Tornadoes · United States · Arkansas

1978 tornadoes in Arkansas

44 tornadoes touched down in Arkansas in 1978, 60 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 2 people and injured 34.

1977 1979 The whole country in 1978

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3158 to 206 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261 to 318 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Every tornado in Arkansas in 1978

January 7 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
January 7	3:32 PM CST	F3	Woodruff	39.6	150	1	9	$500,000 to $5 million
January 7	5:10 PM CST	F1	Grant	35.0	50			$500 to $5,000
January 7	6:00 PM CST	F0	Jefferson	3.0	27
January 7	7:05 PM CST	F1	Ouachita	2.0	100			$50,000 to $500,000
January 7	7:05 PM CST	F0	Ouachita	1.0	50			$500 to $5,000

March 23 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 23	10:45 PM CST	F1	Sevier	5.1	77		1	$50,000 to $500,000

April 17 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
April 17	8:10 PM CST	F2	Lonoke	53.8	250	7	$50,000 to $500,000
April 17	9:25 PM CST	F0	Bradley	0.1	27
April 17	9:40 PM CST	F2	Ashley	9.1	500	3	$50,000 to $500,000

April 22 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 22	8:57 PM CST	F1	Lonoke	7.0	50			$500 to $5,000
April 22	9:50 PM CST	F0	Hot Spring	0.1	27

May 1 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 1	1:05 AM CDT	F0	Crittenden	0.1	50		2	$5,000 to $50,000

May 7 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 7	7:10 PM CDT	F2	Pope	12.3	50	$5,000 to $50,000
May 7	7:20 PM CDT	F0	Conway	0.1	27	$50 to $500
May 7	8:14 PM CDT	F1	Benton	0.1	50	$500 to $5,000
May 7	11:40 PM CDT	F0	Yell	0.1	20

May 12 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 12	2:14 PM CDT	F1	Benton	3.0	50		$5,000 to $50,000
May 12	5:10 PM CDT	F2	Stone	12.1	200		$50,000 to $500,000
May 12	6:45 PM CDT	F1	Hempstead	2.0	77	2	$5,000 to $50,000
May 12	7:00 PM CDT	F0	Grant	0.3	27
May 12	7:58 PM CDT	F0	Arkansas	0.3	50		$500 to $5,000

June 6 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 6	4:15 PM CDT	F1	Jackson	0.1	77			$5,000 to $50,000

June 8 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 8	1:10 PM CDT	F0	Mississippi	0.1	27			$50 to $500
June 8	2:41 PM CDT	F0	Crittenden	0.1	27

June 19 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 19	5:30 PM CDT	F0	Lonoke	0.3	20

June 22 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 22	1:29 PM CDT	F0	Mississippi	0.1	27

June 27 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 27	4:45 PM CDT	F1	Lincoln	5.7	27

July 2 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 2	5:30 PM CDT	F1	Lonoke	0.5	200			$50 to $500

July 4 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 4	5:00 PM CDT	F1	Howard	6.9	440			$500 to $5,000

July 10 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 10	4:30 PM CDT	F0	Conway	0.1	27			$500 to $5,000

July 27 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 27	6:25 PM CDT	F0	Arkansas	0.1	27

August 13 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 13	6:50 AM CDT	F2	Craighead	4.5	50		3	$500,000 to $5 million

August 16 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 16	8:30 PM CDT	F0	Craighead	6.1	20			$500 to $5,000
August 16	9:45 PM CDT	F0	Craighead	0.1	27

August 29 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 29	3:30 PM CDT	F1	Phillips	0.1	50			$50,000 to $500,000

December 3 9 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
December 3	2:00 AM CST	F2	Ouachita	25.2	250			$50,000 to $500,000
December 3	3:25 AM CST	F2	Union	6.4	50	1	7	$50,000 to $500,000
December 3	3:30 AM CST	F1	Jefferson	3.8	77			$50,000 to $500,000
December 3	4:00 AM CST	F1	Calhoun	8.4	100			$50,000 to $500,000
December 3	4:30 AM CST	F1	Arkansas	25.3	100			$5,000 to $50,000
December 3	4:55 AM CST	F0	Monroe	0.5	50			$500 to $5,000
December 3	5:12 AM CST	F2	Lee	1.0	100			$500,000 to $5 million
December 3	5:15 AM CST	F2	Lincoln	18.6	400			$50,000 to $500,000
December 3	6:50 AM CST	F2	Phillips	0.8	100			$500,000 to $5 million

Crossed into Arkansas

Tornadoes that touched down in a neighboring state and ran into Arkansas. They are counted under the state they began in.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
December 3	3:38 AM CST	F3	Webster Parish, LA to AR	60.0	300	2	4	$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

Every tornado in Arkansas since 1950 Warnings in force in Arkansas The live radar over Arkansas

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.