Cleburne County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Cleburne County: 4.
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.

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. May 2, 2008Tornado$32.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado exited Van Buren County, east-northeast of Morganton, and moved into Cleburne County, northwest of Crossroads. Across the county, 194 homes received damage. This included 27 houses and five mobile homes destroyed, 66 homes with major damage, and 96 homes with minor damage. A dog kennel, two chicken houses, and a beauty shop were destroyed. Minor damage was done to two chicken houses, a rock quarry, a flea market, a boat storage facility, a beauty shop, a fire department, a print shop, and a community ball park. At least 19 boats and party barges sank in Greers Ferry Lake. Removal of the vessels and clean-up of the spilled fuel and fluids continued well into June.…

2. Jan 26, 2009Ice Storm, Cleburne$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The sheriff's office reported 1 inch of ice in Heber Springs by 5:45 AM on the 27th, with up to 2 inches of ice at the higher elevations. Several minor accidents occurred on icy roads around Heber Springs. Approximately 30 power poles were downed in a row near Concord. Trees and power lines were downed throughout the county.

3. May 16, 2003Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall of between 4 and 6 inches (and locally more) produced widespread flash flooding across Cleburne County. Three homes were washed away in the Wilburn area along Highway 110. Several trailers were destroyed on Big Creek and homes were flooded at Pine Snag and Rainbow Island. Numerous roads and bridges sustained damage across the county due to the flood waters. Flooding was widespread in and around the Heber Springs area. Numerous homes and businesses in Heber Springs were damaged due to the flood waters. Damage was estimated between 2 and 3 million dollars.

4. May 27, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds struck the Hill Creek Marina on Greers Ferry Lake, destroying three docks. One of the docks was thrown on top of another dock. At least 80 boats were damaged or destroyed, including some boats that overturned or sank. Lightning detection equipment and Doppler weather radar indicated the storm had only a brief life-span. From the time cloud-to-ground lightning developed until it dissipated was only 20 minutes. Altogether, only 13 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes were detected from the storm. Although people were present at the marina when the storm struck, no one was injured.

5. May 1, 2011Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Some of the campsites around Greers Ferry Lake were closed due to flooding.

6. Sep 13, 2008Tropical Storm, Cleburne$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees and power lines were down across the county. Many county roads were blocked from fallen trees and debris. There was damage to homes, storage buildings, businesses and vehicles. A large tree fell on a home east of Heber Springs. At least 39 houses had trees on them. Seven businesses had damage. A church had minor damage to its metal roof and structure. Three barns were damaged. A large tree fell onto power lines north of Spring Park.

7. Dec 25, 2012Winter Storm, Cleburne$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The cooperative observer measured 9 inches of snow at Greers Ferry Dam.

8. Apr 26, 2011Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   From the 24th through the 27th, the arrival of a slow-moving cold front and several low pressure areas aloft triggered several rounds of thunderstorms. Tornadoes, severe storms, and flash flooding resulted. Widespread areal flooding followed the flash flooding. Some of this flooding was due to heavy rain, while some of it was caused by water from rivers, creeks, and bayous backing up onto the land. On the evening of the 25th, devastating tornadoes affected several areas in central Arkansas. More than 140,000 electric customers in Arkansas lost power. Heavy rains during this period were the beginning of the Great Flood of 2011 in Arkansas. Much of the flooding lasted well into May,…

9. Dec 3, 2002Winter Storm, Cleburne$920,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain starting falling on the afternoon of the 3rd over parts of north-central Arkansas. The precipitation gradually overspread the rest of the area by that evening and continued through the morning hours of the 4th. Snowfall accumulations of 1 to 3 inches were common over north-central Arkansas, with locally higher amounts between 3 and 5 inches in the higher elevations. Farther to the south and east in northern Arkansas, snow became less common and freezing rain and sleet predominated. A major ice storm occurred with total ice accumulations ranging from 1/4 inch up to near 1 inch. Roads were snow and ice covered and hazardous during the event…

10. Oct 29, 2009Flash Flood$600,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A water rescue from a vehicle occurred on Hiram Road. While a sheriff's deputy was en route to the Hiram Road call, his patrol car was swept off Cooter Neck Road. Two people were evacuated from a residence on Scott Street in Heber Springs. Flooding damaged many roads in the county.

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

111°FAug 1, 1980

All-time low

−7°F2 times, most recently Jan 21, 1985

Warmest night

84°F2 times, most recently Aug 30, 2016

Coldest day

8°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

7.74 inDec 28, 2015

Snowiest day

15.0 inFeb 25, 1979

Hottest year

2012mean 63.0°F

Coldest year

1970mean 55.3°F

Wettest year

200975.21 in

Driest year

201232.87 in

Snowiest season

21.8 in1978-79

Station Greers Ferry Dam (USC00032978), 527 ft elevation, 2.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1962 to October 27, 2026; 97.7% 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 USC00032978.
• 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.