States › Arkansas › Hempstead County

Hempstead 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 05057 · 19,694 residents (2021) · 727 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 198Tornado · 36Flood · 70Wind · 250Winter · 43

Hempstead 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.

Hempstead County, Arkansas, has 730 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 100.4 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Arkansas figure of 94.2, and 370.7 per 10,000 residents against 161.8 statewide.

27 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 6 deaths and 23 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $59M.

FEMA has designated the county in 26 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 9 claims since 1978, of which 8 were paid, totalling $618K (about $77K per paid claim). FEMA counts 6 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).

11 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.

27events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

730events since 19506 deaths, 23 injuries recorded

26disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

9NFIP flood claims$618K paid

Compared with Arkansas and the United States

Measure	Hempstead County	Arkansas	US
Recorded events since 1950	730	48,966	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	100.4	94.2	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	370.7	161.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	27	1,151	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	6	668	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$59M	$6.4B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	0.5	3.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$77K	$27K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	66.7	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

Hail: 2Tornado: 1Wind: 2

Hail: 5Tornado: 3Wind: 5

Hail: 8Tornado: 4Wind: 12

Hail: 29Tornado: 5Wind: 42

Hail: 58Tornado: 7Flood: 5Wind: 62Winter: 3Drought: 1Lightning: 1

Hail: 44Tornado: 5Flood: 20Wind: 41Winter: 7Tropical: 1Drought: 1Fog: 1

Hail: 28Tornado: 7Flood: 26Wind: 45Winter: 20Heat: 27Cold: 2Drought: 27Lightning: 2Other: 1

Hail: 24Tornado: 4Flood: 19Wind: 41Winter: 13Tropical: 1Heat: 48Cold: 5Drought: 12Lightning: 1Other: 2

51950s131960s241970s761980s1371990s1202000s1852010s1702020s

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

Trend: 392 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 223 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

Wind250

Hail198

Heat75

Flood70

Winter43

Drought41

Tornado36

Cold7

Lightning4

Other3

Tropical2

Fog1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	250	1	1.5%	detail
■ Hail	198	—	1.6%	detail
■ Heat	75	—	2.8%
■ Flood	70	—	1.2%	detail
■ Winter	43	—	0.9%	detail
■ Drought	41	—	2.2%
■ Tornado	36	5	1.4%	detail
■ Cold	7	—	1.5%
■ Lightning	4	—	1.0%
■ Other	3	—	0.4%
■ Tropical	2	—	0.7%
■ Fog	1	—	11.1%

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
2 Apr 1982	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	5	4	County
19 Jun 1987	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	1	—	County
12 Dec 2000	Ice Storm	Winter	—	$40M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
10 May 1971	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	—	3	County
4 Apr 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$500K	—	—	2	County
14 Mar 2025	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$500K	—	—	2	County
2 Jun 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	69 mph	$300K	—	—	2	County
2 Jun 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	69 mph	$60K	—	—	2	County
12 May 1978	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$25K	—	—	2	County
23 Dec 1982	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	1	County
26 Jul 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	$50K	—	—	1	County
5 Jul 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	61 mph	$15K	—	—	1	County
7 Mar 2008	Winter Weather	Winter	—	$10K	—	—	1	Forecast zone
8 Apr 1979	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$3K	—	—	1	County
17 May 1986	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	1	County
2 Apr 1982	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
2 Apr 1982	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
2 Apr 1982	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
1 Mar 1997	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$1.0M	—	—	—	County
1 Jun 2015	Flood	Flood	—	$770K	—	—	—	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
21 May 2025	DR-4873	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	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
26 Jun 2015	DR-4226	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
4 Feb 2010	DR-1872	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
16 Jun 2009	DR-1845	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
22 Oct 2008	DR-1804	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Tropical Storm Ike	Public assistance
26 Mar 2008	DR-1751	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance
2 Sep 2005	EM-3215	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
30 Jun 2004	DR-1528	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
13 Mar 2001	DR-1363	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
29 Dec 2000	DR-1354	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Ice Storm	Individual assistance, Public assistance
28 Dec 2000	EM-3159	Emergency	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Ice Storm	Public assistance
23 Jan 1999	DR-1266	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Ar Severe Weather 1-21-99	Public assistance
2 Mar 1997	DR-1162	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
24 Jul 1992	DR-950	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Thunderstorms	Public assistance
15 May 1990	DR-865	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
1 Aug 1983	DR-688	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Public assistance
13 Dec 1982	DR-673	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance
23 Apr 1982	EM-3085	Emergency	Tornado	Severe Storms & Tornadoes	Individual assistance
27 Apr 1973	DR-375	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
27 Jan 1972	DR-321	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Public assistance
29 May 1968	DR-239	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes, 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 Hempstead County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19789

Paid claims8

Total paid$618K

Average paid claim$77K

Repetitive-loss properties10 severe

Residential policies in force60.1% of 9,249 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	1	1	$11,578	$11,578
2019	2	2	$27,288	$13,644
2017	1	1	$8,028	$8,028
2016	1	1	$25,763	$25,763
2015	4	3	$545,067	$181,689

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 52.1 of 100

Expected annual loss$12MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceVery Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$3,773,118
Ice storm	Very High	$2,035,533
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$1,895,412
Hail	Relatively Moderate	$995,464
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$811,297
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$645,971
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$625,903
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$282,391
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$239,665
Drought	Relatively Low	$208,905
Cold wave	Very Low	$76,496
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$50,190
Wildfire	Very Low	$11,730
Landslide	Very Low	$309

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 miles11

Tracks within 50 miles3

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Laura	2020	78 mi	63 mph
Barry	2019	99 mi	40 mph
Ike	2008	73 mi	40 mph
Rita	2005	74 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1941	31 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1918	77 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1905	99 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1891	55 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1886	58 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1879	27 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1865	42 mi	46 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.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Hempstead County, AR?

NCEI records 198 hail events in Hempstead County since 1950, in 48 different years; that is about 2.6 recorded events a year. 58 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Hempstead County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 36 tornadoes in Hempstead County since 1950, 12 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 5.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Hempstead County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 26 declarations since 1953.

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

9 NFIP claims since 1978, 8 of them paid, for $618K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Hempstead 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 Hempstead County compare with the rest of Arkansas?

100.4 recorded events per 100 square miles against 94.2 statewide, and 0.5 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.