Tornadoes in Arkansas, March 21, 1952

Name: Tornadoes in Arkansas, March 21, 1952
Start: 1952-03-21T14:40
End: 1952-03-21T19:00
Location: Arkansas

March 21, 1952 · 17 events in 11 counties and zones

17 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 112
Injuries: 724
Property damage: $7.1 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 17

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

17 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Howard

When: March 21, 2:40 PM CST
Where: Howard County
Rating: F4
Path length: 13 mi
Path width: 833 yd
Deaths: 7 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 9 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 34.020, -94.020

Tornado, Saline

When: March 21, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Saline County
Rating: F3
Path length: 17.7 mi
Path width: 440 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 34.720, -92.820

Tornado, White

When: March 21, 4:50 PM CST
Where: White County
Rating: F4
Path length: 14.6 mi
Path width: 1,760 yd
Deaths: 50 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 325 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 35.220, -91.700

Tornado, Faulkner

When: March 21, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Faulkner County
Rating: F2
Path width: 33 yd
Injuries: 6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 34.950, -92.420

Tornado, Lonoke

When: March 21, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Lonoke County
Rating: F3
Path length: 16.2 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Deaths: 9 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 9 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 34.530, -91.800

Tornado, Lonoke

When: March 21, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Lonoke County
Rating: F4
Path length: 7.6 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Deaths: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 34.900, -91.850

Tornado, Prairie

When: March 21, 5:20 PM CST
Where: Prairie County
Path width: 417 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 34.720, -91.570

Tornado, Prairie

When: March 21, 5:20 PM CST
Where: Prairie County
Rating: F2
Path length: 13.3 mi
Path width: 417 yd
Deaths: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 15 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 34.800, -91.800

Tornado, Woodruff

When: March 21, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Woodruff County
Rating: F3
Path length: 17.6 mi
Path width: 600 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 35.130, -91.450

Tornado, Woodruff

When: March 21, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Woodruff County
Rating: F4
Path length: 13.1 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Deaths: 29 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 180 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 35.000, -91.250

Tornado, Jackson

When: March 21, 5:40 PM CST
Where: Jackson County
Rating: F3
Path length: 9.6 mi
Path width: 440 yd
Injuries: 6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 35.470, -91.200

Tornado, Poinsett

When: March 21, 5:45 PM CST
Where: Poinsett County
Rating: F3
Path length: 18.9 mi
Path width: 440 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 35.530, -91.050

Tornado, Cross

When: March 21, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Cross County
Rating: F4
Path width: 880 yd
Deaths: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 35.420, -91.000

Tornado, Poinsett

When: March 21, 6:45 PM CST
Where: Poinsett County
Rating: F3
Path length: 12.1 mi
Path width: 417 yd
Deaths: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 39 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 35.600, -90.720

Tornado, Poinsett

When: March 21, 6:45 PM CST
Where: Poinsett County
Rating: F3
Path length: 9.4 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 35.530, -90.420

Tornado, Mississippi

When: March 21, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Mississippi County
Rating: F3
Path length: 39.7 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 57 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 35.670, -90.520

Tornado, Mississippi

When: March 21, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Mississippi County
Rating: F3
Path length: 39.7 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 57 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 35.670, -90.520

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Kind
Tornado, Prairie	1952-03-21	Direct
Tornado, Poinsett	1952-03-21	Direct
Tornado, Mississippi	1952-03-21	Direct
Tornado, Mississippi	1952-03-21	Direct

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arkansas in 1952 Every state in 1952 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Arkansas, 1952

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 9983013, 9983014, 9983015, 9983016, 9983017, 9983018, 9983019, 9983020, 9983021, 9983022, 9983023, 9983024, 9983025, 9983026, 9983027, 9983028, 9983029.