Calhoun County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Calhoun County: 0.
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.

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

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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. Oct 29, 2009Tornado$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado began in a wooded area of the Highland Industrial Park and then tore through the Arkansas Fire Training Academy. At the academy, the Apparatus Building was heavily damaged, walls were blown out of the Smoke Building, a large part of the roof was torn off the Administration and Classroom Building, and vehicles belonging to the students were tossed around and overturned. About 60 staff members and students were in the Administration and Classroom Building, but they were aware of the tornado warning that was in effect and had taken shelter in small, interior rooms. There were no injuries. Trees, power lines, and power poles were blown down. The tornado then continued into…

2. May 4, 2009Flood$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The stage at Camden remained above flood stage from the 4th of May into June. The crest of the river was the highest since flooding in 1990. Numerous cabins along the high banks of the river were impacted by inundation or isolation. County roads also suffered damage.

3. Sep 2, 2008Tropical Depression, Calhoun$530,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical Depression Gustav entered the southwest corner of Arkansas on the evening of the 2nd and lingered in the southwest part of the state for nearly 24 hours. By mid-evening on the 3rd, Gustav was about 75 miles west of Little Rock. Gustav exited northwest Arkansas on the morning of the 4th. During its passage across Arkansas, Gustav produced excessive rainfall, strong winds, flash flooding and river flooding, and one tornado. In the Little Rock County Warning Area, wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph were common. The strongest gust measured was 48 mph at Little Rock National Airport/Adams Field. Power was knocked out to more than 100,000 electric customers. Wind damage was estimated…

4. May 15, 2007Lightning$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck an electrical substation and set fire to a large transformer. Power was initially knocked out to a large part of Calhoun County, but some of the power was restored quickly. The most prolonged power outages occurred in the areas around Highland Industrial Park and Locust Bayou.

5. May 1, 2011Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding in Calhoun County continued into June.

6. Sep 2, 2008Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical Depression Gustav entered the southwest corner of Arkansas on the evening of the 2nd and lingered in the southwest part of the state for nearly 24 hours. By mid-evening on the 3rd, Gustav was about 75 miles west of Little Rock. Gustav exited northwest Arkansas on the morning of the 4th. During its passage across Arkansas, Gustav produced excessive rainfall, strong winds, flash flooding and river flooding, and one tornado. In the Little Rock County Warning Area, wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph were common. The strongest gust measured was 48 mph at Little Rock National Airport/Adams Field. Power was knocked out to more than 100,000 electric customers. Wind damage was estimated…

7. Sep 2, 2008Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical Depression Gustav entered the southwest corner of Arkansas on the evening of the 2nd and lingered in the southwest part of the state for nearly 24 hours. By mid-evening on the 3rd, Gustav was about 75 miles west of Little Rock. Gustav exited northwest Arkansas on the morning of the 4th. During its passage across Arkansas, Gustav produced excessive rainfall, strong winds, flash flooding and river flooding, and one tornado. In the Little Rock County Warning Area, wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph were common. The strongest gust measured was 48 mph at Little Rock National Airport/Adams Field. Power was knocked out to more than 100,000 electric customers. Wind damage was estimated…

8. Sep 2, 2008Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   There was flooding in Hampton. An assisted living center had to be evacuated. Arkansas Highway 203 along with other roads were impassable due to flooding. U.S Highway 167 at mile marker 9 was flooded. Three people had to be evacuated from their residences in Hampton.

9. Aug 29, 2012Tropical Depression, Calhoun$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Although Isaac was a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, it had weakened to a tropical depression by the time it reached Arkansas. Isaac passed through western Arkansas on the evening of the 30th and during the day on the 31st. Positions from the National Hurricane Center and the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center: August 30th at 10 PM (CDT) 95 miles south-southwest of Little Rock, August 31st at 4 AM 95 miles west of Little Rock, August 31st at 10 AM 25 miles northeast of Fort Smith, and August 31st at 4 PM 40 miles east of Joplin, Missouri. Although Isaac had exited Arkansas by the end of the month, some effects, including bands of thunderstorms spiraling in toward its center,…

10. Oct 9, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$450,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Roofs of several buildings were damaged on the campus of the Hampton schools. Some of the debris was thrown onto a nearby football field. A flagpole was bent and part of the scoreboard damaged at the field. Due to roof damage at the high school gym, water poured down on the basketball court. Numerous large trees and power lines were blown down, and a few of the trees landed on structures. Trees were also blown down along U.S. Highway 278 east of Hampton. Numerous power lines were blown down and some power poles were broken.

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

110°FSep 1, 1947

All-time low

−5°FJan 14, 1982

Warmest night

85°FJul 5, 1938

Coldest day

11°FDec 23, 1989

Wettest day

8.19 inAug 21, 1960

Snowiest day

12.0 inFeb 18, 2021

Hottest year

1938mean 66.1°F

Coldest year

2014mean 59.7°F

Wettest year

200981.72 in

Driest year

201033.43 in

Snowiest season

16.7 in2020-21

Station Fordyce (USC00032540), 226 ft elevation, 17.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1911 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USC00032540.
• 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.