Hurricane History Map

Hurricanes that hit Arkansas: hurricane history

67 storms have passed within 50 km of Arkansas from 1860 to 2024, drawn on the map and coloured by intensity.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near Arkansas

The record holds 67 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Arkansas between 1860 and 2024. The busiest month is September, with 24 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 2 strength. 2 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 67storms within 50 km
  • 0major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 4at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near Arkansas?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression3552%
Tropical storm2639%
Category 134%
Category 211%
Category 300%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity23%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

Arkansas storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 6 in 1940s.1860s1880s1900s1920s1940s1960s1980s2000s2020s

The 2020s only run to 2024, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1860, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1860s3
1870s1
1880s3
1890s4
1900s5
1910s3
1920s4
1930s4
1940s6
1950s4
1960s4
1970s4
1980s6
1990s1
2000s6
2010s5
2020s4

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 24 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May0Jun9Jul8Aug18Sep24Oct8Nov0Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun9
Jul8
Aug18
Sep24
Oct8
Nov0
Dec0

Strongest storms near Arkansas

  • Laura (2020)20 August 2020 to 29 August 2020, Category 2 (85 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 937 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1909 (North Atlantic)13 September 1909 to 22 September 1909, Category 1 (75 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 952 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of October 1886 (North Atlantic)4 October 1886 to 15 October 1886, Category 1 (65 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of August 1888 (North Atlantic)14 August 1888 to 24 August 1888, Category 1 (65 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (110 kt)
  • Audrey (1957)24 June 1957 to 29 June 1957, Tropical storm (55 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 946 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1860 (North Atlantic)24 September 1860 to 3 October 1860, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (90 kt)

Most recent storms near Arkansas

  • Beryl (2024)28 June 2024 to 11 July 2024, Tropical depression (30 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 934 hPa
  • Delta (2020)4 October 2020 to 11 October 2020, Tropical storm (35 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 953 hPa
  • Laura (2020)20 August 2020 to 29 August 2020, Category 2 (85 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 937 hPa
  • Cristobal (2020)1 June 2020 to 12 June 2020, Tropical depression (30 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (50 kt), 988 hPa
  • Barry (2019)10 July 2019 to 16 July 2019, Tropical storm (35 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (65 kt), 993 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

Arkansas ranks number 15 among US states and territories for the number of storms.

Notable storms near Arkansas with their own pages

  • Laura (2020)20 August 2020 to 29 August 2020, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 937 hPa
  • Audrey (1957)24 June 1957 to 29 June 1957, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 946 hPa
  • Betsy (1965)27 August 1965 to 13 September 1965, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 942 hPa
  • Camille (1969)14 August 1969 to 22 August 1969, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 905 hPa
  • Ike (2008)1 September 2008 to 15 September 2008, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 935 hPa
  • Rita (2005)18 September 2005 to 26 September 2005, peak Category 5 (155 kt), 897 hPa
  • Lili (2002)21 September 2002 to 4 October 2002, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 940 hPa
  • Isaac (2012)20 August 2012 to 1 September 2012, peak Category 1 (70 kt), 966 hPa
  • Delta (2020)4 October 2020 to 11 October 2020, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 953 hPa
  • Elena (1985)28 August 1985 to 4 September 1985, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 953 hPa
  • Gustav (2008)25 August 2008 to 5 September 2008, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 943 hPa
  • Harvey (2017)16 August 2017 to 2 September 2017, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 941 hPa

Arkansas counties

Every county that a storm has come near is listed, most storms first. 75 of them have at least 3 storms and their own page.

CountyStormsStrongest near the county
Clark County23Tropical storm
Columbia County22Category 2
Hot Spring County21Tropical storm
Saline County21Tropical storm
Union County21Category 2
Chicot County20Category 1
Nevada County20Category 1
Perry County20Tropical storm
Ashley County19Category 1
Dallas County19Tropical storm
Desha County19Category 1
Garland County19Tropical storm
Jefferson County19Tropical storm
Lafayette County19Category 1
Miller County19Category 1
Ouachita County19Category 1
Hempstead County18Category 1
Lonoke County18Tropical storm
Pike County18Tropical storm
Pulaski County18Tropical storm
Scott County18Tropical storm
Arkansas County17Tropical storm
Calhoun County17Tropical storm
Drew County17Category 1
Howard County17Tropical storm
Little River County17Tropical storm
Faulkner County16Tropical storm
Grant County16Tropical storm
Logan County16Tropical storm
Poinsett County16Tropical storm
Yell County16Tropical storm
Bradley County15Category 1
Cleveland County15Tropical storm
Conway County15Tropical storm
Craighead County15Tropical storm
Lee County15Tropical storm
Montgomery County15Tropical storm
Polk County15Tropical storm
Van Buren County15Tropical storm
White County15Tropical storm
Cleburne County14Tropical storm
Johnson County14Tropical storm
Lincoln County14Tropical storm
Mississippi County14Tropical storm
Phillips County14Tropical storm
Prairie County14Tropical storm
Franklin County13Tropical storm
Fulton County13Tropical storm
Greene County13Tropical storm
Izard County13Tropical storm
Monroe County13Tropical storm
Pope County13Tropical storm
Sevier County13Tropical storm
St. Francis County13Tropical storm
Woodruff County13Tropical storm
Clay County12Tropical storm
Crittenden County12Tropical storm
Cross County12Tropical storm
Newton County12Tropical storm
Sebastian County12Tropical storm
Stone County12Tropical storm
Crawford County11Tropical storm
Independence County11Tropical storm
Lawrence County11Tropical storm
Randolph County11Tropical storm
Sharp County11Tropical storm
Washington County11Tropical storm
Carroll County10Tropical storm
Jackson County10Tropical storm
Madison County10Tropical storm
Searcy County10Tropical storm
Benton County9Tropical storm
Baxter County8Tropical storm
Boone County8Tropical storm
Marion County8Tropical storm

Other states

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