Polk County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Polk County: 4.
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 East OK, West AR (Regmi and Walter, 2020) (2).

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. Apr 9, 2009Tornado$130 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado began to the west-southwest of Mena, then tracked through the northwest side of Mena. According to the Polk County Judge, 165 houses were destroyed, 701 houses had major damage, and more than 11,000 trees were blown down. The Polk County Courthouse, county jail, Mena City Hall, and the police and fire departments were damaged in downtown Mena, as were several businesses. Mena Middle School, also located downtown, was structurally damaged beyond repair. A nursing home was also damaged. Most of the city lost electricity. The tornado then tracked to the northeast, badly damaging several industrial buildings. There was considerable roof damage at Rich Mountain Community…

2. Jan 26, 2009Ice Storm, Polk$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The sheriff's office reported that 1/4 inch of ice had accumulated by 6:00 AM on the 27th.

3. May 30, 2013Flash Flood$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flash flooding occurred in Polk County. U.S. 71 was closed from Mena to the Scott County line. Arkansas 8 and Arkansas 370 were flooded in the eastern part of the county. A landslide closed Arkansas 88 a few miles west of Mena. A number of county roads were impassable; 30 bridges were damaged and 3 were washed out. For the 24-hour period ending at 7 AM on the 31st, Big Fork measured 7.55 inches of rain and Mena collected 7.07 inches. At the Mena airport, rainfall on the 30th measured 4.07 inches, followed by another 1.69 inches on the 31st. A fiber optic cable was knocked out of service. As a result, there was no landline phone service, cell phone service, or Internet…

4. Dec 5, 2013Winter Storm, Polk$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy freezing rain created ice storm conditions in Polk County, downing trees and power lines (utility company and Arkansas Forestry Commission). Some sleet and snow fell as well. Half an inch of ice accrued on trees and power lines at Mena (cooperative observer).

5. Dec 25, 2012Winter Storm, Polk$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Cooperative observers measured 12 inches of snow at Vandervoort, 11 inches at Bogg Springs, and 7 inches at Big Fork.

6. May 1, 2011Flood$500,000
   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.

7. Aug 30, 2012Tropical Depression, Polk$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,…

8. May 8, 2014Flash Flood$425,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Excessive rainfall caused severe flash flooding in Polk County. During the afternoon and early evening hours, the Mena airport recorded 6.98 inches of rain in 7 hours. Of that amount, 3.89 inches fell in only two hours during the early evening. The storm total rainfall at the airport was 7.30 inches. More than 40 swift-water rescues became necessary. U.S. 71 was flooded south of Mena, and numerous other roads were barricaded. Some homes and businesses were sandbagged as a precaution, but water did enter a few structures. Numerous county roads and bridges were damaged, including pavement washed off roads, gravel washed away, and bridge approaches washed out. Other large rainfall…

9. Jul 9, 2014Flash Flood$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rainfall amounts included 6.72 inches at Bogg Springs and 6.48 inches at Mena. Numerous county roads flooded. A 70 foot-long bridge was washed out on Polk 7, a bridge was damaged on Polk 6, a 6-foot diameter culvert was washed away on Bunch Rd. in Wickes, and a section of Polk 257 was washed out. Water entered three businesses in Wickes and the Baptist camp flooded in Bogg Springs.

10. Sep 13, 2008Tropical Storm, Polk$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…

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 10, 1936

All-time low

−15°FFeb 12, 1899

Warmest night

88°FJul 16, 1897

Coldest day

6°FFeb 12, 1899

Wettest day

11.90 inOct 8, 1990

Snowiest day

15.0 inJan 29, 1899

Hottest year

1921mean 64.0°F

Coldest year

2014mean 56.9°F

Wettest year

201589.93 in

Driest year

196329.95 in

Snowiest season

21.1 in1978-79

Station Mena (USC00034756), 1,144 ft elevation, 5.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1891 to October 27, 2026; 98.7% 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 USC00034756.
• 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.