Ouachita County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. May 4, 2009Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy to record rainfall produced river flooding along the Ouachita River that had not been experienced since 1990. Numerous parks, county and state roads, and private residences were flooded.

2. Apr 3, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Camden-Fairview High School had damage at the baseball field, where the bleachers were overturned and the dugouts were destroyed, at the football stadium and weight room, at the band building, and at one of the classroom buildings. Hundreds of trees were blown down. Nine homes were destroyed, nine had major damage, 13 had minor damage, and seven were affected. Many power lines were blown down, including a major transmission line, leaving the entire city without power.

3. Apr 30, 2016Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were uprooted and snapped, with some trees falling and causing damage to homes. This was on the northwest side of town.

4. Sep 13, 2008Tropical Storm, Ouachita$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A 56 MPH wind gust was recorded at Camden Harrell Field Airport. Several large trees were down, including one on Warren Street. As many as eight trees were cleared from streets in Camden.

5. Mar 20, 2008Flood$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain caused the Ouachita River at Camden to go above moderate flood level. Numerous county roads were flooded and Arkansas Highway 7 was closed. Many residences were cut off by flooded access roads at points along the river both upstream and downstream of Camden. Access was by boat only. Agricultural damages were primarily to lost pastures due to prolonged inundation.

6. Oct 29, 2009Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   U.S. Highway 79 southwest of Camden was closed due to water over the road. A high water rescue was necessary on the highway at Ogemaw. Other highways closed included Arkansas 57 from U.S. Highway 278 to Arkansas Highway 76, and Arkansas Highway 376 from U.S. Highway 79 to U.S. Highway 278. The basement of the county courthouse in Camden was flooded. County roads closed included Ouachita 1, 2, 6, 25, 32, 45, 88, 96, 210, 232, and the intersection of 427 and 97. Many county roads were washed out.

7. Sep 2, 2008Tropical Depression, Ouachita$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical Depression Gustav entered the southwest corner of Arkansas on the evening of the 2nd and lingered in the southwest part of the state for nearly 24 hours. By mid-evening on the 3rd, Gustav was about 75 miles west of Little Rock. Gustav exited northwest Arkansas on the morning of the 4th. During its passage across Arkansas, Gustav produced excessive rainfall, strong winds, flash flooding and river flooding, and one tornado. In the Little Rock County Warning Area, wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph were common. The strongest gust measured was 48 mph at Little Rock National Airport/Adams Field. Power was knocked out to more than 100,000 electric customers. Wind damage was estimated…

8. Aug 29, 2012Tropical Depression, Ouachita$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. Oct 29, 2009Tornado$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado moved out of Calhoun County about 4 1/3 miles west of Locust Bayou and re-entered Ouachita County about 2 1/4 miles south-southwest of Lakeside. In Ouachita County, the tornado tore part of the roof off a house, damaged a church roof, and caused trees to fall on four houses. The tornado then moved through a trailer park, where falling trees destroyed nine of the homes and caused major damage to three others. Otherwise, hundreds of trees were blown down, as were a number of power lines. The tornado then exited Ouachita County in East Camden and moved into the Calhoun County portion of the same town.

10. Oct 30, 2009Flood$300,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Flash flooding which began on the 29th became widespread areal flooding on the 30th. Several businesses were flooded and four families were evacuated in the southwest part of Camden. Water was up to the door handles of minivans.

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

115°FAug 10, 1936

All-time low

−10°F2 times, most recently Jan 12, 1918

Warmest night

92°F3 times, most recently Jun 26, 1918

Coldest day

15°F3 times, most recently Dec 23, 1989

Wettest day

8.26 inApr 5, 1997

Snowiest day

11.0 inJan 28, 2000

Hottest year

1938mean 66.5°F

Coldest year

2014mean 60.2°F

Wettest year

200982.11 in

Driest year

201031.51 in

Snowiest season

14.5 in1963-64

Station Camden 1 (USC00031152), 116 ft elevation, 1.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1890 to October 26, 2026; 94.5% 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 USC00031152.
• 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.