Arkansas winter storms
Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 75 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 4,674 winter storm records in Arkansas from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 167 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 26, 2009 ice storm: 5 deaths and $13.8 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 7 records. Arkansas ranks 29th of 51 states and territories by count and 30th of 50 per square mile.
Winter storms in Arkansas, 1996 to 2026
Winter storm 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
- 4,6741996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 167average
- Deaths
- 3727 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $917Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2011367 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 winter storm records common in Arkansas?
Arkansas averages about 167 winter storm records a year since 2000, 29th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2011 (367). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Arkansas records 899 winter storm records since 1996, 30th of 50 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 winter storm records?
Per square mile, Boone County leads Arkansas: 115 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 195.0 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Marion County has the most winter storm records (144 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 winter storm season in Arkansas?
68% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is February (1,602 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 1,582 · Feb 1,602 · Mar 459 · Apr 3 · May 11 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 9 · Nov 208 · Dec 800 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest winter storm records in Arkansas?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-01-26 | Ice StormMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. The combination of abundant moisture, a low pressure system moving through the region, and cold air at the surface caused an ice storm to occur over Northeast Arkansas. Most of the precipitation fell in the form of freezing rain. Toward the end of the event, precipitation changed briefly to sleet and snow. Significant ... | 5 | 0 | $14M | |
| 2018-11-14 | Winter WeatherPulaski County · forecast zone Pulaski The observer reported 0.8 inches of snow in the last 24 hours ending at 7 am on 11/15/18 3 miles north of North Little Rock. There were 4 deaths and 2 injuries due to auto accidents on slick roads. | 4 | 2 | – | |
| 2014-01-08 | Winter WeatherGrant County · forecast zone Grant One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A round of wintry precipitation moved into western Arkansas on the morning of the 8th and spread to all sections during the daylight hours of the 8th. Although some precipitation was in the form of light snow or sleet at the onset in northern Arkansas, the vast majority of the precipitation in Arkansas fell as light ... | 3 | 6 | – | |
| 2014-02-04 | Ice StormLonoke County · forecast zone Lonoke One storm episode: 12 records in 12 places; the totals are the episode's. Arctic air was over Arkansas on the 4th, and an area of low pressure aloft moved in from the southwest. As a result, widespread precipitation developed. Freezing rain and sleet began moving into western Arkansas before dawn on the 4th. A swath of counties from west central Arkansas through the central part of the ... | 2 | 1 | $5.9M | |
| 2011-02-08 | Winter StormWashington County · forecast zone Washington Ten to twenty four inches of snow fell across the county. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2008-12-23 | Winter WeatherPoinsett County · forecast zone Poinsett Minor ice accumulations on the roadways resulted in two deaths occurring from traffic accidents. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2014-03-02 | Winter StormPoinsett County · forecast zone Poinsett One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. An arctic cold front pushed into the Mid-South during the day on March 2nd, 2014. Overrunning precipitation fell through a shallow arctic airmass which produced freezing rain, sleet and snow. Precipitation was slow to move out as the front stalled just east of the Mississippi River. Thunder also occurred at times with ... | 1 | 4 | – | |
| 2014-03-02 | Winter StormCleburne County · forecast zone Cleburne One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong Arctic cold front moved through Arkansas on the 2nd and the morning hours of the 3rd. Freezing rain and sleet began to fall in northern Arkansas before dawn on the 2nd, while rain fell over the rest of the state. As colder air made its way farther into the state, rain changed to freezing rain and sleet over ... | 1 | 2 | $1.4M | |
| 2013-12-05 | Winter StormPope County · forecast zone Pope One storm episode: 12 records in 12 places; the totals are the episode's. After Arctic air overspread Arkansas, an area of low pressure aloft moved toward the state from the southwestern United States. As the low pressure approached, moisture moved up over the cold air, resulting in wintry precipitation. In northern Arkansas, freezing rain and sleet began during the morning of the 5th, then ... | 1 | 1 | $31M | |
| 2013-11-25 | Winter WeatherIzard County · forecast zone Izard A light mix of wintry precipitation spread into western and southwestern sections of Arkansas before dawn on the 25th, then spread to other sections during the morning and early afternoon. Most of the precipitation fell as light freezing rain and sleet, but there were some snowflakes in the northeast part of the ... | 1 | 1 | – |
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 winter storm records in Arkansas
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-12-24 | Ice StormSevier County · forecast zone Sevier | 0 | 0 | $283M | |
| 2009-01-26 | Ice StormSearcy County · forecast zone Searcy One storm episode: 23 records in 23 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $193M | |
| 2009-01-26 | Ice StormWashington County · forecast zone Washington One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 1 | $149M | |
| 2012-12-25 | Winter StormSaline County · forecast zone Saline One storm episode: 30 records in 30 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 0 | $117M | |
| 2000-12-12 | Ice StormMiller County · forecast zone Miller One storm episode: 9 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $69M | |
| 2013-12-05 | Winter StormPope County · forecast zone Pope One storm episode: 12 records in 12 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 1 | $31M | |
| 2002-12-03 | Ice StormLawrence County · forecast zone Lawrence One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 0 | $16M | |
| 2009-01-26 | Ice StormMississippi County · forecast zone Mississippi One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. | 5 | 0 | $14M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are winter storm 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.
| Decade | Arkansas | United States | Arkansas's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 253 | 32,893 | 0.8% |
| 2000s | 1,131 | 88,805 | 1.3% |
| 2010s | 2,085 | 103,626 | 2.0% |
| 2020-26 | 1,205 | 62,015 | 1.9% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent winter storm records in Arkansas
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-27 | Winter WeatherGarland County · forecast zone Garland | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-27 | Winter WeatherSaline County · forecast zone Saline | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-27 | Winter WeatherSaline County · forecast zone Saline | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-26 | Winter WeatherJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-26 | Winter WeatherMontgomery County · forecast zone Central And Eastern Montgomery County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-25 | Winter WeatherPulaski County · forecast zone Pulaski | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-25 | Winter WeatherCleburne County · forecast zone Cleburne | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-25 | Winter WeatherBaxter County · forecast zone Baxter | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-25 | Winter WeatherSaline County · forecast zone Saline | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-25 | Winter WeatherSaline County · forecast zone Saline | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-25 | Winter WeatherSaline County · forecast zone Saline | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-25 | Winter WeatherPulaski County · forecast zone Pulaski | 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 winter storm records in Arkansas
FEMA has declared 10 disasters in Arkansas for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 7 were major disasters, the latest on January 24, 2026.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-24 | EM-3636 | Severe Winter Storm | 75 |
| 2023-04-04 | DR-4700 | Severe Winter Storm | 13 |
| 2014-01-06 | DR-4160 | Severe Winter Storm | 14 |
| 2013-01-29 | DR-4100 | Severe Winter Storm | 8 |
| 2009-02-06 | DR-1819 | Severe Winter Storm | 30 |
| 2009-01-28 | EM-3301 | Severe Winter Storm | 48 |
| 2003-01-06 | DR-1450 | Severe Ice Storm | 18 |
| 2000-12-29 | DR-1354 | Severe Winter Ice Storm | 67 |
| 2000-12-28 | EM-3159 | Severe Winter Ice Storm | 52 |
| 1994-02-28 | DR-1011 | Severe Winter Ice Storm | 17 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Boone County: the county's whole recordThe Arkansas county with the most winter storm records per square mile
- Winter storms 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
- Floods in Arkansas5,685 records