Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, December 2, 1982

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, December 2, 1982
Start: 1982-12-02T05:00
End: 1982-12-02T20:45
Location: Arkansas

December 2, 1982 · 24 events in 14 counties and zones

18 tornado, 6 thunderstorm wind, 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: 2
Injuries: 67
Property damage: $92 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 24

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

18 tornado, 6 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Sebastian

When: December 2, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Sebastian County
Coordinates: 35.200, -94.270

Thunderstorm Wind, Sebastian

When: December 2, 5:30 AM CST
Where: Sebastian County
Coordinates: 35.200, -94.270

Thunderstorm Wind, Sebastian

When: December 2, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Sebastian County
Coordinates: 35.200, -94.270

Tornado, Crawford

When: December 2, 12:36 PM CST
Where: Crawford County
Rating: F3
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 35.480, -94.230

Tornado, Clark

When: December 2, 1:28 PM CST
Where: Clark County
Rating: F2
Path length: 19 mi
Path width: 220 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 35.830, -93.100

Tornado, Dallas

When: December 2, 1:56 PM CST
Where: Dallas County
Rating: F2
Path length: 5 mi
Path width: 220 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 36.100, -92.880

Tornado, Hot Spring

When: December 2, 2:04 PM CST
Where: Hot Spring County
Rating: F2
Path length: 10 mi
Path width: 220 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 36.150, -92.830

Thunderstorm Wind, Dallas

When: December 2, 2:25 PM CST
Where: Dallas County
Coordinates: 34.030, -92.880

Tornado, Saline

When: December 2, 2:50 PM CST
Where: Saline County
Rating: F3
Path length: 4 mi
Path width: 233 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 28 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 34.580, -92.470

Tornado, Pulaski

When: December 2, 3:00 PM CST
Where: Pulaski County
Rating: F3
Path length: 14 mi
Path width: 233 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 25 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 34.630, -92.430

Thunderstorm Wind, Van Buren

When: December 2, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Van Buren County
Coordinates: 35.580, -92.470

Tornado, Faulkner

When: December 2, 3:50 PM CST
Where: Faulkner County
Rating: F3
Path length: 7 mi
Path width: 350 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 35.150, -92.170

Tornado, White

When: December 2, 4:00 PM CST
Where: White County
Rating: F3
Path length: 6 mi
Path width: 350 yd
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 35.270, -92.120

Tornado, Cleburne

When: December 2, 4:10 PM CST
Where: Cleburne County
Rating: F3
Path length: 11 mi
Path width: 350 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 35.370, -92.070

Tornado, Hot Spring

When: December 2, 4:20 PM CST
Where: Hot Spring County
Rating: F1
Path length: 6 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 34.380, -92.800

Thunderstorm Wind, Cleburne

When: December 2, 4:40 PM CST
Where: Cleburne County
Coordinates: 35.600, -92.180

Tornado, Faulkner

When: December 2, 5:10 PM CST
Where: Faulkner County
Rating: F3
Path length: 17 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 35.030, -92.330

Tornado, White

When: December 2, 5:35 PM CST
Where: White County
Rating: F3
Path length: 4 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Injuries: 7 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 35.280, -92.120

Tornado, White

When: December 2, 5:42 PM CST
Where: White County
Rating: F3
Path length: 4 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 35.300, -92.070

Tornado, Cleburne

When: December 2, 5:46 PM CST
Where: Cleburne County
Rating: F3
Path length: 7 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 35.350, -92.050

Tornado, Independence

When: December 2, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Independence County
Rating: F1
Path length: 6 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 35.780, -91.780

Tornado, Sharp

When: December 2, 6:45 PM CST
Where: Sharp County
Rating: F3
Path length: 9 mi
Path width: 250 yd
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 36.180, -91.620

Tornado, Van Buren

When: December 2, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Van Buren County
Rating: F3
Path length: 12 mi
Path width: 400 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 35.630, -92.580

Tornado, Stone

When: December 2, 8:45 PM CST
Where: Stone County
Rating: F3
Path length: 11 mi
Path width: 400 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 35.780, -92.420

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	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Saline	1982-12-02				Direct
Tornado, Pulaski	1982-12-02				Direct

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
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 1982 Every state in 1982 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Arkansas, 1982

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: 9990398, 9990399, 9990400, 9990401, 9990402, 9990403, 9990404, 9990405, 9990406, 9990407, 9990408, 9990409, 9990410, 9990411, 9990412, 9990413, 9990414, 9990415, 9990416, 9990417, 9990418, 9990419, 9990420, 9990421.