Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Arkansas, May 26 to 27, 1997

Name: Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Arkansas, May 26 to 27, 1997
Start: 1997-05-26T21:35
End: 1997-05-27T02:35
Location: Arkansas

May 26 to 27, 1997 · NWS MEG · 10 events in 5 counties and zones

6 hail, 3 tornado, 1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $109,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

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.

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 143 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:32 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 hail, 3 tornado, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Randolph

When: May 26, 9:35 PM CST to 9:40 PM CST
Where: Randolph County, Pocahontas
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $10
Coordinates: 36.270, -90.970

Hail, Lawrence

When: May 26, 10:00 PM CST to 10:05 PM CST
Where: Lawrence County, Imboden
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $110
Coordinates: 36.200, -91.170

Hail, Randolph

When: May 26, 10:05 PM CST to 10:10 PM CST
Where: Randolph County, Ravenden Spgs
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $10
Coordinates: 36.320, -91.220

Hail, Lawrence

When: May 26, 10:40 PM CST to 10:50 PM CST
Where: Lawrence County, Walnut Ridge
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $110
Coordinates: 36.070, -90.950

Tornado, Lawrence

When: May 26, 10:55 PM CST to 10:57 PM CST
Where: Lawrence County, Sedgwick
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $10
Coordinates: 35.970, -90.870

A tornado briefly touched down in Sedgwick causing little damage.

Hail, Craighead

When: May 27, 12:20 AM CST to 12:30 AM CST
Where: Craighead County, Bono
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Property damage: $8,000
Coordinates: 35.900, -90.800

Hail ranging in size from quarters to baseballs fell in Bono.

Tornado, Craighead

When: May 27, 12:55 AM CST to 1:00 AM CST
Where: Craighead County, 5 mi N of Jonesboro
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $10
Coordinates: 35.900, -90.700

A tornado touched down just north of Jonesboro causing minimal damage.

Flash Flood, Craighead

When: May 27, 1:30 AM CST to 2:30 AM CST
Where: Craighead County, Bono
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 35.831, -90.633 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rainfall produced flash flooding across a 5 block area of Bono. Water reached up to the doorway of several buildings.

Tornado, Cross

When: May 27, 1:48 AM CST to 1:50 AM CST
Where: Cross County, Vanndale
Rating: F2
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 35.320, -90.780

A tornado touched down near the town of Vanndale. Nearly 100 residential homes were damaged or destroyed. Three dozen mobile homes were damaged or destroyed. Three persons were injured. One cow was killed. Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down.

Hail, Crittenden

When: May 27, 2:30 AM CST to 2:35 AM CST
Where: Crittenden County, Marion
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $10
Coordinates: 35.220, -90.200

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.
Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arkansas in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Arkansas, 1997 Warnings in Arkansas, May 1997

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: 5597769, 5597770, 5597771, 5597772, 5597773, 5597774, 5597775, 5597778, 5597776, 5597777.