States › Arkansas › Ashley County

Ashley County, Arkansas

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 05003 · 18,674 residents (2021) · 925 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 132Tornado · 45Flood · 66Wind · 247Winter · 28

Ashley County within Arkansas. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Ashley County, Arkansas, has 549 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 59.3 events per 100 square miles, below the Arkansas figure of 94.2, and 294.0 per 10,000 residents against 161.8 statewide.

10 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 6 deaths and 56 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $66M and crop damage at $25M.

FEMA has designated the county in 15 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storm (emergency, 24 Jan 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 61 claims since 1978, of which 51 were paid, totalling $825K (about $16K per paid claim). FEMA counts 55 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($12M a year across 18 hazards).

24 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

10events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

549events since 19506 deaths, 56 injuries recorded

15disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

61NFIP flood claims$825K paid

Compared with Arkansas and the United States

Measure	Ashley County	Arkansas	US
Recorded events since 1950	549	48,966	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	59.3	94.2	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	294.0	161.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	10	1,151	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	6	668	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$66M	$6.4B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	3.3	3.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$16K	$27K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	18.2	23.0	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Tornado: 4Wind: 2

Hail: 2Tornado: 4Wind: 2

Hail: 1Tornado: 5Wind: 5

Hail: 10Tornado: 2Wind: 27

Hail: 28Tornado: 4Flood: 1Wind: 31Winter: 2

Hail: 45Tornado: 10Flood: 23Wind: 59Winter: 8Tropical: 3Heat: 3Drought: 1Wildfire: 1Other: 4

Hail: 36Tornado: 8Flood: 30Wind: 84Winter: 9Heat: 1Cold: 1Drought: 9

Hail: 10Tornado: 8Flood: 12Wind: 37Winter: 9Tropical: 2Cold: 1Drought: 4Other: 1

61950s81960s111970s391980s661990s1572000s1782010s842020s

Recorded events in Ashley County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtWildfireOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 343 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 148 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind247

Hail132

Flood66

Tornado45

Winter28

Drought14

Tropical5

Other5

Heat4

Cold2

Wildfire1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	247	—	1.4%	detail
■ Hail	132	—	1.1%	detail
■ Flood	66	—	1.2%	detail
■ Tornado	45	6	1.8%	detail
■ Winter	28	—	0.6%	detail
■ Drought	14	—	0.8%
■ Tropical	5	—	1.8%
■ Other	5	—	0.7%
■ Heat	4	—	0.2%
■ Cold	2	—	0.4%
■ Wildfire	1	—	0.6%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
24 Nov 2001	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.0M	—	3	11	County
17 Feb 1976	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	3	10	County
8 Apr 1979	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$25M	—	—	13	County
19 Jan 1988	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	13	County
4 May 1989	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	4	County
17 Apr 1978	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	3	County
3 Sep 2008	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$5.0M	$15M	—	—	County
11 Jan 2020	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$800K	$100K	—	1	County
2 Apr 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	69 mph	$75K	—	—	1	County
11 Jan 2020	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$2.8M	$800K	—	—	County
13 Apr 1967	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
11 Apr 1979	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
2 Apr 1982	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
29 Aug 2005	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$200K	$2.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
8 Jan 2006	Wildfire	Wildfire	—	$800K	$1.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
18 Jun 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	98 mph	$1.5M	—	—	—	County
25 Apr 2019	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$500K	$900K	—	—	County
1 Oct 2006	Drought	Drought	—	—	$1.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Sep 2008	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$800K	$200K	—	—	Forecast zone
5 Feb 2008	Hail	Hail	2.75 in	$1.0M	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
24 Jan 2026	EM-3636	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
5 Apr 2025	EM-3627	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
27 Aug 2020	EM-3541	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Laura	Public assistance
3 Apr 2020	DR-4518	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3461	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
6 May 2016	DR-4270	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
27 Apr 2009	DR-1834	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
18 Sep 2008	DR-1793	Major disaster	Hurricane	Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Hurricane Gustav	Public assistance
2 Sep 2005	EM-3215	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
24 Jan 2002	DR-1400	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
28 Feb 1994	DR-1011	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Ice Storm	Public assistance
30 May 1991	DR-907	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Public assistance
23 Apr 1982	EM-3085	Emergency	Tornado	Severe Storms & Tornadoes	Individual assistance
11 Apr 1979	DR-574	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornado	Individual assistance, Public assistance
27 Apr 1973	DR-375	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Ashley County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197861

Paid claims51

Total paid$825K

Average paid claim$16K

Repetitive-loss properties80 severe

Residential policies in force550.6% of 9,456 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	1	0	$0	—
2022	1	1	$8,047	$8,047
2019	3	2	$67,405	$33,703
2018	5	5	$161,032	$32,206
2016	13	11	$364,209	$33,110
2010	1	1	$57,558	$57,558
2009	10	8	$58,815	$7,352
2008	3	3	$19,273	$6,424
2007	1	1	$12,705	$12,705
2004	1	1	$35,303	$35,303
2002	2	0	$0	—
1999	2	2	$6,274	$3,137
1991	6	5	$6,829	$1,366
1990	1	1	$5,802	$5,802
1989	2	2	$8,946	$4,473
1987	1	1	$821	$821
1984	1	1	$505	$505
1983	1	1	$3,082	$3,082
1982	2	1	$3,577	$3,577
1979	4	4	$4,614	$1,153

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Lowscore 53.9 of 100

Expected annual loss$12MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceVery Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$4,896,654
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$1,817,148
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$1,531,910
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$929,476
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$650,834
Ice storm	Relatively High	$433,861
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$408,787
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$362,851
Hail	Relatively Low	$361,649
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$235,430
Lightning	Relatively Low	$99,335
Wildfire	Very Low	$10,758
Winter weather	Very Low	$8,377
Landslide	Very Low	$55

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles24

Tracks within 50 miles6

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Laura	2020	71 mi	63 mph
Delta	2020	52 mi	40 mph
Isaac	2012	84 mi	40 mph
Lili	2002	91 mi	46 mph
Danny	1985	83 mi	46 mph
Elena	1985	89 mi	52 mph
Camille	1969	98 mi	58 mph
Betsy	1965	15 mi	58 mph
Audrey	1957	34 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1941	85 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	85 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	92 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	48 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1920	84 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	91 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1909	16 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1905	36 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1898	83 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1891	47 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	56 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1886	65 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1879	91 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1865	90 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1860	96 mi	58 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

71635 24
71642 13
71646 11
71663 11

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Ashley County, AR?

NCEI records 132 hail events in Ashley County since 1950, in 42 different years; that is about 1.7 recorded events a year. 38 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Ashley County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 45 tornadoes in Ashley County since 1950, 16 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 6.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Ashley County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 15 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Ashley County, and how much was paid?

61 NFIP claims since 1978, 51 of them paid, for $825K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Ashley County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Low" for overall risk, "Very Low" for expected annual loss, "Very High" for social vulnerability and "Very Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Ashley County compare with the rest of Arkansas?

59.3 recorded events per 100 square miles against 94.2 statewide, and 3.3 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 3.4. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.