Newton County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 1, 2011Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Parts of the Buffalo National River were closed due to flooding, flood damage, and debris piles.

2. Apr 26, 2011Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   From the 24th through the 27th, the arrival of a slow-moving cold front and several low pressure areas aloft triggered several rounds of thunderstorms. Tornadoes, severe storms, and flash flooding resulted. Widespread areal flooding followed the flash flooding. Some of this flooding was due to heavy rain, while some of it was caused by water from rivers, creeks, and bayous backing up onto the land. On the evening of the 25th, devastating tornadoes affected several areas in central Arkansas. More than 140,000 electric customers in Arkansas lost power. Heavy rains during this period were the beginning of the Great Flood of 2011 in Arkansas. Much of the flooding lasted well into May,…

3. Mar 18, 2008Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several roads were flooded throughout the county. Arkansas Highways 43 and 74 were blocked near Boxley Valley. Parts of Arkansas Highway 7 were affected by washouts and landslides.

4. Oct 29, 2009Flash Flood$700,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Arkansas Highway 327 between Parthenon and Jasper had logs and debris on the road from heavy rain, and part of the road was flooded as well. A mudslide occurred 2 miles north of Wayton and the road was impassable. A landslide occurred on Boat Mountain, taking out the road leading to the top of the mountain. According to the county judge, areas around Walnut and Limestone were particularly hard hit by flooding, which washed out most bridges and roads. In addition, numerous low water slabs and culverts were washed out.

5. Aug 10, 2013Flash Flood$550,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous county roads and bridges were damaged.

6. Dec 25, 2012Winter Storm, Newton$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm spotter in Vendor measured 5.5 inches of snow.

7. Apr 23, 2011Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado exited Madison County south of Red Star and entered Newton County north of Arbaugh. In Newton County, hundreds of trees were blown down, with several of the trees falling on houses and vehicles. A number of outbuildings were damaged. A chicken house and a barn were destroyed. The greatest amount of structural damage occurred just south of Wayton. Many power poles and power lines were blown down.

8. Aug 30, 2012Tropical Depression, Newton$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,…

9. Sep 13, 2008Tropical Storm, Newton$475,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous large trees were down. Two large locust trees were down on the court house in Jasper.

10. Dec 3, 2002Winter Storm, Newton$290,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain starting falling on the afternoon of the 3rd over parts of north-central Arkansas. The precipitation gradually overspread the rest of the area by that evening and continued through the morning hours of the 4th. Snowfall accumulations of 1 to 3 inches were common over north-central Arkansas, with locally higher amounts between 3 and 5 inches in the higher elevations. Farther to the south and east in northern Arkansas, snow became less common and freezing rain and sleet predominated. A major ice storm occurred with total ice accumulations ranging from 1/4 inch up to near 1 inch. Roads were snow and ice covered and hazardous during the event…

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

112°FAug 3, 2011

All-time low

−13°FJan 20, 1985

Warmest night

88°FJul 31, 1986

Coldest day

3°FDec 24, 1983

Wettest day

7.83 inNov 4, 2024

Snowiest day

14.3 inFeb 15, 1993

Hottest year

2012mean 61.7°F

Coldest year

1979mean 55.3°F

Wettest year

197373.77 in

Driest year

196326.75 in

Snowiest season

36.8 in1969-70

Station Harrison Boone County Airport (USW00013971), 1,371 ft elevation, 19.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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 USW00013971.
• 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.