Tornadoes · United States · Arkansas

2002 tornadoes in Arkansas

33 tornadoes touched down in Arkansas in 2002, 20 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 1 people and injured 17.

2001 2003 The whole country in 2002

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.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. 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.

  7. 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 2002

March 29 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 295:08 PM CSTF0Poinsett0.210

May 17 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 178:30 AM CDTF1Hot Spring1.01502

June 5 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 58:10 PM CDTF0Poinsett3.025$10,000

July 14 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 141:45 PM CDTF0Pulaski1.550

December 18 29 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 183:35 PM CSTF3Faulkner9.8150113
December 183:50 PM CSTF0Hot Spring0.125
December 183:50 PM CSTF1Faulkner9.1100
December 184:05 PM CSTF0White4.025
December 184:08 PM CSTF0Saline0.525
December 184:55 PM CSTF0Ashley1.050$30,000
December 184:56 PM CSTF0Independence2.230
December 185:05 PM CSTF0Lonoke5.540
December 185:10 PM CSTF0Union1.125
December 185:23 PM CSTF0Drew1.030
December 185:32 PM CSTF0Prairie2.075
December 185:42 PM CSTF0Ouachita1.830
December 186:01 PM CSTF1Desha9.050
December 186:08 PM CSTF1Woodruff5.0100
December 186:19 PM CSTF0Ouachita5.730
December 186:20 PM CSTF1Woodruff4.0100
December 187:10 PM CSTF1Prairie8.8100
December 187:45 PM CSTF0Jefferson0.220
December 188:10 PM CSTF0Ouachita5.140
December 188:33 PM CSTF0Jefferson1.225
December 188:36 PM CSTF0Jefferson0.320
December 188:44 PM CSTF0Calhoun0.225
December 188:45 PM CSTF0Arkansas3.050
December 188:48 PM CSTF0Calhoun1.240
December 189:30 PM CSTF0Lee1.025$10,000
December 189:57 PM CSTF1Bradley3.1125
December 1810:20 PM CSTF0Lincoln0.525
December 1810:53 PM CSTF1Lincoln0.8752
December 1811:05 PM CSTF0Desha0.220

Crossed into Arkansas

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

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 910:05 PM CSTF2Tipton, TN to AR50.64401$6.6 million
December 183:55 PM CSTF2Union Parish, LA to AR20.2110$1.0 million

Nearby

Every tornado in Arkansas since 1950Warnings in force in ArkansasThe 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.