Prairie County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Prairie County: 6.
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.

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 1, 2011Flood$15.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Part of U.S. Highway 70 was closed by flooding, as were parts of Arkansas Highways 11, 33, and 38. Part of the asphalt pavement on U.S. Highway 70 was scoured away by the water between DeValls Bluff and Biscoe. The force of the water left holes two feet deep on Arkansas Highway 38 in the northern part of the county. Dozens of houses flooded in the Des Arc area and evacuations were necessary in DeValls Bluff. Altogether, more than 270 homes in the county suffered flood damage. On the 4th, a 53 year-old man was found drowned near his home in the North Side community near Des Arc. On the 4th, westbound lanes of Interstate 40 near Biscoe were closed when the White River overflowed…

2. Oct 18, 2004Tornado$12.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The F2 tornado moved from Lonoke County into Prairie County about 6.1 miles west-southwest of the Fairmount Community. The tornado gained intensity as it tracked to the east-northeast and then to the east as it approached the Stuttgart Airport. The tornado continued to track to the east before lifting east-northeast of the town of Ulm. The maximum damage was observed at the airport where numerous planes were damaged or destroyed. Damage at the airport was estimated at just over 12 million dollars. Also, most of the hangers and other buildings on the airport property sustained damage. Elsewhere along the path of the tornado, many power poles were snapped off or blown down. Metal…

3. Mar 18, 2008Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain caused the White River at Des Arc to go above major flood level. This was the highest the river had been since April, 1973. The river was at minor flood level at the beginning of the month and continued to rise throughout most of the month due to the heavy rains. Substantial portions of the towns of Des Arc and DeValls Bluff were flooded, as were portions of U.S. Highway 70 near DeValls Bluff. Arkansas Highways 11, 38, and 33 were flooded in and near Des Arc. Riverfront Park on the east bank of the White River flooded. Some 80 homes, campers and cabins were flooded along Bayou Des Arc and at Spring Lake east of Des Arc. There were also about 20 to 30 homes flooded in…

4. Jul 22, 2008Heavy Rain$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain contributed to a fiery pile-up on Interstate 40 near mile marker 203. When the heavy rain began, one vehicle tried to pull onto the shoulder. That vehicle was rear-ended, and in the ensuing chain-reaction, six tractor-trailers and three cars were destroyed. A large fire ensued. Ten fire engines and rescue trucks responded with a total of 28 firefighters. Eight people were injured in the crash, two of them critically. The westbound lanes of the interstate were blocked for more than 4 1/2 hours.

5. Dec 24, 2009Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding, which developed early on the morning of the 24th, became widespread areal flooding later in the morning on the 24th and continued into Christmas morning. Numerous county roads and state highways were flooded. Approximately 25 homes were damaged.

6. Dec 25, 2012Winter Storm, Prairie$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The cooperative observer measured 6 inches of snow at Des Arc.

7. Aug 30, 2012Tropical Depression, Prairie$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. Sep 13, 2008Tropical Storm, Prairie$375,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds gusted to 48 mph at the Stuttgart airport.

9. May 1, 2011Flash Flood$325,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous county roads were flooded. Arkansas Highway 38 between Johnson Chapel and Hickory Plains was heavily flooded and closed. Parts of Arkansas Highway 11 were also closed.

10. May 30, 2012Lightning$300,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lightning struck a church, resulting in a fire. The church was destroyed.

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

109°F2 times, most recently Jul 31, 2012

All-time low

−8°FJan 8, 1942

Warmest night

87°FJul 28, 1997

Coldest day

10°FJan 15, 2024

Wettest day

6.92 inMay 27, 1955

Snowiest day

12.0 inJan 7, 1988

Hottest year

2023mean 65.4°F

Coldest year

1978mean 59.3°F

Wettest year

195788.72 in

Driest year

194330.73 in

Snowiest season

17.3 in1959-60

Station Des Arc (USC00031968), 200 ft elevation, 8.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1903 to January 1, 2026; 89.4% 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 USC00031968.
• 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.