Jackson County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Jackson County: 5.
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.

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. Jan 26, 2009Ice Storm, Jackson$35.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The county's emergency manager reported 1/4 inch of freezing rain as of 10:00 AM on the 27th. Almost 100 percent electrical losses occurred in the county. Trees had to be removed from roads and homes throughout the county. Downed trees and power lines caused traffic delays on Arkansas Highway 18 near Grubbs.

2. Mar 1, 1997Tornado$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado in Independence County moved back into Jackson County about 4 miles southwest of Jacksonport at 342 pm CST. The tornado moved northeastward into Jacksonport where there was a considerable loss of trees and damage to homes and businesses. One person was killed in a mobile home that was destroyed. A riverboat also suffered considerable damage when it was blown into a partially flooded area on the shoreline. As the tornado continued to move northeastward, it caused roof and structural damage to a number of buildings. A lot of trees were also blown down as well. The tornado crossed Highway 67 about a mile south of Tuckerman and skirted the southeast part of town. Several…

3. Mar 1, 1997Tornado$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The White County tornado moved into Jackson County 3 miles south of Denmark at 325 pm CST. As the tornado crossed Highway 167, 2 people were killed when a tree fell on them while they were taking shelter from the tornado in a ditch. Several mobile homes and some frame homes suffered partial roof removal as the tornado progressed across the county. The tornado exited Jackson County 7 miles northeast of Denmark at 331 pm CST. Damage along the path of the tornado was consistent with an F2 rating.

4. Mar 19, 2008Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain caused the White River at Newport to crest above major flood level and at the same stage as in December, 1982. Approximately 45 homes in Newport were damaged due to the rising water. The Jacksonport State Park was submerged by water from the river. The camping area, pavilion, playground and bathrooms were flooded. In Jackson County, 53 homes and 47 county roads confirmed damage. Arkansas Highways 14 and 69 were flooded. Agricultural damages were also noted with pastures and winter wheat losses.

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

   Parts of Arkansas Highways 14, 18, 37, 42, 69, 69S, 224, 226, and 384 were closed due to flooding. Jacksonport and areas to the north of town were evacuated; Jacksonport State Park was closed. Flooding in Jackson County continued into June.

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

   Cooperative observers measured 10 inches of snow at Newport and 4.6 inches at Beedeville.

7. Apr 30, 2010Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This was the fifth of five tornadoes spawned by the same supercell thunderstorm. This tornado passed through the south side of Shoffner. A church was destroyed and a power substation was damaged. A hangar at a flying service was destroyed and an aircraft used for agricultural application was damaged. A mobile home was overturned and destroyed. Significant roof damage occurred to homes. A grain elevator was badly damaged. An irrigation pivot was overturned. Outbuildings were destroyed or damaged. Trees were blown down.

8. Sep 13, 2008Tropical Storm, Jackson$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At the Newport airport, sustained winds reached 46 mph and gusts were recorded at 61 MPH. Trees were down all over Newport.

9. Jun 12, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A building belonging to an agricultural flying service was destroyed, as was the crop dusting plane inside it.

10. Mar 2, 2014Winter Storm, Jackson$600,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The fire station at Grubbs collapsed on the 5th due to the weight of ice and snow on the roof of the metal building.

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

114°FAug 9, 1930

All-time low

−17°FDec 25, 1983

Warmest night

86°FAug 8, 1951

Coldest day

7°F2 times, most recently Dec 25, 1983

Wettest day

6.90 inMay 17, 2003

Snowiest day

12.0 in2 times, most recently Jan 7, 1988

Hottest year

1921mean 64.9°F

Coldest year

1979mean 56.6°F

Wettest year

200984.15 in

Driest year

200531.58 in

Snowiest season

17.4 in2009-10

Station Newport (USC00035186), 220 ft elevation, 2.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1884 to October 26, 2026; 96.1% 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 USC00035186.
• 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.