Van Buren

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.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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 Crawford County, the county that contains Van Buren.

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 Crawford County, the county that contains Van Buren.

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 Crawford County, the county that contains Van Buren.

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.

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.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Crawford County.

Mapped by East OK, West AR (Regmi and Walter, 2020) (4), NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 21, 1996Tornado$150 million
2. May 3, 2021Tornado$15.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This is the fourth segment of a four segment tornado. After moving back into Crawford County, the tornado removed a large portion of the roof of the Crawford County Courthouse in Van Buren. Numerous homes and businesses were also damaged in Van Buren, and numerous power poles and trees were snapped by the tornado. This very large tornado then moved northeast across portions of Rudy and Alma, and then dissipated southeast of Mountainburg. Many trees were snapped or uprooted, outbuildings were destroyed, homes and businesses were damaged, and numerous power poles were snapped. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 100 to 110 mph.

3. Nov 30, 2018Tornado$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado developed north of I-40 and just west of Lee Creek Road where homes sustained minor roof damage, trees were uprooted, and the roofs of several apartment complexes were damaged. The tornado moved northeast across Rena Road, damaging numerous homes, some severely, snapping three large wooden utility structures, and snapping and uprooting numerous trees. The tornado then crossed Uniontown Road and Fayetteville Road near Rena, and dissipated as it approached N Rudy Road. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 110 to 120 mph.

4. Mar 5, 1999Hail$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   There were several reports of extremely large hail from Alma. The largest report was of giant softball-sized hail, while there were also reports of quarter and golfball-sized hail just north of Alma.Such enormous hail caused widespread damage in Alma. Many cars sustained windshield and body damage. Just one auto body shop reported that it had written estimates from hail damage totaling $140,000. Many roofs also sustained major damage. At the Eagle Crest Golf Course, the hail left small craters on the greens, closing the course for several days while the crater marks were filled. A photo in the Alma Journal newspaper showed a softball-sized pock mark on the golf greens.A child was…

5. Apr 13, 2018Tornado$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado developed north of Rudy where numerous trees were snapped and uprooted as it crossed Frog Bayou Drive. The tornado then severely damaged a home, destroyed outbuildings, and snapped or uprooted numerous trees on Stapp Lane. Outbuildings were destroyed and numerous trees were snapped or uprooted as the tornado crossed Lancaster Road and County Road 27. The tornado continued to move northeast across Highway 282 and I-49 where several cars were rolled off the highway and severe damage to trees occurred. Several mobile homes were destroyed, a permanent home was damaged, and severe tree damage occurred as the tornado moved across Overlook Trail. A well-built outbuilding was…

6. May 7, 2024Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado developed just south of I-40, and north of Highway 64. It moved east, crossing Highway 64 snapping and uprooting trees, and damaging homes. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted, and numerous homes were damaged as the tornado continued to move generally east, crossing Highway 162, and then dissipating east of Sharp Chapel Road. A tornadic debris signature was detected by the KSRX WSR-88D with this tornado. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 100 to 110 mph.

7. Jun 6, 2025Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado developed in southeast Van Buren, near S 4th Street and Wood Street. The tornado moved rapidly northeast into the area just south of the Baptist Health-Van Buren complex. A commercial building was damaged, along with multiple homes on Ozier Street, Mulberry Street, and S 19th Street. Winds that reached near 105 mph blew in walls that contained windows of two homes. This over-pressured the two homes, resulting in one home losing its entire roof, and the other losing a substantial portion of its roof. The tornado also uprooted trees and blew down power poles. The tornado quickly dissipated, lasting a little more than one minute.

8. Dec 5, 2013Ice Storm, Crawford$460,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Arctic air spread across northwestern Arkansas on the 4th as a strong storm system developed across the western United States. Several upper level disturbances moved through the south central part of the country on the 5th through the 6th, resulting in widespread wintry precipitation across the region beginning during the morning hours of the 5th. The precipitation fell as mainly freezing rain across west central Arkansas and as snow and sleet across northwestern Arkansas. The precipitation changed to all snow by the time it ended on the 6th. By the end of the storm, portions of west central Arkansas received over an inch of ice. Power outages were widespread across Sebastian,…

9. Jan 26, 2009Ice Storm, Crawford$425,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Upper level disturbances passing through the Southern Plains resulted in precipitation development north of a stationary arctic front located in North Texas. Freezing rain began across the area during the early afternoon hours of the 26th and became more widespread and heavy through the afternoon and evening hours. The heaviest icing and most widespread power outages and tree damage occurred across portions of Washington, Madison, Benton, and Carroll Counties where one to two inch accumulations were reported. At the height of the storm, 75 percent of electric customers were without power in Benton County and nearly 100 percent were without power in Carroll County. Some remote,…

10. Apr 23, 2004Flash Flood$300,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Several rounds of thunderstorms caused period of flash flooding over the northern part of Crawford county. Rainfall for the 72 hour period ending 7 am cdt April 24 was 6.57 inches at Mountainburg. Numerous county roads were flooded at times with damage to the roads totaling in excess of $200,000. A stretch of railroad tracks near Chester were also washed out. Some flooding occurred in downtown Chester and as many as 3 homes and 12 mobile homes in the areas sustained damage.On April 25th, the governor of Arkansas declared the county a disaster area.

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

115°FAug 3, 2011

All-time low

−10°FJan 11, 1977

Warmest night

84°F2 times, most recently Aug 3, 2011

Coldest day

8°FDec 24, 1983

Wettest day

6.81 inNov 24, 1973

Snowiest day

11.0 in2 times, most recently Jan 27, 2000

Hottest year

2012mean 66.2°F

Coldest year

1979mean 58.0°F

Wettest year

201573.93 in

Driest year

198026.46 in

Snowiest season

21.9 in1977-78

Station Fort Smith Regional Airport (USW00013964), 448 ft elevation, 8.2 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1945 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 Crawford 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 USW00013964.
• 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.