Sharp County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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, Sharp$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The National Weather Service cooperative observer reported 1/2 to 1 inch of ice across the county by 5:30 AM on the 27th. The cooperative observer at Evening Shade reported 1 inch of ice on the ground at Noon.

2. Feb 5, 2008Tornado$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado moved out of Izard County, south of Horseshoe Bend, and into Sharp County, northwest of Evening Shade. According to a survey by the Red Cross, 30 houses were destroyed, 7 suffered major damage, 17 had minor damage, and 11 others were affected. In addition, 10 mobile homes were destroyed, 1 had major damage, 2 had minor damage, and 1 was affected. Two apartments had minor damage and two others were affected. At least 40 businesses along U.S. Highway 62/412 in Highland were damaged or destroyed. Also, a church was destroyed and vehicles were overturned along the highway. The fire department in Highland lost most of its building and equipment. The Highland High School had…

3. Mar 18, 2008Flood$15.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain caused the Spring River at Hardy to go above major flood level. The mayor of Hardy was notified by the Little Rock Office of the National Weather Service the day before this event that very heavy rain was possible. The local officials took steps to notify the property owners along the river. As a result, only a few homes along the river had to be evacuated during the event and there were no fatalities. A significant amount of personal property was also moved out of the floodplain. The river rose quickly and the surge of water swept away homes, propane tanks, canoes, parked vehicles, and even pieces of the road. Approximately 112 homes were affected by the flood with at…

4. May 1, 2011Flood$4.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Four hundred feet of railroad tracks had to be replaced near Williford due to flooding from the Spring River.

5. Apr 24, 2011Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   City Hall had to be evacuated, along with some houses in Hardy.

6. Mar 18, 2008Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Portions of Hardy were flooded, and U.S. Highway 63 had 2 to 3 feet of water over it. Homes along the Spring River were evacuated. Numerous roads in the county were barricaded. Barnes Road, Hewlett Road, Piney Creek Road, and Bear Creek Road were blocked due to bridges being underwater. U.S. Highway 62 was closed at its intersection with Arkansas Highway 175 five miles south of Hardy. A gas station in Cherokee Village had fuel tanks floating out of the ground. There were 50 evacuations. A car was swept off the road in Williford; the driver was rescued.

7. Mar 5, 1996Tornado$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Izard County tornado moved into Sharp County 2 3/4 miles west-southwest of Sidney at 815 pm. The tornado moved eastward and a few minutes later it struck the town of Sidney. 20 homes in Sidney were either damaged or destroyed. The tornado traveled along Highway 58, damaging more homes, barns, and other outbuildings. The tornado then began moving more in a northeasterly direction toward the Calamine community. Several more homes and other buildings were damaged. The tornado exited Sharp County about 2 3/4 miles east-northeast of Calamine around 845 pm. Numerous trees and power lines were also blown down along the tornado's path.Much of the damage was consistent with an F2…

8. Apr 27, 2014Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding caused severe damage to roads and bridges.

9. Dec 5, 2013Winter Storm, Sharp$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snow and sleet totaled 7.5 inches 1 mile north-northeast of Evening Shade (cooperative observer), 6.7 inches 8 miles south-southwest of Hardy (CoCoRaHS), 6.5 inches 11 miles south of Hardy (CoCoRaHS), 6 inches at Calamine (cooperative observer), 5.1 inches at Hardy (cooperative observer), and 4.2 inches 2.7 miles south-southeast of Evening Shade (CoCoRaHS). Several barns and sheds collapsed from the weight of accumulated ice and snow. Roofs of a sawmill and a used-car dealership also collapsed. There was one indirect injury when the canopy at a gas station collapsed in Ash Flat.

10. Apr 26, 2011Flood$1.0 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,…

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°FJul 15, 1966

All-time low

−15°FJan 20, 1985

Warmest night

82°FAug 1, 1980

Coldest day

9°F2 times, most recently Jan 15, 2024

Wettest day

6.50 inMar 22, 2013

Snowiest day

18.0 inMar 9, 1994

Hottest year

1998mean 61.6°F

Coldest year

2013mean 55.2°F

Wettest year

201568.06 in

Driest year

195328.83 in

Snowiest season

26.2 in1993-94

Station Evening Shade 1 Nne (USC00032366), 509 ft elevation, 8.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1923 to September 13, 2026; 96.5% 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 USC00032366.
• 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.