States › Arkansas › 1979

Arkansas, 1979

The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.

139events recorded125 in 1978

1deaths recorded59 injuries

$49Mproperty damage (estimates)

1disaster declarations170 NFIP claims, $526K paid

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.

Events by hazard

Wind67

Tornado47

Hail25

Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1979 was 139 against 125 in 1978.

Counties with the most recorded events

County	Events in 1979
Pulaski County	7
Washington County	6
Ashley County	5
White County	5
Ouachita County	5
Clark County	4
Lonoke County	4
Chicot County	4
Jefferson County	4
Van Buren County	3
Miller County	3
Pope County	3
Crittenden County	3
Fulton County	3
Madison County	3
Bradley County	3
Garland County	3
Stone County	3
Lee County	3
Nevada County	3
Faulkner County	3
Clay County	2
Hot Spring County	2
Jackson County	2
Howard County	2

Notable events

Date	County	Event type	Magnitude	Property damage	Deaths	Injuries
22 Oct 1979	Chicot	Tornado	F1	$25,000	1	2
8 Apr 1979	Ouachita	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	—	17
11 Apr 1979	Polk	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	17
8 Apr 1979	Ashley	Tornado	F3	$25,000,000	—	13
11 Apr 1979	Washington	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	4
3 May 1979	Clark	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	2
8 Apr 1979	Howard	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	2
8 Apr 1979	Calhoun	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	—	1
8 Apr 1979	Hempstead	Tornado	F1	$2,500	—	1
28 Jun 1979	Pulaski	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	—
11 Apr 1979	Ashley	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	—
11 Apr 1979	Saline	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	—
8 Apr 1979	Bradley	Tornado	F3	$2,500,000	—	—
28 Jun 1979	Van Buren	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
2 May 1979	Washington	Tornado	F1	$250,000	—	—
11 Apr 1979	Lawrence	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
23 Dec 1979	Lincoln	Tornado	F1	$250,000	—	—
11 Apr 1979	Desha	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
11 Apr 1979	Conway	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
11 Apr 1979	Stone	Tornado	F1	$250,000	—	—
11 Apr 1979	Sevier	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
8 Apr 1979	Chicot	Tornado	F1	$250,000	—	—
11 Apr 1979	Nevada	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
11 Apr 1979	Faulkner	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
11 Apr 1979	Pulaski	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
11 Apr 1979	Lonoke	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
11 Apr 1979	Fulton	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	—
23 Dec 1979	Chicot	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	—
1 Apr 1979	Miller	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	—
1 Apr 1979	Woodruff	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	—
8 Apr 1979	Nevada	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	—
3 May 1979	Hot Spring	Tornado	F0	$2,500	—	—
3 May 1979	Jefferson	Tornado	F1	$2,500	—	—
1 Apr 1979	Johnson	Tornado	F1	$2,500	—	—
23 Apr 1979	Lonoke	Tornado	F0	$250	—	—
11 Apr 1979	White	Tornado	F1	$250	—	—
9 Jul 1979	Jackson	Tornado	F0	—	—	—
20 Aug 1979	Johnson	Tornado	F0	—	—	—
3 May 1979	Clark	Tornado	F0	—	—	—
3 May 1979	Cleveland	Tornado	F0	—	—	—

Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.

Federal disaster declarations in 1979

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
11 Apr 1979	DR-574	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornado	8

Flood insurance claims with a 1979 date of loss

170 NFIP claims, 121 of them paid, for $525,617.

Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.