay County's FEMA declarations (CSV)25 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis