PlainHazard

Arkansas extreme cold

Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 75 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 462 extreme cold records in Arkansas from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 32 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the December 15, 2008 cold/wind chill in Craighead County: 1 death. Arkansas ranks 34th of 51 states and territories by count and 36th of 50 per square mile.

Extreme cold in Arkansas, 1996 to 2026

Cold records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • 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
Records
4621996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
32average
Deaths
50 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$4.6Mas filed
Busiest year
2007119 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are extreme cold records common in Arkansas?

Arkansas averages about 32 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 34th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2007 (119). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Arkansas records 89 extreme cold records since 1996, 36th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Maryland 1039
  2. 2. New Jersey 901
  3. 3. West Virginia 808
  4. 4. Vermont 703
  5. 5. New York 602
  6. 6. Kentucky 578
  7. 7. Delaware 565
  8. 8. Minnesota 532
  9. 9. Iowa 492
  10. 10. Illinois 483
  11. 36. Arkansas 89

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Arkansas have the most extreme cold records?

Per square mile, Cross County leads Arkansas: 13 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 21.1 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Clay County has the most cold records (13 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Cross County 21.1 (13)
  2. Greene County 20.8 (12)
  3. Clay County 20.3 (13)
  4. Crittenden County 19.6 (12)
  5. St. Francis County 18.9 (12)
  6. Craighead County 18.4 (13)
  7. Lee County 18.3 (11)
  8. Boone County 17.0 (11)
  9. Sharp County 16.5 (10)
  10. Poinsett County 15.8 (12)
  11. Izard County 15.5 (9)
  12. Marion County 15.1 (13)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is the cold season in Arkansas?

61% of its extreme cold records since 1996 fell in March and April. The busiest month is April (281 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 114 · Feb 30 · Mar 1 · Apr 281 · May 0 · Jun 1 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 3 · Nov 0 · Dec 32 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest extreme cold records in Arkansas?

Arkansas: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2008-12-15 Cold/Wind ChillCraighead County · forecast zone Craighead Arctic air moved into the Midsouth during the day on December 15th, 2008. Temperatures dropped into lower 20s by the evening hours. Highs on the 16th did not reach above the upper 20s. One person died after he fell on the way to his vehicle during the late evening hours. He went undiscovered during the overnight ... 1 0 –
1998-12-23 Cold/Wind ChillJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson In addition to a major ice storm, much of Arkansas was affected by sub-freezing temperatures during the latter part of December. The cold weather apparently claimed the life of a man in Jefferson County who was found near some railroad tracks 3 miles east of Pine Bluff. 1 0 –
1998-03-10 Cold/Wind ChillSharp County · forecast zone Sharp Unseasonably cold air overspread much of Arkansas in the first half of March. A man, who was restricted to a wheelchair, ventured outside in the very cold weather. He overturned in his wheelchair and was unable to get back up into it. After a period of several hours outdoors exposed to the cold air, he was eventually ... 1 0 –
2008-02-12 Cold/Wind ChillBoone County and Marion County · forecast zone Boone An elderly Bergman woman died of hypothermia. She had apparently fallen on an icy wheelchair ramp outside her home and was unable to get up. 1 0 –
2017-12-31 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillSebastian County · forecast zone Sebastian A strong cold front moved through eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas on the 30th. An arctic air mass spread southward into the region behind the front through the 31st. Temperatures in west central Arkansas were in the mid 20s during the morning hours of the 31st. This cold air combined with northerly wind of 10 to ... 1 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest extreme cold records in Arkansas

Arkansas: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2000-10-09 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillCross County · forecast zone Cross One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $1.3M
2010-01-01 Cold/Wind ChillAshley County · forecast zone Ashley One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $1.2M
2010-01-07 Cold/Wind ChillHoward County · forecast zone Howard One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $609K
2007-04-08 Frost/FreezeHoward County · forecast zone Howard 0 0 $427K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are extreme cold records becoming more frequent in Arkansas?

Arkansas's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Extreme cold: Arkansas and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeArkansasUnited StatesArkansas's share
1996-9935,5390.1%
2000s21914,7921.5%
2010s9518,1620.5%
2020-2614515,3290.9%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent extreme cold records in Arkansas

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillSt. Francis County · forecast zone St. Francis 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillPoinsett County · forecast zone Poinsett 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillPhillips County · forecast zone Phillips 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillLee County · forecast zone Lee 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillGreene County · forecast zone Greene 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillCross County · forecast zone Cross 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillCrittenden County · forecast zone Crittenden 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillCraighead County · forecast zone Craighead 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillClay County · forecast zone Clay 0 0 –
2026-01-31 Cold/Wind ChillCraighead County · forecast zone Craighead 0 0 –
2026-01-31 Cold/Wind ChillMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

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