Cross County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Cross County: 9.
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.

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. Mar 31, 2023Tornado$150 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS meteorologists determined an EF-3 tornado touched down in western Cross County at 431 PM CDT on March 31 on County Road 537, just south of Highway 284. The tornado tracked to the east-northeast towards Wynne, AR where it crossed Highway 284 multiple times. EF-2 damage was observed north of Ellis Chapel and McElroy. Just east northeast of McElroy, significant EF-2 damage to the sewage treatment plant was noted where an 80-yard-long shed with a sturdy roofing structure of metal failed and became lofted. The roofing wadded up and destroyed two cinder block buildings before landing 100 yards away. The tornado strengthened to an EF-3 as it moved into the western section of Wynne,…

2. Apr 2, 2006Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado continued east from Woodruff County into Cross County eventually crossing into Crittenden County. The most affected area was the Fitzgerald Crossing community located south of Wynne and the Village Creek State Park. Twenty-four homes and two mobile homes were destroyed. Ten homes had major damage with twenty seven homes and five mobile homes receiving minor damage. Most of this damage occurred south of Wynne near the Intersection of State Highway 1 and County Road 652. The Village Creek State Park suffered damage to the Visitors' Center and the tennis court. Five minor injuries occurred with the tornado.

3. Dec 13, 2000Winter Storm, Cross$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A mix of snow,sleet and freezing rain fell across much of east Arkansas. The storm produced numerous downed tree limbs and power lines. Thousands of homes were without power for some period of time.

4. May 4, 2003Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado moved into Cross County from Woodruff County near Tilton and moved east. Five homes were destroyed and four others were damaged in Tilton. Another three homes were damaged in Vanndale.

5. May 31, 2013Flash Flood$914,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Approximately seven inches of rain produced flash flooding across Northern Cross County. Highways 42 and 193 and multiple county roads were flooded near Hickory Ridge. One home suffered minor flood damage near Hickory Ridge. The CO-OP was completely flooded. Highways 1 and 42 were flooded near Cherry Valley. A culvert on an unnamed county road was washed out leaving four families stranded. One home had minor flood damage near Cherry Valley.

6. Dec 18, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three mobile homes were overturned. The roof was blown off of a restaurant.

7. Mar 1, 1997Tornado$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado moved into the northwest corner of Cross county from Woodruff county. Sixty-seven homes and businesses were damaged including an elementary school in the town of Hickory Ridge. A Southwestern Bell main switching station was destroyed. The tornado continued into the southwest corner of Poinsett county where it knocked down a few trees.

8. Apr 5, 2025Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado moved from St. Francis County into Cross County and caused additional damage just west of Highway 1 in Wilkins. A large outbuilding was shifted off its foundation with a couple of walls collapsed. The tornado caused damage to a chemical plant, flipped a semi, and damaged numerous homes near the Fitzgerald Crossing area. The most significant damage in this area was to a 2400 square foot metal outbuilding that was completely destroyed and a couple of manufactured homes that were destroyed on County Road 741. The tornado then continued its track past Fitzgerald Crossing, damaging numerous solar panels in a large solar farm between Highway 1 and Cathy Lake. The tornado…

9. Feb 24, 2018Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado started just south of Highway 42 about 5 miles west of the town of Cherry Valley causing damage to two farmsteads. One home on the north side of the state highway suffered the worst damage with a large portion of the roof removed. The tornado then traveled northeast about 3 miles through open fields before taking a single wide trailer off it's foundation. The tornado then lifted shortly after crossing County Road 210 approximately 4 miles northwest of Cherry Valley. Other damage included downed tree limbs and minor damage to a few farm outbuildings and one grain bin. Estimated peak wind was 100 mph.

10. Apr 30, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Several trees, houses, outbuildings and power poles damaged from north of Titon to south of Cherry Valley.

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°FAug 7, 1934

All-time low

−10°F2 times, most recently Feb 2, 1951

Warmest night

90°FJul 30, 1908

Coldest day

9°FJan 10, 1962

Wettest day

6.70 inSep 11, 1965

Snowiest day

10.0 inDec 22, 1963

Hottest year

2023mean 66.2°F

Coldest year

1917mean 58.4°F

Wettest year

195776.34 in

Driest year

196323.40 in

Snowiest season

28.4 in1984-85

Station Wynne (USC00038052), 278 ft elevation, 1.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1908 to September 29, 2026; 96.8% 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 USC00038052.
• 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.