Tornadoes · United States · Arkansas

Tornadoes in Cross County, Arkansas

30 tornadoes have crossed Cross County since 1950, 36th of the 75 counties in Arkansas with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.5 years. They have killed 9 people and injured 64. 1 was rated F4 or EF4 and above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

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

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

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

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    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. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

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

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

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

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    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.

Now

Tornadoes
30
Deaths
9
Injuries
64
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, March 21, 1952

The deadliest in Cross County

  1. EF3 Wynne–Parkin tornado, Arkansas and TennesseeMarch 31, 20234 killed, 26 injured
  2. F4, Cross County, ArkansasMarch 21, 19524 killed, 5 injured
  3. F3, Woodruff, St. Francis and Cross counties, ArkansasJanuary 7, 19781 killed, 9 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Cross County, ArkansasMarch 21, 1952F4, 0.1 mi (0 km)
  2. EF3 Wynne–Parkin tornado, Arkansas and TennesseeMarch 31, 2023EF3, 72.5 mi (117 km)
  3. F3, Woodruff, White and Cross counties, ArkansasMay 4, 2003F3, 43.0 mi (69 km)
  4. F3, Woodruff, St. Francis and Cross counties, ArkansasJanuary 7, 1978F3, 39.6 mi (64 km)
  5. F3, Woodruff, Cross and Crittenden counties, ArkansasApril 2, 2006F3, 38.0 mi (61 km)
  6. EF3, Crittenden, Cross and Mississippi counties, ArkansasMay 2, 2008EF3, 20.2 mi (33 km)
  7. F3, Cross County, ArkansasMarch 1, 1997F3, 3.0 mi (5 km)
  8. F2, Lonoke, Prairie, Woodruff and Cross counties, ArkansasFebruary 20, 1951F2, 112.8 mi (181 km)
  9. F2, Tipton, Mississippi, Crittenden and Cross counties, Tennessee and ArkansasNovember 9, 2002F2, 50.6 mi (81 km)
  10. F2, Woodruff and Cross counties, ArkansasMarch 9, 2006F2, 15.7 mi (25 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 21 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Cross County. Each year links to every tornado in Arkansas that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
202531EF2
20231426EF3
20211EF0
20201EF1
20182EF1
20161EF1
20101EF1
200834EF3
2006211F3
20041F2
200314F3
200211F2
19991F0
19972F3
19952F0
19941F0
19892F0
1978119F3
19641F1
1952145F4
195113F2

Every tornado that crossed Cross County

30 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than Arkansas.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 5, 20252:03 AM CDTEF1Crittenden5.7150$150,000
April 5, 20251:34 AM CDTEF2St. Francis12.73501$625,000
April 2, 20256:40 PM CDTEF0Poinsett6.575$20,000
March 31, 20234:30 PM CDTEF3Wynne–Parkin tornado72.51,600426$151 million
March 27, 20216:16 PM CDTEF0Cross0.550
August 27, 20207:13 PM CDTEF1Cross2.180$30,000
June 15, 20185:25 PM CDTEF0Cross0.675
February 24, 20185:20 PM CSTEF1Cross3.275$500,000
March 13, 20169:10 PM CDTEF1Cross2.0125$25,000
May 1, 20108:55 PM CDTEF1Woodruff8.7200$400,000
May 10, 20087:57 PM CDTEF1Woodruff10.2500$90,000
May 2, 20083:18 PM CDTEF3Crittenden20.24004$2.0 million
January 8, 20081:26 PM CSTEF0Cross10.6150$25,000
April 2, 20066:29 PM CDTF3Woodruff38.05005$5.0 million
March 9, 20066:50 AM CSTF2Woodruff15.71006$100,000
May 30, 20048:05 PM CDTF2Cross0.5150$70,000
May 4, 20038:55 PM CDTF3Woodruff43.03004$1.0 million
November 9, 200210:05 PM CSTF2Tipton to AR50.64401$6.6 million
January 21, 19994:33 PM CSTF0Cross0.110
May 27, 19972:48 AM CDTF2Cross0.223$100,000
March 1, 19975:25 PM CSTF3Cross3.0200$750,000
July 22, 19958:55 PM CDTF0Cross1.010$500 to $5,000
April 20, 19951:23 PM CDTF0Cross0.110$500 to $5,000
July 2, 19946:46 PM CDTF0Cross2.023$500 to $5,000
June 4, 19896:28 PM CDTF0Cross0.517
May 20, 198910:40 AM CDTF0Cross0.517
January 7, 19783:32 PM CSTF3Woodruff39.615019$500,000 to $5 million
November 27, 19649:30 PM GMT-6F1Cross0.110$500 to $5,000
March 21, 19526:00 PM GMT-6F4Cross0.188045$50,000 to $500,000
February 20, 19519:15 AM GMT-6F2Lonoke112.83333$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Cross CountyThe forecast for Cross CountyThe live radar over Cross CountyEvery county in 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.