Arkansas natural disasters

The state's storm and disaster record · population 3,007,951 · 75 counties and county equivalents

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 48,967 storm events in Arkansas since 1950, 40,341 of them since 1996 when every event type began to be recorded, and the Storm Prediction Center counts 2,146 tornadoes in the state since 1950. The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events (16,540). In NOAA's storm record since 1950, the deadliest tornado day in Arkansas was March 21, 1952: tornadoes and the storms that came with them killed 112 people in the state; the deadliest of them in Arkansas, the Searcy tornado, killed 50 (SPC). FEMA has made 89 declarations for Arkansas since 1957, 87 for natural hazards; 74 were major disasters.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm events recorded in Arkansas each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

recorded, no damage figure
under $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
a year with a death
1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
1996: all 48 event types from 1996

Storm events recorded: 48,9671950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 6686,933 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $10.5Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes (SPC): 2,1461950 to 2025
FEMA declarations: 8974 major disasters

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); tornado count: NOAA Storm Prediction Center, 1950-2025; damage in 2025 dollars (BLS CPI-U). Search the record at NCEI.

What natural disasters happen in Arkansas?

By NOAA's records, Arkansas's most frequent hazards are severe thunderstorm wind events (16,540), hail reports (12,515), floods and flash floods (5,685); the deadliest are tornadoes (413 deaths). Each hazard is counted over the years NOAA has recorded it everywhere: tornadoes since 1950, hail and thunderstorm wind since 1955, everything else since 1996. Open a hazard for its years, months, counties and worst events.

Arkansas: records by hazard to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Last 10 years	Killed	Injured	Damage	Counties
Severe thunderstorm wind	16,540	3,346	39	287	$306M	75 of 75
Hail	12,515	2,005	0	52	$355M	75 of 75
Floods	5,685	2,150	92	53	$1.3B	75 of 75
Winter storms	4,674	1,570	37	27	$917M	75 of 75
Heat	2,651	1,716	40	791	–	75 of 75
Tornadoes	2,565	440	413	5,569	$7.4B	75 of 75
Drought	1,837	471	0	0	$13M	75 of 75
High wind and dust storms	524	70	10	30	$32M	73 of 75
Heavy rain	486	224	7	10	$6.5M	59 of 75
Extreme cold	462	146	5	0	$4.6M	75 of 75
Lightning	387	37	22	83	$39M	67 of 75
Hurricanes and tropical storms	271	42	1	7	$97M	66 of 75
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds	189	27	1	7	$82K	55 of 75
Wildfires	178	5	1	17	$13M	55 of 75
Landslides and avalanches	3	0	0	0	$103K	4 of 75

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: every record counted once in the state; "last 10 years" is 2017-2026 (2026 to June 30, 2026).

What were the deadliest disasters in Arkansas?

The storms with the most deaths since 1950, from the National Weather Service's own entries. NOAA files one storm as several records when it crosses forecast zones and counties or changes type, and groups them under one episode; each row here is an episode, with its totals and the narrative of its deadliest record. Before 1996 tornado records carry no episode and stand alone. The narrative says what happened: some deaths the National Weather Service files under a weather type had another cause beside the weather.

Arkansas: the 10 storm episodes with the most deaths
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
1952-03-21	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Searcy, killed 50 (SPC) · TornadoWhite County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (17, in 11 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F4 14.6 mi x 1,760 yd	112	724	$2.5M step
1968-05-15	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Jonesboro, killed 35 (SPC) · TornadoCraighead County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (6, in 6 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F4 12.6 mi x 167 yd	45	413	$25K step
1997-03-01	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Little Rock, killed 10 (SPC) · TornadoBenton, Saline County One named storm filed by several offices: 8 records in 6 episodes; the totals are the storm's. The thunderstorm that produced the tornado across Clark and Hot Spring County earlier spawned another tornado in Saline County. The tornado touched down 5 miles southeast of Benton and traveled northeastward, damaging a number of homes and downing numerous trees and power lines. As the tornado approached Shannon ...	F4 14 mi x 1,408 yd	25	389	$427M
2010-06-11	Flash FloodSlatington, Montgomery County Heavy rain fell on saturated ground during the wee hours of June 11th in an area characterized by steep terrain, limited access, and poor communications. Along the Little Missouri River, flash flooding developed rapidly at the Albert Pike Recreation Area in the Ouachita National Forest. The flood took 20 lives, ...		20	24	$12M
2014-04-27	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Vilonia, killed 16 (SPC) · TornadoPalarm, Faulkner County One storm episode: 12 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. A round of showers and thunderstorms occurred during the morning of the 27th. Some of the storms produced hail in central Arkansas. New storms during the afternoon dropped hail in the northern and western parts of the state. The cool outflow from the morning storms left a boundary draped across the middle of the ...	EF4 24.24 mi x 1,320 yd	16	194	$285M
1968-04-19	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Greenwood, killed 14 (SPC) · TornadoSebastian County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (4, in 4 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F4 2 mi x 300 yd	14	270	$2.5M step
2008-02-05	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Clinton to Highland, killed 13 (SPC) · TornadoGalla Rock, Pope County One storm episode: 16 records in 13 places; the totals are the episode's. Early on the 5th, a strong storm system approached from the Plains. Ahead of the system, breezy southerly winds provided well above normal temperatures and abundant moisture. Warmth and moisture destabilized the atmosphere and fueled developing thunderstorms. A cold front moved across the state causing numerous severe ...	EF3 10.82 mi x 1,050 yd	14	175	$188M
1982-04-02	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Hope, killed 5 (SPC) · TornadoHempstead County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (19, in 15 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F3 10 mi x 200 yd	14	90	$2.5M step
1999-01-21	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Little Rock to North Little Rock, killed 3 (SPC) · TornadoLittle Rock, Pulaski County One named storm filed by several offices: 4 records in 4 episodes; the totals are the storm's. A strong tornado moved from eastern Saline County into southwest Pulaski County. Trees were downed as the tornado entered Pulaski County, with some roof damage to a business along Interstate 30 about 5 miles southwest of Little Rock. The tornado continued northeast into eastern sections of the downtown area...crossing ...	F3 15 mi x 700 yd	8	105	–
2011-04-25	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Mayflower to Vilonia, killed 4 (SPC) · TornadoMayflower, Faulkner County One storm episode: 75 records in 34 places, 2011-04-25 to 2011-04-26; the totals are the episode's. From the 24th through the 27th, the arrival of a slow-moving cold front and several low pressure areas aloft triggered several rounds of thunderstorms. Tornadoes, severe storms, and flash flooding resulted. Widespread areal flooding followed the flash flooding. Some of this flooding was due to heavy rain, while some ...	EF2 23.2 mi x 2,900 yd	7	59	$312M

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 direct and indirect, as filed in this state, summed over the records of each episode (EPISODE_ID); a forecast-zone record counts the zone's deaths once. A tornado's whole-track deaths (SPC), on the state's tornado page, can be higher when the track crossed a state line. Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest records in Arkansas

Arkansas: the 8 records with the most damage since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2020-03-28	TornadoJonesboro, Craighead County	EF3 12.53 mi x 600 yd	0	22	$342M
2000-12-24	Ice StormSevier County · forecast zone Sevier		0	0	$283M
1996-04-21	TornadoVan Buren, Crawford County	F3 6 mi x 1,050 yd	0	49	$282M
2014-04-27	TornadoPalarm, Faulkner County	EF4 24.24 mi x 1,320 yd	12	167	$262M
1997-03-01	TornadoOkolona, Clark County	F4 27 mi x 1,056 yd	6	100	$221M
2001-10-11	Flash FloodMagnolia, Columbia County		0	0	$200M
2009-04-09	TornadoPotter, Polk County	EF3 14.84 mi x 1,075 yd	3	30	$179M
2011-04-25	TornadoLynch, Pulaski County	EF2 5.17 mi x 350 yd	0	4	$164M

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $25M, in the dollars of the day) holds: March 28, 1975 (tornado, Bradley County, 7 killed); April 10, 1965 (tornado, Faulkner County, 6 killed); December 14, 1987 (tornado, Crittenden County, 6 killed); March 29, 1976 (tornado, Lonoke County, 5 killed); March 15, 1984 (tornado, Poinsett County, 5 killed).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. BLS consumer price index.

Which counties in Arkansas have the most records?

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950 attributed to each county (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

Every county in Arkansas

Billion-dollar disasters in Arkansas

NOAA counted 97 weather or climate disasters from 1980-2024 that cost at least $1 billion (adjusted for inflation) and affected Arkansas, led by severe storm (55). The most recent: Central Tornado Outbreak (2024); Central, Southern, Eastern Severe Weather (2024); Central, Southern, Southeastern Tornado Outbreak (2024).

Arkansas: billion-dollar disasters by type, 1980-2024
Type	Events	Total cost (NOAA's range)
Severe Storm	55	$10.0B-$20.0B
Drought	17	$5.0B-$10.0B
Flooding	9	$2.0B-$5.0B
Winter Storm	9	$1.0B-$2.0B
Tropical Cyclone	5	$500M-$1.0B
Freeze	2	$250M-$500M

Every one of the 97, newest first

Central Tornado Outbreak2024
Central, Southern, Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central, Southern, Southeastern Tornado Outbreak2024
Central and Southern Severe Weather2024
Central, Southern, Northeastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2024
Southern/Eastern/Northwestern Drought and Heat Wave2024
Rockies Hail Storms and Central and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central and Southern Severe Weather2023
Southern Severe Weather2023
Central and Southern Severe Weather2023
Southern/Midwestern Drought and Heatwave2023
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central and Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2022
Southern Severe Weather2022
Southeast Tornado Outbreak2022
Southern Tornado Outbreak2022
Western/Central Drought and Heat Wave2022
Southeast, Central Tornado Outbreak2021
Hurricane Ida2021
Southern Tornadoes and Southeast Severe Weather2021
Eastern Severe Weather2021
Northwest, Central, Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2021
Hurricane Laura2020
South, Central and Eastern Severe Weather2020
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2020
Central, Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2020
Southeast and Eastern Tornado Outbreak2020
North Central and Ohio Valley Hail Storms and Severe Weather2020
Midwest and Ohio Valley Severe Weather2020
Southeast Tornadoes and Northern Storms and Flooding2020
Texas Tornadoes and Central Severe Weather2019
Arkansas River Flooding2019
South and Southeast Severe Weather2019
Mississippi River, Midwest and Southern Flooding2019
Central and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2018
Southern and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2018
Missouri and Arkansas Flooding and Central Severe Weather2017
Southeast Severe Weather and Tornadoes2017
Midwest Tornado Outbreak2017
Central/Southeast Tornado Outbreak2017
South/Southeast Tornadoes2016
Texas Tornadoes and Midwest Flooding2015
Texas and Oklahoma Flooding and Severe Weather2015
South/Southeast Severe Weather2015
Midwest/Ohio Valley Severe Weather2015
Rockies/Central Plains Severe Weather2014
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Tornadoes and Flooding2014
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave2012
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes2011
Southeast/Ohio Valley/Midwest Tornadoes2011
Ohio Valley Derecho and Southern Tornadoes2011
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes2011
Mississippi River flooding2011
Southern Plains/Southwest Drought and Heat Wave2011
East/South Flooding and Severe Weather2010
Midwest, South and East Severe Weather2009
South/Southeast Severe Weather and Tornadoes2009
Hurricane Ike2008
Hurricane Gustav2008
Southern Severe Weather2008
Southeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2008
Western, Central and Northeast Severe Weather2008
U.S. Drought2008
Western/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave2007
Spring Freeze2007
Severe Storms and Tornadoes2006
Midwest/Plains/Southeast Drought2006
Hurricane Rita2005
Midwest Drought2005
Southern Derecho and Eastern Severe Weather2003
Severe Storms/Tornadoes2003
Severe Storms and Tornadoes2002
Midwest/Ohio Valley Hail and Tornadoes2001
Western/Central/Southeast Drought/Heat Wave2000
Eastern Drought/Heat Wave1999
Oklahoma and Kansas Tornadoes1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Southern Drought and Heat Wave1998
Mississippi and Ohio Valley Severe Weather and Flooding1997
Blizzard/Floods1996
Central, Southern and Northeast Drought/Heat Wave1995
Midwest/Plains Tornadoes1994
Southeast Ice Storm1994
Southeast Severe Weather1992
Southern Flooding1990
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1989
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave1988
Southeast Drought/Heat Wave1986
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1985
Tornadoes, Severe Storms, Floods1984
Freeze/Cold Wave1983
Southeast Drought1983
Gulf States Storms and Flooding1982
Midwest/Plains/Southeast Tornadoes1982
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm, Cold Wave1982
Central/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave1980
Southern Severe Storms and Flooding1980

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, state summary for Arkansas, 1980-2024 (NCEI's last update; the product is archived). A disaster that affected several states counts in each. NCEI billion-dollar disasters.

Federal disaster declarations in Arkansas

FEMA has made 89 declarations for Arkansas since 1957: 74 major disasters, 13 emergencies and 2 fire management assistance declarations. The most common incident types are severe storm (33), flood (21), tornado (18).

1950s 2
1960s 7
1970s 13
1980s 7
1990s 9
2000s 20
2010s 15
2020s 16

The 15 most recent declarations in Arkansas
Declared	Number	Type	Title	Areas named
2026-09-15	FM-5676	Fire	Bunker Fire	2
2026-08-21	FM-5673	Fire	Pine Tree Road Fire	1
2026-01-24	EM-3636	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	75
2025-05-21	DR-4873	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding	41
2025-05-08	DR-4865	Severe Storm	Severe Storms and Tornadoes	9
2025-04-05	EM-3627	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding	75
2024-05-30	DR-4788	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding	11
2023-11-14	DR-4748	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes	4
2023-04-04	DR-4700	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	13
2023-04-02	DR-4698	Severe Storm	Severe Storms and Tornadoes	3
2021-12-23	DR-4633	Tornado	Severe Storms and Tornadoes	5
2020-08-27	EM-3541	Hurricane	Hurricane Laura	75
2020-07-10	DR-4556	Tornado	Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds	12
2020-05-08	DR-4544	Tornado	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds	1
2020-04-03	DR-4518	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	76

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Flood insurance claims in Arkansas

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $218 million on 10,065 claims in 74 Arkansas counties. Claims count insured losses only.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk across Arkansas's counties

How FEMA's National Risk Index rates Arkansas's counties overall: a model of expected future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of events.

Relatively High 1
Relatively Moderate 10
Relatively Low 42
Very Low 22

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