States › Arkansas › Jefferson County

Jefferson 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 05069 · 65,861 residents (2021) · 872 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 198Tornado · 37Flood · 78Wind · 337Winter · 68

Jefferson 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.

Between 1950 and 2026, NCEI recorded 793 storm events in Jefferson County, Arkansas, led by damaging wind.

That is 90.9 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Arkansas figure of 94.2, and 120.4 per 10,000 residents against 161.8 statewide.

8 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 10 deaths and 39 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $25M and crop damage at $8.8M.

FEMA has designated the county in 25 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 596 claims since 1978, of which 509 were paid, totalling $14M (about $28K per paid claim). FEMA counts 273 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Moderate" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Low" ($37M a year across 18 hazards).

13 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.

8events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

793events since 195010 deaths, 39 injuries recorded

25disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

596NFIP flood claims$14M paid

Compared with Arkansas and the United States

Measure	Jefferson County	Arkansas	US
Recorded events since 1950	793	48,966	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	90.9	94.2	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	120.4	161.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	8	1,151	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	10	668	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$25M	$6.4B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	9.0	3.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$28K	$27K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	41.4	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: 3Wind: 6

Hail: 7Tornado: 3Wind: 7

Hail: 7Tornado: 5Wind: 15

Hail: 23Tornado: 3Wind: 39

Hail: 58Tornado: 4Flood: 3Wind: 79Winter: 3Heat: 1Cold: 1Lightning: 3Other: 1

Hail: 38Tornado: 9Flood: 29Wind: 98Winter: 16Tropical: 3Heat: 2Cold: 3Drought: 1Lightning: 2Other: 4

Hail: 45Tornado: 5Flood: 34Wind: 60Winter: 34Tropical: 2Heat: 9Drought: 20Wildfire: 2Lightning: 5Other: 14

Hail: 18Tornado: 5Flood: 12Wind: 33Winter: 15Other: 2

111950s171960s271970s651980s1531990s2052000s2302010s852020s

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

Trend: 396 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 300 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

Wind337

Hail198

Flood78

Winter68

Tornado37

Drought21

Other21

Heat12

Lightning10

Tropical5

Cold4

Wildfire2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	337	4	2.0%	detail
■ Hail	198	—	1.6%	detail
■ Flood	78	—	1.4%	detail
■ Winter	68	—	1.5%	detail
■ Tornado	37	1	1.4%	detail
■ Drought	21	—	1.1%
■ Other	21	1	3.1%
■ Heat	12	2	0.5%
■ Lightning	10	1	2.6%
■ Tropical	5	—	1.8%
■ Cold	4	1	0.9%
■ Wildfire	2	—	1.1%

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
21 Apr 1955	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$25K	—	1	2	County
15 Sep 2009	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$10K	—	1	1	County
13 Aug 1997	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	1	County
30 Jul 2002	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	1	Forecast zone
12 Apr 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	70 mph	$30K	—	1	—	County
11 Sep 1984	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	1	—	County
25 Jul 1988	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	1	—	County
23 Dec 1998	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
23 Jul 1999	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
23 Jun 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	—	—	1	—	County
8 May 2019	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$200K	$3K	—	9	County
21 Jan 1999	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$2.0M	—	—	4	County
29 Oct 2009	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$400K	—	—	4	County
3 Apr 1989	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	3	County
14 Apr 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	—	—	—	3	County
14 May 1983	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	2	County
19 Nov 1970	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$25K	—	—	2	County
30 Aug 2012	Tropical Depression	Tropical	—	$2.5M	—	—	1	Forecast zone
4 Apr 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	64 mph	$125K	—	—	1	County
19 Feb 1954	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$25K	—	—	1	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
4 Apr 2023	DR-4700	Major disaster	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
27 Aug 2020	EM-3541	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Laura	Public assistance
10 Jul 2020	DR-4556	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms And Straight-Line Winds	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
8 Jun 2019	DR-4441	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
30 May 2019	EM-3414	Emergency	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
5 Feb 2016	DR-4254	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Individual assistance
26 Jun 2015	DR-4226	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 May 2011	DR-1975	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding	Individual 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
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
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	Individual assistance
14 Apr 1997	DR-1176	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding, Severe Storms	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 Mar 1997	DR-1162	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Tornadoes	Individual assistance
15 May 1990	DR-865	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
7 Jun 1975	DR-471	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
8 Jun 1974	DR-437	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	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 Jefferson County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978596

Paid claims509

Total paid$14M

Average paid claim$28K

Repetitive-loss properties6018 severe

Residential policies in force2730.9% of 28,908 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	4	4	$116,556	$29,139
2023	3	1	$6,548	$6,548
2022	3	2	$53,684	$26,842
2021	2	2	$15,006	$7,503
2020	2	0	$0	—
2019	84	78	$6,281,699	$80,535
2018	8	7	$54,971	$7,853
2017	7	7	$69,503	$9,929
2016	28	23	$709,450	$30,846
2015	80	70	$3,028,830	$43,269
2014	1	0	$0	—
2013	13	11	$260,635	$23,694
2012	19	14	$220,052	$15,718
2011	12	11	$86,613	$7,874
2010	2	1	$34,700	$34,700
2009	20	17	$242,169	$14,245
2008	29	27	$619,540	$22,946
2007	2	1	$2,714	$2,714
2004	5	4	$21,491	$5,373
2003	3	3	$19,729	$6,576
2002	7	5	$95,207	$19,041
2001	4	1	$7,783	$7,783
2000	4	3	$37,037	$12,346
1999	2	1	$106	$106
1998	2	1	$500	$500

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 Moderatescore 85.2 of 100

Expected annual loss$37MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$11,879,979
Earthquake	Relatively Moderate	$11,066,476
Tornado	Relatively High	$5,895,034
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$2,257,661
Strong wind	Relatively High	$2,154,162
Ice storm	Very High	$1,630,305
Lightning	Relatively High	$651,536
Hail	Relatively Moderate	$497,713
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$482,502
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$236,403
Drought	Relatively Low	$223,553
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$125,392
Wildfire	Very Low	$48,245
Landslide	Very Low	$736

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 miles13

Tracks within 50 miles4

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Laura	2020	34 mi	40 mph
Betsy	1965	81 mi	40 mph
Audrey	1957	79 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1941	91 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	58 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	69 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1909	61 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1905	13 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1891	45 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	99 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1886	93 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1879	39 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1865	64 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.

ZIP codes with flood claims

71603 207
71602 204
71601 52
72004 45
72133 34
72152 27
72182 12
72046 11
72168 8

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 Jefferson County, AR?

NCEI records 198 hail events in Jefferson County since 1950, in 55 different years; that is about 2.6 recorded events a year. 64 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Jefferson County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 37 tornadoes in Jefferson County since 1950, 9 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 1.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Jefferson County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 25 declarations since 1953.

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

596 NFIP claims since 1978, 509 of them paid, for $14M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

How does Jefferson County compare with the rest of Arkansas?

90.9 recorded events per 100 square miles against 94.2 statewide, and 9.0 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.