Drew County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Drew County: 1.
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 6, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were down on houses, vehicles, and power lines. Approximately 30 homes were damaged and three people were injured by the falling trees. Much of the roof was removed from an exhibition building at the Drew County Fairgrounds.

2. Sep 2, 2008Tropical Depression, Drew$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were down on roadways and rooftops. Many utility poles were snapped.

3. Aug 29, 2012Tropical Depression, Drew$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,…

4. Sep 13, 2008Tropical Storm, Drew$375,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical Storm Ike moved into Arkansas on the evening of the 13th. By mid evening of the 13th, Ike was located in western Arkansas. Ike weakened to a tropical depression during the wee hours of the 14th, when it was located about 105 miles west-northwest of Little Rock. Ike exited northern Arkansas before sunrise on the 14th. In the Little Rock County Warning Area, wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph were common, and some gusts in the northern part of the state exceeded 50 mph. The strongest gusts measured were 67 mph at the Izard County Fairgrounds in Melbourne and 61 mph at the Newport airport. The strongest sustained wind measured was 46 mph at the Newport airport. Power was knocked out…

5. Sep 2, 2008Flash Flood$340,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sanderlin Road, Panther Creek Road, 4 Mile Creek Road, 16th Section Road, Old Warren Road, Old Dermott Road and Arkansas Highway 172 west of U.S. Highway 425 were closed due to flooding.

6. Mar 27, 2021Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado started just southwest of the intersection of US-425 and state highway 35 off of Kays Lane where some tree limbs were snapped or trees uprooted. Damage to roofs was also noted in this neighborhood. The most significant damage was on the east side of US-425, where multiple construction company trucks were tossed into a field. The tornado continued northeast uprooting additional trees, then lifting near the intersection of Rose Hill Cutoff Road and State Highway 83.

7. Dec 24, 2009Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding, which developed on the morning of the 24th, became widespread areal flooding later on the 24th and continued into Christmas morning. Numerous county roads were flooded.

8. Jan 29, 2008Strong Wind, Drew$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A power outage was reported in Monticello Square after power lines were blown down.

9. May 1, 2011Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Areal flooding was widespread in Arkansas, beginning early in May. The flooding was caused by large amounts of rain on April 30th, and May 1st and 2nd; high water flowing down from Missouri; and backwater flooding from rivers and large creeks and bayous. The Mississippi River was also experiencing unusually high stages, causing the White and Arkansas Rivers to back up near the rivers' confluence. Arkansas Farm Bureau estimated that more than 1 million acres of farmland were under water in the state. The flooding lasted well into May in many counties, and even into June in some of the counties in eastern Arkansas.

10. Dec 24, 2009Flash Flood$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Widespread heavy rain resulted in the development of flash flooding on the 24th.

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

109°FJul 19, 2006

All-time low

−6°FFeb 2, 1951

Warmest night

85°F5 times, most recently Aug 23, 1898

Coldest day

12°F2 times, most recently Dec 25, 1983

Wettest day

6.99 inMar 28, 1944

Snowiest day

11.0 inJan 31, 1949

Hottest year

2005mean 67.2°F

Coldest year

1979mean 59.9°F

Wettest year

202075.21 in

Driest year

194328.39 in

Snowiest season

11.0 in1965-66

Station Monticello Municipal Airport (USW00053919), 279 ft elevation, 1.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1876 to October 26, 2026; 97.4% 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 USW00053919.
• 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.