Pope County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Pope County: 7.
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. Jan 26, 2009Ice Storm, Pope$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The sheriff's office reported 3/4 to 1 inch of ice in Russellville overnight on the 26th, but much of it had melted by 6:00 AM on the 27th. An accident occurred on Arkansas Highway 7 between Russellville and Dardanelle due to ice.

2. Feb 5, 2008Tornado$11.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado moved out of the Carden Bottoms area of Yell County, crossing the Arkansas River, and re-entering Pope County southwest of Atkins. The intensity and width of the tornado increased quickly within just a couple of miles after it moved across the Arkansas River. According to a survey by the Red Cross, damage included 46 houses destroyed, 19 houses with major damage, 37 houses with minor damage, and 2 other houses affected. In addition, 6 mobile homes were destroyed, 1 mobile home had major damage, and 4 others suffered minor damage. Several businesses were damaged as well. Numerous trees, power lines, and power poles were blown down. Several vehicles were blown off…

3. Mar 1, 1997Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F1 tornado touched down approximately 1 mile south of Oak Grove and traveled northeastward. Much of the damage was mostly done to trees. However, a wood pallet plant and a chicken house were destroyed. A couple of homes also sustained roof damage. The tornado exited Pope County around 338 pm CST.

4. Jan 8, 2008Tornado$3.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down in central Pope County and tracked to the northeast. The Pope County Office of Emergency Management reported that 42 residential structures were affected. Of these, seven were destroyed, six had minor damage, and the rest had moderate to heavy damage. In addition, six chicken houses, two barns, and a number of outbuildings were destroyed, a travel trailer and motor home were overturned, and hundreds of trees were blown down. A 61 year-old man was killed and his wife was injured when their double-wide mobile home was destroyed on Simba Road, about 1.4 miles south-southeast of Appleton. Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe declared Pope County a state disaster area.…

5. Dec 25, 2012Winter Storm, Pope$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Five inches of snow was reported at Russellville.

6. Mar 18, 2008Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Minor flooding was reported along side streets in Russellville. Two individuals were rescued from their home in Scottsville before the house floated down the Illinois Bayou. A portion of West Parkway Drive in Russellville was closed due to flooding. North Elizabeth Road, Peaceful Valley Road and Humphrey Road in Dover were closed. Lee Mountain Road was washed out one mile north of Rushing Road. Parts of Arkansas Highway 7 in the Ozark National Forest were affected by washouts and landslides.

7. Jun 12, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread tree damaged occurred, and about 30 homes were damaged by the falling trees. A wall of a food plant was blown down, and a rail station at another business was damaged. Several other businesses suffered damage, as well. Many power lines were blown down. A pavilion at a church collapsed. Two chicken houses were badly damaged.

8. Nov 21, 2011Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Parts of U.S. 64 and Arkansas 7, 25, 27, and 124 were closed due to flooding. Numerous major intersections in Russellville were flooded, some with more than 2 feet of water. Many vehicles stalled in the high water. A shopping center on Arkansas Ave. in Russellville flooded. Several residences in the Russellville and Dover areas had to be evacuated. Altogether, the county 911 dispatch center received about 150 calls for assistance during the flooding.

9. May 24, 2019Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   River flooding began on the Arkansas River at Dardanelle May 24 and continued through the end of the month. The river crested there at 45.91 feet on May 31 and this was a record stage.

10. Jun 1, 2019Flood$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy rain and upstream reservoir releases led to flooding on the Arkansas River at Dardanelle. The record crest was 45.91 feet on 5/31/19.

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

113°F2 times, most recently Aug 3, 2011

All-time low

−14°FFeb 2, 1951

Warmest night

86°FJul 13, 1943

Coldest day

13°FJan 12, 1918

Wettest day

7.15 inOct 6, 1998

Snowiest day

22.0 inFeb 18, 1921

Hottest year

2012mean 65.0°F

Coldest year

1979mean 57.9°F

Wettest year

189076.54 in

Driest year

196332.07 in

Station Dardanelle (USC00031838), 370 ft elevation, 6.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1909 to October 26, 2026; 98.4% 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 USC00031838.
• 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.