States › Arkansas › White County

White 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 05145 · 77,207 residents (2021) · 1,034 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 264Tornado · 83Flood · 194Wind · 366Winter · 67

White 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 1,047 storm events in White County, Arkansas, led by damaging wind.

That is 101.2 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Arkansas figure of 94.2, and 135.6 per 10,000 residents against 161.8 statewide.

11 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 64 deaths and 456 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $67M and crop damage at $15M.

FEMA has designated the county in 29 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 134 claims since 1978, of which 113 were paid, totalling $3.0M (about $27K per paid claim). FEMA counts 137 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" ($51M a year across 18 hazards).

9 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.

11events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

1,047events since 195064 deaths, 456 injuries recorded

29disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

134NFIP flood claims$3.0M paid

Compared with Arkansas and the United States

Measure	White County	Arkansas	US
Recorded events since 1950	1,047	48,966	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	101.2	94.2	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	135.6	161.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	11	1,151	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	64	668	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$67M	$6.4B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.7	3.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$27K	$27K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	14.6	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: 5Wind: 4

Hail: 1Tornado: 4Wind: 9

Hail: 9Tornado: 6Wind: 10

Hail: 21Tornado: 11Wind: 30

Hail: 72Tornado: 15Flood: 5Wind: 97Winter: 5Heat: 1Lightning: 4Other: 1

Hail: 96Tornado: 25Flood: 69Wind: 106Winter: 17Tropical: 2Heat: 1Cold: 3Drought: 1Lightning: 5Other: 1

Hail: 37Tornado: 15Flood: 82Wind: 80Winter: 32Tropical: 2Heat: 9Cold: 4Drought: 15Wildfire: 2Lightning: 4Other: 12

Hail: 28Tornado: 2Flood: 38Wind: 30Winter: 13Tropical: 2Lightning: 1Other: 3

91950s141960s251970s621980s2001990s3262000s2942010s1172020s

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

Trend: 570 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 390 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

Wind366

Hail264

Flood194

Tornado83

Winter67

Other17

Drought16

Lightning14

Heat11

Cold7

Tropical6

Wildfire2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	366	1	2.1%	detail
■ Hail	264	—	2.1%	detail
■ Flood	194	—	3.4%	detail
■ Tornado	83	60	3.2%	detail
■ Winter	67	1	1.4%	detail
■ Other	17	—	2.5%
■ Drought	16	—	0.9%
■ Lightning	14	1	3.6%
■ Heat	11	1	0.4%
■ Cold	7	—	1.5%
■ Tropical	6	—	2.2%
■ 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 Mar 1952	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$2.5M	—	50	325	County
21 Jan 1999	Tornado	Tornado	F3	—	—	2	29	County
6 May 1961	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	2	6	County
21 Jan 1999	Tornado	Tornado	F2	—	—	2	2	County
24 Nov 1973	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	1	8	County
14 Mar 1959	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	1	3	County
15 Apr 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	49 mph	$30K	—	1	3	County
21 Jan 1999	Tornado	Tornado	F2	—	—	1	2	County
8 Jan 2014	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	1	2	Forecast zone
27 Apr 2014	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$450K	—	1	1	County
2 Aug 2012	Lightning	Lightning	—	$50K	—	1	—	County
9 Jul 1999	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
1 Mar 1997	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$20K	—	—	14	County
2 Dec 1982	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	7	County
23 Dec 1982	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	5	County
1 Mar 1997	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$50K	—	—	5	County
4 May 2003	Tornado	Tornado	F3	—	—	—	5	County
24 Nov 1973	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	4	County
28 Feb 2017	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$50K	—	—	4	County
15 Nov 2020	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$40K	—	—	4	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	Individual 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
15 Jun 2017	DR-4318	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
5 Feb 2016	DR-4254	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
29 Apr 2014	DR-4174	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms,Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 May 2011	DR-1975	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Feb 2010	DR-1872	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
3 Dec 2009	DR-1861	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
28 Jan 2009	EM-3301	Emergency	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
26 Mar 2008	DR-1751	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
12 Apr 2006	DR-1636	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Tornadoes	Individual assistance
2 Sep 2005	EM-3215	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
6 Jun 2003	DR-1472	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
6 Jan 2003	DR-1450	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Ice Storm	Public assistance
24 Jan 2002	DR-1400	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	Individual assistance, Public 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, Public assistance
23 Nov 1988	DR-817	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms & Tornadoes	Individual assistance
3 Dec 1976	EM-3019	Emergency	Drought	Drought	Public assistance
7 Jun 1975	DR-471	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains & Flooding	Individual assistance, 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 White County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978134

Paid claims113

Total paid$3.0M

Average paid claim$27K

Repetitive-loss properties171 severe

Residential policies in force1370.4% of 31,692 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	1	1	$11,511	$11,511
2019	1	0	$0	—
2018	3	2	$7,788	$3,894
2017	15	13	$742,814	$57,140
2016	2	1	$28,134	$28,134
2015	2	2	$23,293	$11,647
2014	3	3	$56,328	$18,776
2013	1	1	$12,921	$12,921
2011	34	32	$819,339	$25,604
2010	6	4	$53,513	$13,378
2009	28	23	$669,399	$29,104
2008	10	8	$252,096	$31,512
2003	18	14	$324,702	$23,193
2001	1	1	$18,555	$18,555
1997	4	4	$4,868	$1,217
1984	1	1	$3,162	$3,162
1982	2	2	$4,298	$2,149
1981	1	0	$0	—
1979	1	1	$1,006	$1,006

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 85.7 of 100

Expected annual loss$51MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Moderate

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$17,878,864
Earthquake	Relatively Moderate	$16,036,222
Tornado	Relatively High	$7,294,024
Ice storm	Very High	$2,630,295
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$2,364,235
Strong wind	Relatively High	$1,832,064
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$767,141
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$510,599
Hail	Relatively Low	$508,595
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$449,096
Wildfire	Relatively Low	$335,476
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$189,943
Hurricane	Very Low	$103,025
Landslide	Very Low	$1,187

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 miles9

Tracks within 50 miles3

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Laura	2020	73 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1941	63 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	37 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	37 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1909	31 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1906	91 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1905	81 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	99 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1879	76 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

72143 48
72010 28
72012 18
72081 9
72045 5
72137 5

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 White County, AR?

NCEI records 264 hail events in White County since 1950, in 49 different years; that is about 3.4 recorded events a year. 61 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has White County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 83 tornadoes in White County since 1950, 32 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 60.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for White County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 29 declarations since 1953.

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

134 NFIP claims since 1978, 113 of them paid, for $3.0M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is White 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, "Relatively Moderate" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does White County compare with the rest of Arkansas?

101.2 recorded events per 100 square miles against 94.2 statewide, and 1.7 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.