Blytheville

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Mississippi County, the county that contains Blytheville.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Mississippi County, the county that contains Blytheville.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Mississippi County, the county that contains Blytheville.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Dec 10, 2021Tornado$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   After crossing from Craighead County into Mississippi County the tornado struck the northern portions of Leachville, in northwestern Mississippi County. Several homes suffered partial or complete roof loss in northwestern Leachville. A restaurant, store, and cotton gin suffered considerable damage along Highway 77, and numerous power poles were snapped. A fatality occurred in the store. Anchors to the store's metal frame were pulled out of the concrete foundation. The tornado's path was estimated at nearly a mile wide in this area. The tornado approached the Little River area south of Hornersville, near the Arkansas/Missouri state line. A stand of trees was debarked east of…

2. Feb 24, 2018Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado started just southwest of the town of Keiser. Several buildings in town lost parts of their roofs and had windows blown out. A couple of buildings had partial or entire roof loss. Blown transformers and downed trees were observed across the community. The tornado continued through fields and then crossed Interstate 55, causing considerable damage to a hotel. Additional damage was noted to a metal building facility near Keiser Road and Denso Road. The tornado continued northeast over open fields, lifting before reaching South County Road 535. Peak winds were estimated at 125 mph.

3. May 1, 2010Flash Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very heavy rain produced widespread flooding in portions of Mississippi County especially the Osceola area where at least 35 homes were affected by flood waters. At any one point homes had anywhere from two inches to up to a foot of water inside. The most concentrated area of flooded homes occurred near the Osceola Country Club. In Wilson, flooding forced the closure of Hampson Archaeological Museum State Park, which had 4 feet on its grounds and seepage occurred inside the museum building. In Lepanto, several homes were flooded. In total, 70 homes were affected by flood waters in Mississippi County where eight inches of rain fell in less than a 24 hour period.

4. May 1, 2011Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Mississippi River rose to near record levels at Osceola during the beginning and middle part of May. About 50 homes were damaged by backwater flooding from the Mississippi River into tributaries and along the Mississippi River itself. Several thousand acres of agriculture fields were flooded. Several roads were flooded and/or damaged. The river remained above flood stage through the end of the month.

5. May 2, 2008Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down just south of Etowah, near the Garden Point Community, and tracked northeast to near Carrolls Corner. The track was nearly continuous for roughly 4 miles. Most of the damage occurred on a half mile stretch of Highway 77 between Highway 140 and Highway 297. Two homes sustained major damage. The roof was blown off of one home and the back side of another home was torn off. Four other homes sustained moderate damage and another home sustained minor damage. One person was injured. A car dealership was also completely destroyed along with ten used vehicles on the car lot. Several out buildings were also destroyed. Numerous trees, power poles, and power lines were…

6. May 4, 2003Tornado$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado moved into Mississippi County from Craighead County and continued to move northeast. Three homes were destroyed and several others were damaged. A car was damaged when a tree fell on it. Six farm pivots were damaged.

7. Apr 16, 1998Tornado$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado began just west of Manila and tracked northeast. The tornado demolished or heavily damaged several homes including some mobile homes. Two children were killed in one of these mobile homes. The tornado continued northeast flattening a discount department store and an gas station/food mart. Three small factory and machine shop buildings as well as a furniture store were destroyed. Several other buildings were seriously damaged. The tornado reached the main residential section of Manila destroying several homes. Numerous trees and power lines were also blown down.

8. Apr 30, 2017Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado began approximately 1.5 west southwest of Dell and moved northeast along Highway 18, eventually lifting 4 miles northeast of Dell. The tornado was on the ground for roughly 6 minutes. A mobile home was destroyed and several buildings at a cotton gin were damaged. Multiple tree damage as well as damage to roofs was also observed. Peak winds were estimated at 105 mph.

9. Oct 13, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Straight line winds produced minor damage to homes in a residential neighborhood and to several businesses mainly from shingle damage or from falling trees. The most significant damage was to a convenience store which had the roof shifted off which then caused a load bearing wall to collapse. One minor injury occurred as a result.

10. Dec 10, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Powerful straight-line winds destroyed a mobile home on Cottonwood Corner Road west of Osceola. Several power lines were knocked down in Osceola. Trucks were overturned west of Osceola and a truck was blown off I-55. Power lines were knocked down in Luxora.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

106°F2 times, most recently Jul 17, 1980

All-time low

−10°FDec 24, 1963

Warmest night

83°FJun 27, 2013

Coldest day

4°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

5.76 inMay 1, 2010

Snowiest day

16.0 inJan 31, 1982

Hottest year

2012mean 64.1°F

Coldest year

1979mean 57.2°F

Wettest year

201973.59 in

Driest year

196330.22 in

Station Keiser (USC00033821), 223 ft elevation, 20.6 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1959 to September 29, 2026; 96.2% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Mississippi County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00033821.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.