Tornadoes · United States · Arkansas

Tornadoes in Washington County, Arkansas

50 tornadoes have crossed Washington County since 1950, 2 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 10th of the 75 counties in Arkansas with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.5 years. They have killed 5 people and injured 79. None was rated F4 or 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
50
Deaths
5
Injuries
79
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF3, December 31, 2010

The deadliest in Washington County

  1. EF3, Adair, Washington and Benton counties, Oklahoma and ArkansasDecember 31, 20104 killed, 10 injured
  2. F3, Adair, Washington and Benton counties, Oklahoma and ArkansasJune 11, 19701 killed, 45 injured

The strongest

  1. F3, Adair, Washington and Benton counties, Oklahoma and ArkansasJune 11, 1970F3, 51.8 mi (83 km)
  2. F3, Crawford and Washington counties, ArkansasApril 30, 1954F3, 40.7 mi (65 km)
  3. F3, Sequoyah, Crawford, Adair and Washington counties, Oklahoma and ArkansasMay 4, 1999F3, 38.2 mi (61 km)
  4. EF3, Adair, Washington and Benton counties, Oklahoma and ArkansasDecember 31, 2010EF3, 21.1 mi (34 km)
  5. EF3 Springdale tornado, ArkansasMarch 30, 2022EF3, 5.2 mi (8 km)
  6. EF2, Cherokee, Adair, Washington and Benton counties, Oklahoma and ArkansasNovember 4, 2024EF2, 32.9 mi (53 km)
  7. F2, Washington County, ArkansasNovember 19, 1970F2, 20.3 mi (33 km)
  8. F2, Washington County, ArkansasMay 5, 1960F2, 16.9 mi (27 km)
  9. F2, Washington County, ArkansasNovember 15, 1955F2, 15.0 mi (24 km)
  10. EF2, Washington County, ArkansasMay 19, 2025EF2, 13.6 mi (22 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 24 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Washington County. Each year links to every tornado in Arkansas that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20262EF1
20259EF2
20245EF2
202227EF3
20211EF1
20192EF1
20171EF1
201614EF2
20132EF1
20121EF0
20111EF0
20102410EF3
20083EF2
20041F1
19992F3
19952F1
19842F1
197924F2
19763F2
197515F1
19702146F3
196011F2
195511F2
195411F3

Every tornado that crossed Washington County

50 tornadoes, newest first. 13 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Arkansas. The 2 at the top are this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and their ratings are marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 14, 202611:38 PM CDTEF1Cherokee to AR24.2800
April 14, 202611:54 PM CDTEF1Adair to AR7.5700
June 18, 20251:54 AM CDTEF1Washington2.3300$25,000
June 7, 20255:59 AM CDTEF1Washington8.0900$50,000
May 19, 20257:29 PM CDTEF2Washington13.61,100$1.0 million
May 19, 20257:21 PM CDTEF1Washington1.0500
May 19, 20257:20 PM CDTEF1Washington11.6900$100,000
May 19, 20257:11 PM CDTEF1Adair to AR8.21,000
May 19, 20256:55 PM CDTEF1Adair to AR16.72,200$50,000
May 19, 20256:55 PM CDTEF1St. Clair to OK, AR4.650$150,000
April 20, 20252:41 PM CDTEF1Washington3.0250$750,000
November 4, 20243:21 PM CSTEF2Cherokee to AR32.91,200$280,000
October 30, 202412:25 AM CDTEF1Washington3.0200$300,000
May 7, 20243:08 AM CDTEF1Washington2.8550$30,000
May 7, 20242:55 AM CDTEF1Washington1.8150$35,000
May 7, 20242:23 AM CDTEF2Adair to AR11.7800$75,000
November 4, 20226:53 PM CDTEF1Washington6.51,000$2,000
March 30, 20224:04 AM CDTEF3Springdale tornado5.23507$20 million
October 15, 20215:22 AM CDTEF1Washington7.8500$100,000
May 26, 20192:30 AM CDTEF0Washington1.5100
May 18, 20192:01 PM CDTEF1Washington1.0100$2,000
March 6, 201710:51 PM CSTEF1Washington6.4400$40,000
March 23, 20169:51 PM CDTEF2Adair to AR11.18004$375,000
May 20, 20136:40 PM CDTEF1Adair to AR8.0500$225,000
January 29, 20133:34 PM CSTEF1Washington4.2400$500,000
March 19, 201210:20 PM CDTEF0Washington1.0100$5,000
May 20, 20118:20 AM CDTEF0Washington0.550$1,000
December 31, 20106:05 AM CSTEF3Adair to AR21.1500410$1.9 million
May 13, 20106:24 AM CDTEF1Washington0.175
May 10, 20081:28 PM CDTEF0Washington0.150
April 10, 20085:50 AM CDTEF2Washington3.0600$125,000
April 10, 20085:26 AM CDTEF2Adair to AR9.0400$125,000
April 22, 20047:22 PM CDTF1Washington0.575
May 17, 199910:59 AM CDTF0Washington0.550$1,000
May 4, 199912:54 PM CDTF3Sequoyah to AR38.20$100,000
June 8, 19957:20 PM CDTF0Washington0.130
April 17, 199512:13 AM CDTF1Washington0.573$5,000 to $50,000
October 16, 198411:15 AM CDTF1Washington15.0200$500,000 to $5 million
October 16, 19844:30 AM CDTF1Washington10.0200$5,000 to $50,000
May 2, 197912:35 AM CDTF1Washington4.750$50,000 to $500,000
April 11, 197910:02 AM CSTF2Washington11.12004$50,000 to $500,000
April 20, 19762:50 PM CSTF0Washington1.030
April 20, 19762:14 PM CSTF0Washington0.310
March 26, 19763:45 PM CSTF2Washington2.077$50,000 to $500,000
January 10, 197512:55 AM CSTF1Washington0.51005$5,000 to $50,000
November 19, 19702:30 PM CSTF2Washington20.33001$5,000 to $50,000
June 11, 19709:15 PM CDTF3Adair to AR51.8250145$500,000 to $5 million
May 5, 196010:30 PM GMT-5F2Washington16.9101$50,000 to $500,000
November 15, 19557:30 PM GMT-6F2Washington15.02201$500 to $5,000
April 30, 195412:55 PM GMT-5F3Crawford40.74401$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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