Clark County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Clark County: 6.
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. Mar 1, 1997Tornado$120 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado moved out of Nevada County and into Clark County approximately 6.5 miles south of Okolona at 220 pm CST. The tornado continued moving northeastward, causing considerable tree damage and downing a number of power lines. The first fatality occurred along I-30, several miles southwest of Arkadelphia where a vehicle was blown off the highway and the driver was killed. A truck-stop was also destroyed near this location as well. At 242 pm CST, the tornado moved into the City of Arkadelphia. A number of homes and businesses in Arkadelphia were either damaged or destroyed. 5 people in Arkadelphia were also killed. The tornado continued to move northeastward, knocking down more…

2. Mar 5, 1999Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong tornado produced in eastern Pike County moved into western Clark County. The tornado hit the town of Alpine and caused extensive tree and property damage. More than two dozen homes and almost a dozen mobile homes were heavily damaged or destroyed. In nearby Amity, a high school basketball game was cancelled when a Tornado Warning was issued. The tornado continued east of Alpine into a forested area and downed numerous trees. Just south of the tornado, yet another tornado was spawned with both tornadoes causing over 2 million dollars in tree damage across Clark County. The second tornado tracked across much of eastern Clark County. The first tornado was on the ground for…

3. May 27, 1996Tornado$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado first touched down 2 1/2 miles south-southwest of Okolona. It first moved in an easterly direction, passing near the town of Center Point and across several county roads where a total of 17 homes and 3 outbuildings were either damaged or destroyed. A large amount of trees and power lines were also downed. The storm then travelled more in an east-northeast direction, touching down intermittently. A large amount of timber was blown down in the eastern part of the county several miles southeast of Griffithtown. The storm moved out of Clark County at around 315 pm CDT. No injuries were reported along the track of the tornado. Initial estimates place the amount of damage at…

4. Dec 24, 2009Flood$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding, which developed early on the 24th, became widespread areal flooding later on the 24th and continued into Christmas morning. Point Cedar Road, near Amity, was blocked by flooding. Arkansas Highway 51 was blocked near Beirne, as was Arkansas 128 south of Joan. U.S. Highway 67 was flooded near Curtis. A high water rescue occurred on Arkansas Highways 7/8 about 4 miles east of Arkadelphia on Christmas Eve, after a motorist drove into flood waters. The two people rescued were taken to a hospital to be checked for hypothermia.

5. Dec 23, 2009Flash Flood$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread heavy rain resulted in the development of flash flooding. Numerous county roads were flooded, as were streets in Arkadelphia. Garner Mountain Road was washed out. Arkansas Highway 53 northwest of Gurdon was partially blocked on the evening of the 23rd. By the wee hours of the 24th, Arkansas Highways 7 and 8 were blocked east of Arkadelphia due to water over the road. Arkansas Highway 128 was blocked as well. Arkansas Highway 26 was barricaded.

6. Dec 25, 2012Winter Storm, Clark$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A CoCoRaHS observed measured 5 inches of snow at Arkadelphia.

7. Aug 30, 2012Tropical Depression, Clark$1.0 million
   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,…

8. May 1, 2011Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   On the 3rd, a woman had to be rescued after her car was washed off Arkansas Highway 7 near Arkadelphia. The water rose up to the steering wheel in the car. The woman had driven around a barricade and received a ticket.

9. Sep 13, 2008Tropical Storm, Clark$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A 44 MPH wind gust was recorded at the Arkadelphia Airport. Trees and power lines were down across the county.

10. Sep 2, 2008Tropical Depression, Clark$545,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Trees were down across power lines in Arkadelphia.

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

113°F2 times, most recently Aug 6, 2011

All-time low

−6°FFeb 2, 1951

Warmest night

87°FJun 19, 1992

Coldest day

16°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

12.00 inJun 28, 1905

Snowiest day

15.0 inJan 27, 2000

Hottest year

1938mean 67.2°F

Coldest year

2014mean 59.5°F

Wettest year

190592.60 in

Driest year

193626.89 in

Snowiest season

19.1 in1965-66

Station Arkadelphia 2 N (USC00030220), 196 ft elevation, 4.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1899 to October 8, 2026; 87.0% 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.

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 USC00030220.
• 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.