Izard County, Arkansas

What hazards hit Izard County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 147 since 1973. 41% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1973 fell in July and August. 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 Izard County had?

NOAA records 25 tornadoes in Izard County from 1950 to 2022, the strongest rated F4, with 4 deaths and 60 injuries recorded in the county. That is 30th of 75 Arkansas counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. 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 26 tornadoes whose track touched Izard County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 25: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 7 people, 4 of them in Izard County.

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 Izard County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the March 6, 2022 tornado (5 injuries and $328,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

This tornado started in central Izard county, just southeast of Melbourne, and tracked northeast 9.86 miles in Izard county. The tornado continued into into western Sharp county and dissipating northwest of Evening Shade. There was mostly tree damage. Several homes in and around Sage had roof damage, with a few barns and sheds heavily damaged. The worst damage was 0.5 mile east of Sage, with numerous trees snapped and a horse barn destroyed. Farther northeast, a mobile home was rolled, and a person was injured. A modular home was ripped apart about 4.0 miles west-northwest of Evening Shade. The occupants went to a nearby metal storage container for shelter, and it was rolled. There were four injuries reported here, including one serious injury.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1012890)

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 Izard 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?

41% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1973 fell in July and August. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Izard County

FEMA's register lists 31 declarations that include Izard County: 24 major disasters, 7 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (13) and flood (8).

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 Izard County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 39 flood or flash flood records for Izard County from 1998 to 2025, on 32 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Izard County ranks 1478th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $2.4 million on 71 claims filed in Izard County; the most in one year was 38 in 2008. 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 Izard County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Izard County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $10.1 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 Izard County

1. Baxter County 716
2. Independence County 687
3. Sharp County 512
4. Izard County 482
5. Fulton County 433
6. Stone County 400

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 Izard CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Izard County's FEMA declarations (CSV)31 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis