Paragould

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 Greene County, the county that contains Paragould.

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.

The drought index is for Greene County, the county that contains Paragould.

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. Apr 2, 2006Tornado$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado continued to track east from Randolph County into Greene County and eventually continued into Dunklin County, Missouri. The hardest hit area was in the town of Marmaduke. Forty-seven injuries occurred in Marmaduke with two people being airlifted to a local hospital. One hundred and thirty houses were destroyed in Marmaduke with twenty-five mobile homes also being destroyed. A pharmacy was also destroyed in Marmaduke. Outside of Marmaduke, in the rest of the county, nineteen homes and 11 mobile homes were destroyed. In addition, seven houses and two mobile homes had major damage in the county. In all, approximately five hundred homes were affected.

2. Jan 26, 2009Ice Storm, Greene$6.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two inches of ice fell across Greene County along with an additional inch of snow. Widespread power outages occurred. One shelter was opened in Marmaduke and another in Paragould.

3. Dec 3, 2002Ice Storm, Greene$2.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A mix of freezing rain and sleet fell on much of northeast Arkansas. The icy conditions brought down many trees,power poles and power lines. One man was killed in Lawrence county when a power line fell on him. In Greene county, a church in Paragould was damaged by a fire that was caused when a tree limb fell on a nearby power line, causing a short in the church's electricity. The ice storm left thousands of residents without power. Some residents went more than a week without power.

4. Mar 14, 2025Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado crossed from northern Craighead County into Greene County and continued northeast where additional tree damage was noted. Some of the gaps in damage indicators over areas that were difficult to access were filled in using Sentinel satellite data. As the tornado approached Paragould, the tornado intensified just before Pruetts Chapel Road causing damage in the Club View Estates and The Enclave communities. Multiple homes have significant roof damage. A few homes in the Club View Estates neighborhood were impacted by a tornado for the second time in 10 months. A home on South 34th Street had several first-story walls collapsed into the home, with the entire second floor…

5. May 26, 2024Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado began along County Road 735 in Paragould, AR, resulting in a few trees uprooted and snapped. Damage was also noted to a carport which had fallen on a vehicle with only minor roof damage to the home. The tornado continued to move east, crossing Highway 412 and producing additional tree damage. Wind speeds within the tornado intensified as it approached Spring Grove Road where the first signs of significant structural damage were noted to a home. A couple of homes suffered minor roof damage along Pruetts Chapel Road with further intensification noted on Rockingchair Road and Sandy Lane where significant roof damage occurred to a residence and a couple of outbuildings…

6. Jul 12, 2009Lightning$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A lightning strike started a fire at the Martin Sprocket & Gear Incorporated Plant. The fire destroyed all the warehouses and ten percent of the plant received heavy smoke damage from the fire.

7. Aug 20, 2018Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado developed near County Road 714 and damaged two barns early in its path. The tornado uprooted or snapped trees along County Roads 714, 740, and 707. The tornado overturned a mobile home off of County Road 740 and destroyed a storage shed along County Road 707. The tornado caused minor roof damage near the intersection of County Roads 707 and 718 and along County Road 745. The tornado dissipated just east of County Road 745.

8. Mar 1, 1997Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado moved into extreme northwest Craighead county from Jackson county. While in Craighead county, the tornado damaged a house injuring 2 persons inside the structure. The tornado then moved into the southeast corner of Lawrence county. There it damaged 13 homes and buildings including a grain bin which stored a large supply of rice. One mobile home was rolled over injuring 2 persons. Numerous trees were blown down as well. The tornado moved into Greene county where it occasionally lifted off the ground as the storm moved northeast. The most severe damage occurred near Marmaduke where 20 homes and buildings were damaged or destroyed. One man was killed when his business was…

9. Mar 28, 2020Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado developed south of U.S. Highway 412 and west of County Road 934. The tornado overturned a center pivot irrigation system. As it crossed Highway 412, it damaged an industrial building and a grain bin. West of Highway 119, the tornado damaged trees, storage buildings, and a mobile home. The last damage was observed to trees along Highway 119. Peak winds were estimated at 90 mph.

10. Nov 8, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Several houses were damaged. A wooden monument built to honor World War I veterans was blown down. Several trees and power lines were knocked down.

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 15, 1980

All-time low

−14°FJan 17, 1982

Warmest night

83°FJul 8, 1998

Coldest day

10°FFeb 16, 2021

Wettest day

5.48 inDec 21, 1990

Snowiest day

8.0 inJan 30, 2010

Hottest year

1998mean 63.7°F

Coldest year

2014mean 57.7°F

Wettest year

201971.35 in

Driest year

201229.34 in

Snowiest season

15.0 in2009-10

Station Paragould 1S (USC00035563), 282 ft elevation, 1.7 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1979 to October 27, 2026; 98.2% 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 Greene 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 USC00035563.
• 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.