Yell County

Every recorded tornado

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

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, Yell$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The county's emergency manager reported that 1/2 inch of ice had accumulated 2 miles south of Dardanelle as of 7:00 PM on the 26th, and the county judge reported 1/4 inch of ice in Danville at 9:00 PM. At least two State Park cabins were damaged due to fallen limbs and trees on Mt. Nebo. Trees fell on power lines across the county.

2. Dec 25, 2012Winter Storm, Yell$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Cooperative observers measured 10 inches of snow at Gravelly, 4 inches at Dardanelle, and 3 inches at Blue Mountain Dam. CoCoRaHS observers measured 6.4 inches near Danville and 4 inches near Dardanelle.

3. Mar 19, 2008Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain caused the Petit Jean River at Danville to go above flood stage. Upstream, Blue Mountain Lake rose to record levels and several feet of water was flowing through the emergency spillway. Numerous county roads were flooded and Arkansas Highways 27 and 10 were affected. Pastures along the river and the Petit Jean Wildlife Management Area were inundated.

4. Mar 18, 2008Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Arkansas Highway 307 north of Belleville was closed due to flooding. Damaged areas included Plainview and Rover, including Arkansas Highway 28.

5. Mar 19, 2008Flood$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain caused the Fourche LaFave River at Gravelly to go above major flood level. Parts of Arkansas Highway 28 in multiple locations had to be closed because of high water. At least one person drove off into the floodwaters and lost the vehicle but not their life. Downstream, Lake Nimrod rose to its highest level ever with water more than 4.5 feet deep flowing through the emergency spillway. Some homes were isolated by floodwaters and livestock and infrastructure losses were also noted.

6. Mar 19, 2008Flood$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain in eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas caused the Arkansas River at Dardenelle to go above minor flood level. This was the fifth highest crest since completion of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. Damages were primarily losses to winter wheat and county roads.

7. Aug 30, 2012Tropical Depression, Yell$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 1, 2011Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Some campsites at Waveland Park on Blue Mountain Lake were closed due to flooding.

9. Sep 2, 2008Tropical Depression, Yell$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large trees were down across the county. High winds blew the top off a barn and brought down farm equipment.

10. Sep 13, 2008Tropical Storm, Yell$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

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, 9.8 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.