Lafayette County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Lafayette County: 0.
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.

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.

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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Dec 12, 2000Ice Storm, Lafayette$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An arctic air mass spilled southward out of the central plains and into the lower Mississippi Valley. This cold, surface air mass was overrun by a warm humid air mass which combined with a strong upper level storm system across west Texas. the result was widespread freezing rain across all of southwest Arkansas. The precipitation was a mixture of freezing rain, sleet and some light snow northwest of a Texarkana to Prescott Arkansas line while further east the precipitation was all freezing rain. Ice accumulations of two to four inches were common. An estimated 235,000 residents lost electrical power due to ice covered power lines snapping or ice covered trees splitting and falling…

2. Apr 23, 2000Tornado$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Farm barns and outbuildings with light to moderate damage, farm trailers moderate damaged or destroyed, chicken houses destroyed, numerous trees and power poles downed, 3 mobile homes damaged.

3. Oct 9, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Upwards of 20 homes wee damaged across the southern half of Lafayette County, Arkansas from thunderstorms winds. The homes were damaged from fallen trees. There were no reports of injuries across the county. Areas around Lake Erling were especially hit hard as trees and powerlines blocked roads and across to some residential areas. At least a mile of Hwy. 53 was littered with debris which had to be removed before emergency personnel could assist a motorist trapped in his truck by a tree tangled in high voltage power lines. One home positioned a the edge of the lake on Laf. 260 had the roof stripped. Another large tree fell on a truck and the tree also clipped an adjacent home.…

4. Jun 1, 2015Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Excessive heavy rainfall during the month of May resulted in very high water on the Red River bordering Little River, Hempstead, Miller and Lafayette Counties in Southwest Arkansas as well as Bowie County in Northeast Texas during the entire month of June. Rainfall amounts during the month of May across the Upper and Middle Red River basins of Southern Oklahoma and Northern Texas totaled over 20 inches of rain. The Oklahoma state climatologist reported that May of 2015 was the all time wettest month of any month in state history. Lake Texhoma, a flood control reservoir to the Red River upstream of Arthur City, Texas rose to its highest pool stage on record early on June 1st at…

5. Sep 13, 2008Tropical Storm, Lafayette$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Tropical Storm Ike resulted in widespread trees and power lines downed throughout all of Lafayette County, Arkansas. Power outages were widespread as well with numerous residents without power during the height of the storm and days afterward. Over 35 trees were downed blocking roadways throughout Lafayette County most of which were tangled in downed power lines.

6. Oct 13, 2009Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hwy. 82 east of Lewisville was closed due to 3 feet of water over the highway. During the height of the storm, the County Judge said that there were only 3 roads in the county that did not have high water over them. So many roads were flooded that the county ran out of barricades, high water and street closed signs. Several cars were flooded and stalled in high water and a woman and child had to be pulled from one car. Some of the major flooding occurred on highways 313 and 53 as well as County Roads 31, 60, 26, 22, 16 and 18. Several homes in the Lewisville area were flooded forcing the evacuation of several people. The rushing water eroded gravel roads, washed out culverts and…

7. May 25, 2020Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-1 tornado with estimated maximum winds around 100 mph briefly touched down along a wooded area on the northern fringes of the town of Lewisville, and moved west northwest across the south parking lot of the M&M Quick Stop before crossing Highway 29. Several trees were snapped and uprooted, and a power pole was snapped along Highway 29 before crossing the roadway into a residential area. This tornado continued to snap and uproot several more trees just north of West 13th Street, with a large pine tree falling onto the First Assembly of God Church, as well as through the middle of a single family home on Cherry Street. The tornado snapped a few more trees along North Murphy…

8. Apr 2, 2025Tornado$135,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong EF-1 tornado with estimated maximum winds near 110 mph touched down along the Red River along the Miller/Lafayette County line, and tracked northeast across an open pasture and a levee just west of Lafayette County Road 57, where it snapped and uprooted several trees. The tornado then tracked across Lafayette County Roads 57 and 47, before moving across open farmland as it moved northeast towards Highway 160 west of Gin City. The Lafayette County Emergency Manager visually confirmed that the tornado remained on the ground across the open farmland, before snapping 7 wooden power poles along Highway 160 just west of Gin City. The tornado again moved across open farmland to…

9. Apr 3, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The NWS conducted a storm survey and concluded that the damage across Lafayette county was consistent with that of straight line winds produced by a bow echo. State Police estimated wind gusts to near 70 mph with the storm that knocked down numerous trees and powerlines. Other damage consisted of damaged fences, numerous garages and outbuilding damage as well as shingles of several roofs.

10. Jan 7, 2010Cold/Wind Chill, Lafayette$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Bitterly cold temperatures swept into the region during the evening hours of January 7th with a hard freeze being observed nearly through the morning hours of January 10th. During this period of time...overnight and early morning low temperatures were well into the teens with daytime high temperatures struggling to make it to the freezing mark. The cold temperatures froze water pipes of many homes throughout the county. Some city and county water lines burst as well resulting in many residents either without water for a short period of time or with reduced water pressure. Southwest Arkansas had not experienced temperatures this cold since 1996 and the prolonged cold snap had not…

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

117°FAug 10, 1936

All-time low

−9°FFeb 13, 1899

Warmest night

84°F2 times, most recently Aug 4, 2011

Coldest day

15°FJan 10, 1962

Wettest day

10.48 inMay 28, 1998

Snowiest day

9.0 inJan 30, 1982

Hottest year

1921mean 69.0°F

Coldest year

1905mean 61.5°F

Wettest year

200978.08 in

Driest year

189622.48 in

Snowiest season

13.4 in1965-66

Station Texarkana Webb Field (USW00013977), 380 ft elevation, 27.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1892 to October 26, 2026; 99.8% 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 USW00013977.
• 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.