Union County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Union County: 3.
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. Dec 12, 2000Ice Storm, Union$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An arctic air mass spilled southward out of the central plains and into the lower Mississippi Valley. This cold, surface air mass was overrun by a warm humid air mass which combined with a strong upper level storm system across west Texas. the result was widespread freezing rain across all of southwest Arkansas. The precipitation was a mixture of freezing rain, sleet and some light snow northwest of a Texarkana to Prescott Arkansas line while further east the precipitation was all freezing rain. Ice accumulations of two to four inches were common. An estimated 235,000 residents lost electrical power due to ice covered power lines snapping or ice covered trees splitting and falling…

2. Jan 12, 2005Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado that moved through Claiborne Parish Louisiana moved northeast into Union County Arkansas. The tornado first struck the community of Junction City, Arkansas just north of the Arkansas, Louisiana state line. From the area surveyed, the tornado was on the ground continuously from touchdown to end. For the early part of the track, the damage was confined to minor damage to homes with numerous trees downed from Junction City to near Tatum Rd approximately 8 miles south of El Dorado. In Junction City, two people were injured when a tree fell on their home as they were in bed. As the tornado approached Tatum Rd, it appears to have intensified significantly while growing wider…

3. Oct 12, 2009Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Excessive heavy rainfall that fell during the middle and latter half of October resulted in very high river levels on the Ouachita River at Felsenthal, Arkansas. The river did not crest until the first part of November so the crest information will be included in the November publication of Storm Data. At the end of October, the river level at the Felsenthal Lock and Dam was near 83 feet which was some 13 feet above flood stage. Most of the communities residents had to move to higher ground as water was reported in as many as 15 homes with many city streets flooded and closed. Upwards of 14 homes in the Calion area were inundated by flood waters. Shelters were being setup to house…

4. Jun 18, 2023Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   During the evening hours on Sunday, June 18th, a strong thunderstorm developed about 12 miles to the northeast of El Dorado, Arkansas in Union County. Shortly after forming, the storm became severe and started to rotate. The storm went on to produce an EF-2 tornado, touching down near the Cypress Creek Oil Field to the north of Moro Bay Highway near Stowe Ditch Road. At this location, there were numerous trees either snapped or uprooted from winds around 80 to 85 mph. As the tornado tracked to the southeast towards Moro Bay Highway, it strengthened some which was evident from the more widespread tree damage. As it crossed Moro Bay Highway, it did not cause any major damage to…

5. Feb 10, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were toppled throughout the area with damage to many homes and businesses and powerlines. The Noalmark Broadcasting tower was blown down and a tree fell across a home totally demolishing it. Residents were evacuated after a nitric acid tank was blown down near the El Dorado Chemical Plant. The spill residue was contained and neutralized on-site. There was one injury reported when a man was trapped inside his car after a tree fell on it.

6. Oct 9, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were downed in the community of Junction City, Arkansas blocking four city streets. Damage was also reported in town where trees were downed at the intersection of North Newton and Oakhurst Boulevard. Nearly 20 trees were downed within a quarter mile stretch at Ebenezer Road were several structures also received damage. Two mobile homes were destroyed. Also, a home was damaged on Smith Street in El Dorado, Arkansas. Trees also fell on two vehicles across the county and a canopy was damaged at the Yocum Elementary School.

7. Aug 19, 2008Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Police Department reported that several roads across the city had nearly one foot of water on them. Water was beginning to enter some parked cars in some areas. Between 1100 am and noon, the local police department was busy blocking badly flooded streets and helping people who had become stranded inside stalled cars. Water reached the windows of some stalled vehicles and covered the hoods of others. Flooding was particularly bad on 19th Street just east of College Avenue and at the Mellor Park Mall. Other streets that reported flooding were Timerlane, Grove, West Block, Junction City Road, Hillsboro, North West Avenue and Mount Holly Road. Water was high enough to go into a…

8. Apr 11, 2016Lightning$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck the Murmill Baptist Church on Beacon Hill Road in Southeast El Dorado. This resulted in a fire which completely burned the church down to the ground.

9. Sep 13, 2008Tropical Storm, Union$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Hurricane Ike which moved northward through northeast Texas on September 13th resulted in Tropical Storm force wind gusts across portions of Union County, Arkansas. Damage was scattered across the county with several reports of trees and power lines downed from the high wind gusts. The town of Smackover, Arkansas was hit particularly hard with much of the town without power during the height of the storm. Other large trees were downed south of El Dorado, Arkansas blocking Hwy. 15. Nearly a dozen large trees were downed in El Dorado, Arkansas alone.

10. Apr 29, 2004Tornado$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Along the path of the tornado, 6 homes received minor to moderate damage from falling trees and roof damage. A roof was also peeled off a church. Numerous trees were snapped off and blown down as well.

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°F2 times, most recently Aug 31, 2000

All-time low

−10°FJan 12, 1962

Warmest night

83°FSep 6, 1930

Coldest day

14°FJan 10, 1962

Wettest day

10.65 inApr 26, 1958

Snowiest day

15.2 inDec 22, 1929

Hottest year

1921mean 68.1°F

Coldest year

1968mean 61.0°F

Wettest year

197477.87 in

Driest year

200528.38 in

Station El Dorado Goodwin Field (USW00093992), 256 ft elevation, 9.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1892 to October 26, 2026; 99.7% 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 USW00093992.
• 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.