Conway County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Conway County: 8.
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. Feb 5, 2008Tornado$14.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado moved out of Pope County, northeast of Atkins, into Conway County, west of Hattieville. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 56 residences (both houses and mobile homes) suffered damage. Altogether, 32 residences were destroyed, 6 had major damage, and 18 had minor damage. Several chicken houses were destroyed, and approximately 80,000 chickens were killed. Numerous trees, power lines, and power poles were blown down. An elderly couple was killed about 3.2 miles south-southwest of Cleveland when their mobile home was destroyed. The tornado then moved into Van Buren County, south-southeast of Beverage Town.

2. Jan 26, 2009Ice Storm, Conway$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The sheriff's office reported 1/4 inch of ice in Morrilton by 6:00 AM on the 27th.

3. May 2, 2008Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Fifteen homes, three chicken houses, kennels, at least six vehicles, and at least six outbuildings were destroyed. There was major damage to nine houses, at least four chicken houses, five outbuildings, vehicles, and farm equipment. Minor damage occurred to multiple houses and roofs, vehicles, a cemetery, community building, ball field, and multiple outbuildings and barns. A man and his teen-aged son were killed when their mobile home was destroyed on M&M Rd. The tornado exited Conway County, east of Center Ridge, and entered Van Buren County, west-southwest of Damascus.

4. Dec 25, 2012Winter Storm, Conway$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An astronomical observatory on Petit Jean Mountain recorded 18 inches of snow. Cooperative observers measured 12.5 inches at Morrilton, 10 inches at Hattieville, and 8 inches at Center Ridge.

5. Apr 30, 2010Tornado$1.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A Red Cross survey found the following damage from this EF2 tornado: 12 houses and 2 mobile homes destroyed, 8 houses with major damage, 5 houses and 2 mobile homes with minor damage, and 8 houses affected. Other damage included: roof damage to two churches, a silo thrown against one church, a number of barns and outbuildings damaged, and numerous trees and power lines blown down. The tornado exited Conway County east of Austin and entered Van Buren County north-northwest of Whipple.

6. Jan 8, 2008Tornado$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado from Pope County moved into northwestern Conway County. According to the Conway County Office of Emergency Management, three homes were destroyed, and 12 others suffered damage ranging from light to heavy. One woman was injured in a mobile home. Ten other structures, such as chicken houses and barns, were destroyed; 13 such structures were damaged. A church, which had stood for more than 100 years, was destroyed and an adjacent cemetery was damaged. Three natural gas well sites were damaged but there was no release of gas. The tornado moved into the Ozark National Forest, where hundreds of trees were blown down. Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe declared Conway County a…

7. Jun 12, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Approximately 30 homes were damaged, along with a dozen rural farm buildings. Three chicken houses were destroyed and more than 100,000 chickens were killed. Hundreds of trees were blown down, as were many power lines.

8. May 1, 2011Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Parts of Arkansas Highways 95, 113, 124, and 247 were closed due to flooding.

9. Jun 1, 2019Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain and upstream reservoir releases led to flooding on the Arkansas River at Morrilton. The record crest was 43.03 feet on 6/04/19.

10. May 24, 2019Flood$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    River flooding began on the Arkansas River at Morrilton May 24 and continued through the end of the month. The river had a record crest in June.

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°F2 times, most recently Aug 4, 2011

All-time low

−15°FFeb 2, 1951

Warmest night

85°FJul 13, 1930

Coldest day

15°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

7.10 inMay 16, 2003

Snowiest day

12.5 inDec 26, 2012

Hottest year

1938mean 65.1°F

Coldest year

1993mean 58.7°F

Wettest year

200978.54 in

Driest year

196323.67 in

Snowiest season

15.8 in1959-60

Station Morrilton (USC00034938), 340 ft elevation, 5.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1919 to October 27, 2026; 97.6% 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 USC00034938.
• 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.