Arkansas floods
Every recorded flood since 1996 · 75 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 5,685 floods and flash floods in Arkansas from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 205 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the June 11, 2010 flash flood in Montgomery County: 20 deaths, 24 injuries and $12.2 million in damage in 2025 dollars. Arkansas ranks 12th of 52 states and territories by count and 21st of 51 per square mile.
Floods in Arkansas, 1996 to 2026
Flood 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
- 5,6851996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 205average
- Deaths
- 9253 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $1.3Bas filed
- Busiest year
- 2009544 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 floods and flash floods common in Arkansas?
Arkansas averages about 205 floods and flash floods a year since 2000, 12th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2009 (544). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Arkansas records 1093 floods and flash floods since 1996, 21st of 51 states and territories by that measure.
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 floods and flash floods?
Per square mile, Woodruff County leads Arkansas: 318 days with a flood since 1996, 542.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Woodruff County has the most flood records (403 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).
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 flood season in Arkansas?
Arkansas's floods and flash floods by month. The busiest month is May (955 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 337 · Feb 378 · Mar 538 · Apr 876 · May 955 · Jun 631 · Jul 459 · Aug 297 · Sep 300 · Oct 313 · Nov 196 · Dec 405 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest floods and flash floods in Arkansas?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| 2013-05-30 | Flash FloodCoaldale, Scott County One storm episode: 10 records in 10 places, 2013-05-30 to 2013-05-31; the totals are the episode's. The approach of low pressure aloft triggered numerous thunderstorms from the 30th into the early morning hours of the 31st. Tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and flash flooding occurred. The flooding killed six people, and the tornadoes killed one. The same weather system caused severe storms and flash flooding again ... | 6 | 4 | $17M | |
| 2011-04-25 | Flash FloodBella Vista, Benton County One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. Periods of showers and thunderstorms resulted in widespread heavy rainfall on the 25th with a frontal boundary extending through northwestern Arkansas and an upper level disturbance approaching the region. These showers and thunderstorms only compounded the already serious flood situation across much of the area. Five ... | 5 | 0 | $262K | |
| 2017-04-29 | Flash FloodForum, Madison County One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed during the late evening hours of the 28th over portions of northwestern Arkansas, along and north of a warm front that had moved into the area during the day. These storms produced hail up to golfball size, damaging wind, and locally heavy rainfall through the early morning ... | 5 | 0 | – | |
| 2011-05-01 | FloodPollard, Clay County One storm episode: 11 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. Heavy rains continued to occur across the Mid-Mississippi Valley into the Ohio Valley during the beginning part of May. In addition, spring snow melt across the Dakotas and Minnesota continued to create higher than normal river levels on the Mississippi River. The combination of the snow melt and heavy rainfall ... | 4 | 0 | $8.4M | |
| 2011-05-23 | Flash FloodGallitin, Benton County Three to five inches of rain fell across much of Benton County, resulting in numerous flooded roads. A vehicle was driven into at least four feet of flood water flowing across Shinn Spring Road and was washed downstream. On the 25th, the vehicle was recovered by divers in 10 feet of water in Butler Creek just upstream ... | 4 | 0 | – | |
| 2009-05-24 | Flash FloodGreensboro, Craighead County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. A semi-tropical low pressure system tracked across the Mid South during the late afternoon and evening of May 24, 2009 resulting in numerous showers and thunderstorms across Eastern Arkansas. Some of these storms produced heavy rain which resulted in flash flooding. | 3 | 0 | $103K | |
| 2012-03-21 | Flash FloodWrightsville, Pulaski County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A very slow-moving upper level low pressure center brought severe weather, heavy rain, and flash flooding from the 20th through the 22nd. For the 24-hour period ending at 7 AM on the 21st, some of the larger rainfall amounts included 6.20 inches at Norfork (Baxter Co.), 6.10 inches at Mountain Home (Baxter Co.), 5.88 ... | 2 | 0 | $476K | |
| 2011-05-01 | FloodHickory Plains, Prairie County One storm episode: 45 records in 45 places; the totals are the episode's. Areal flooding was widespread in Arkansas, beginning early in May. The flooding was caused by large amounts of rain on April 30th, and May 1st and 2nd; high water flowing down from Missouri; and backwater flooding from rivers and large creeks and bayous. The Mississippi River was also experiencing unusually high ... | 2 | 0 | $328M | |
| 2024-05-26 | FloodBella Vista, Benton County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. Four to five inches of rain fell across the Sugar Creek basin in northern Benton County on the 26th, most of it between the hours of midnight and 4:30 am. This heavy rainfall resulted in Little Sugar Creek flowing at dangerously high levels. Two people entered the creek for recreational purposes during the afternoon, ... | 2 | 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 floods and flash floods in Arkansas
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-05-01 | FloodHickory Plains, Prairie County One storm episode: 45 records in 45 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 0 | $328M | |
| 2001-10-11 | Flash FloodMagnolia, Columbia County | 0 | 0 | $200M | |
| 2008-03-18 | FloodRamsey Hill, Independence County One storm episode: 22 records in 17 places, 2008-03-18 to 2008-03-20; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $133M | |
| 2008-09-03 | Hurricane Gustav · Flash FloodFountain Hill, Ashley County One named storm filed by several offices: 24 records in 2 episodes, 2008-09-03 to 2008-09-05; the totals are the storm's. | 0 | 0 | $70M | |
| 2009-12-23 | Flash FloodCrossroads, Pulaski County One storm episode: 47 records in 22 places, 2009-12-23 to 2009-12-27; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 5 | $62M | |
| 2008-03-18 | Flash FloodSugarloaf Mountain, Stone County One storm episode: 15 records in 15 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 0 | $44M | |
| 2015-06-01 | FloodLanesport, Little River County One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $36M | |
| 2017-05-01 | FloodSupply, Randolph County One storm episode: 5 records in 3 places, 2017-05-01 to 2017-05-03; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $31M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are floods and flash floods 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.
| Decade | Arkansas | United States | Arkansas's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 282 | 20,986 | 1.3% |
| 2000s | 1,811 | 54,913 | 3.3% |
| 2010s | 2,291 | 68,322 | 3.4% |
| 2020-26 | 1,301 | 43,563 | 3.0% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent floods and flash floods in Arkansas
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-25 | Flash FloodPine Grove, Dallas County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-25 | Flash FloodDalark, Dallas County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-25 | Flash FloodMt Olive, Dallas County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-25 | Flash FloodBeaton, Hot Spring County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-24 | FloodRiverside, Woodruff County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-24 | Flash FloodNashville, Howard County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-24 | Flash FloodRosedale, Howard County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-24 | Flash FloodNashville, Howard County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-24 | Flash FloodUnity, Howard County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-24 | Flash FloodBuck Range, Howard County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-24 | Flash FloodFulton, Hempstead County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-24 | Flash FloodNashville, Howard County | 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.
Federal disaster declarations for floods and flash floods in Arkansas
FEMA has declared 49 disasters in Arkansas for floods and flash floods, counting its incident type and declarations that name flood in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 46 were major disasters, the latest on May 21, 2025.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-21 | DR-4873 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 41 |
| 2025-04-05 | EM-3627 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 75 |
| 2024-05-30 | DR-4788 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 11 |
| 2019-09-13 | DR-4460 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 3 |
| 2019-06-08 | DR-4441 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 17 |
| 2019-05-30 | EM-3414 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 16 |
| 2017-06-15 | DR-4318 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 32 |
| 2016-05-06 | DR-4270 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 12 |
| 2016-02-05 | DR-4254 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 38 |
| 2015-06-26 | DR-4226 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 29 |
| 2014-04-29 | DR-4174 | Severe Storms,Tornadoes, and Flooding | 12 |
| 2013-09-04 | DR-4143 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 6 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Woodruff County: the county's whole recordThe Arkansas county with the most floods and flash floods per square mile
- Floods across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in ArkansasTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Arkansas16,540 records
- Hail in Arkansas12,515 records
- Winter storms in Arkansas4,674 records