Tornadoes · United States · Arkansas

2015 tornadoes in Arkansas

20 tornadoes touched down in Arkansas in 2015, 27 percent below the average of the record for the state. They killed 2 people and injured 8.

2014 2016 The whole country in 2015

The rating scale

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

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

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

  3. EF2111 to 135 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. EF3136 to 165 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

  6. EF5over 200 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 2015

March 24 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 247:11 PM CDTEF0Marion0.630

March 25 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 255:26 PM CDTEF1Madison3.9650$250,000
March 255:32 PM CDTEF0Madison1.0200$25,000

April 2 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 212:40 AM CDTEF1Boone6.9300$500,000

April 19 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 195:35 PM CDTEF1Conway4.2300$50,000

May 10 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 1011:18 PM CDTEF2Howard6.740028$1.5 million

May 25 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 256:35 PM CDTEF1Yell0.4100$5,000
May 256:40 PM CDTEF1Yell1.9250$300,000

May 28 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 282:09 PM CDTEF1Benton1.6100$25,000
May 282:40 PM CDTEF0Benton0.250$10,000

July 9 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 95:55 PM CDTEF1Benton3.6300$150,000

December 23 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 238:21 AM CSTEF1Van Buren0.275$80,000
December 232:57 PM CSTEF2Lee4.7100$100,000

December 27 6 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 273:32 PM CSTEF1Calhoun7.1100$150,000
December 273:36 PM CSTEF1Hempstead0.8350$15,000
December 273:56 PM CSTEF1Calhoun7.2400$50,000
December 274:36 PM CSTEF1Nevada3.9353$100,000
December 275:06 PM CSTEF1Bradley7.1200$75,000
December 276:06 PM CSTEF1Drew5.7150$50,000

December 28 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 284:46 AM CSTEF2Lee5.840$50,000

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.