Tornadoes · United States · Arkansas

Tornadoes in Howard County, Arkansas

34 tornadoes have crossed Howard County since 1950, 32nd of the 75 counties in Arkansas with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.2 years. They have killed 12 people and injured 58. 2 were 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
34
Deaths
12
Injuries
58
F4 and above
2
Worst on record
F4, March 21, 1952

The deadliest in Howard County

  1. F4, Howard County, ArkansasMarch 21, 19527 killed, 9 injured
  2. F4, Sevier, Howard and Hempstead counties, ArkansasApril 2, 19823 killed, 23 injured
  3. EF2, Howard County, ArkansasMay 10, 20152 killed, 8 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Sevier, Howard and Hempstead counties, ArkansasApril 2, 1982F4, 45.0 mi (72 km)
  2. F4, Howard County, ArkansasMarch 21, 1952F4, 13.0 mi (21 km)
  3. F3, Bowie, Little River, Sevier, Hempstead and Howard counties, Texas and ArkansasApril 30, 1954F3, 111.6 mi (180 km)
  4. EF3, Sevier, McCurtain, Howard and Pike counties, Oklahoma and ArkansasApril 9, 2009EF3, 37.2 mi (60 km)
  5. F2, Polk, Howard and Pike counties, ArkansasMarch 5, 1999F2, 27.2 mi (44 km)
  6. EF2, Howard County, ArkansasNovember 4, 2022EF2, 8.1 mi (13 km)
  7. EF2, Howard County, ArkansasMay 10, 2015EF2, 6.7 mi (11 km)
  8. EF2, Howard County, ArkansasApril 9, 2009EF2, 2.7 mi (4 km)
  9. EF2, Howard County, ArkansasApril 13, 2018EF2, 2.2 mi (4 km)
  10. F2, Howard County, ArkansasMay 13, 1957F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 28 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Howard County. Each year links to every tornado in Arkansas that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20221EF2
20181EF2
2015128EF2
20111EF1
20102EF2
200928EF3
20082EF1
20061F1
20001F0
19991F2
19982F1
19971F1
19951F0
19901F0
19851F1
198411F1
19822323F4
19801F0
197912F2
19781F1
19751F1
19701F2
196714F2
19651F1
19641F0
195721F2
195412F3
1952179F4

Every tornado that crossed Howard County

34 tornadoes, newest first. 2 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Arkansas.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 4, 20228:37 PM CDTEF2Howard8.1200$200,000
April 13, 20187:10 PM CDTEF2Howard2.2350$100,000
May 10, 201511:18 PM CDTEF2Howard6.740028$1.5 million
April 24, 201110:54 PM CDTEF1Howard3.475$70,000
April 30, 201010:24 PM CDTEF0Howard0.875$5,000
April 30, 20108:37 PM CDTEF2Howard1.9150$200,000
April 9, 20098:34 PM CDTEF2Howard2.72501$500,000
April 9, 20098:01 PM CDTEF3Sevier to AR37.28507$5.1 million
May 2, 20089:03 AM CDTEF1Howard4.150$100,000
March 3, 20088:46 AM CSTEF0Howard7.5100$200,000
March 9, 20067:55 AM CSTF1Howard15.2300$10,000
April 23, 20005:01 PM CDTF0Howard3.8200
March 5, 19996:18 PM CSTF2Polk27.2183$60,000
October 5, 19985:03 PM CDTF0Howard0.430
October 5, 19985:00 PM CDTF1Howard0.230$40,000
November 5, 19974:25 PM CSTF1Hempstead3.250$70,000
April 19, 19957:58 PM CDTF0Howard0.110
June 25, 19905:33 PM CDTF0Howard0.250$50 to $500
May 13, 19852:50 PM CDTF1Howard1.050$5,000 to $50,000
April 8, 198412:15 PM CSTF1Howard6.0601$500,000 to $5 million
December 24, 19823:47 PM CSTF0Howard0.420$50 to $500
April 2, 19825:20 PM CSTF4Sevier45.0200323$500,000 to $5 million
April 11, 19806:30 PM CSTF0Howard0.127
April 8, 19793:55 PM CSTF2Howard0.84002$50,000 to $500,000
July 4, 19785:00 PM CDTF1Howard6.9440$500 to $5,000
May 20, 19755:00 PM CDTF1Howard6.1800$50,000 to $500,000
April 24, 197012:30 AM CSTF2Howard1.0100$50,000 to $500,000
April 13, 19679:36 AM GMT-6F2Howard0.51004$5,000 to $50,000
February 8, 196511:45 PM GMT-6F1Howard14.0417$5,000 to $50,000
April 26, 19649:00 PM GMT-5F0Howard0.110
May 23, 19576:30 PM GMT-5F0Howard0.5440
May 13, 195711:35 AM GMT-5F2Howard2.02001$5,000 to $50,000
April 30, 195411:30 AM GMT-5F3Bowie to AR111.61,7602$50,000 to $500,000
March 21, 19522:40 PM GMT-6F4Howard13.083379$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Howard CountyThe forecast for Howard CountyThe live radar over Howard 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.