Arkansas
Arkansas sits at the intersection of tornado country, the Mississippi floodplain, and the New Madrid fault line. Ice storms shut the state down for weeks. Flash floods fill Ozark hollows without warning. The weather here comes from every direction.
Enter your Arkansas ZIP for live alerts, forecasts, and county-specific data.
Know your region
Little Rock, Conway, Pine Bluff, Hot Springs. The Arkansas River Valley funnels severe weather from the southwest. The 2014 Vilonia-Mayflower tornado (EF4) killed 16 people along I-40. Ice storms in this zone knocked out power to 600,000 in 2009.
Primary hazards: tornadoes, ice storms, severe thunderstorms, flooding
Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Eureka Springs, Mena. Mountain hollows flash flood with lethal speed. The Buffalo River and Illinois River corridors are beautiful until they are not. Winter ice accumulates on narrow mountain roads and knocks out power to rural homes for days.
Primary hazards: flash flooding, ice storms, winter storms, tornadoes
Jonesboro, West Memphis, Helena, the Mississippi River corridor. The delta is flat, low, and flood-prone. The New Madrid Seismic Zone runs directly beneath northeast Arkansas. The 1811 and 1812 earthquakes were among the most powerful in American history.
Primary hazards: flooding, earthquakes, tornadoes, severe storms
Your hazard profile
Each links to a full guide with during-event protocol, recovery steps, and resources specific to AR.
Arkansas averages 39 tornadoes per year. The 2014 Vilonia-Mayflower tornado (EF4) killed 16 people and destroyed 600 homes. Peak season is March through May, but the state has a secondary tornado season in November.
Read the tornadoes guide →
The Arkansas and Mississippi rivers define the state. Flash floods in the Ozark and Ouachita hollows are sudden and deadly. Spring flooding along the major rivers inundates thousands of acres. Standard homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage.
Read the flooding guide →
The 2009 ice storm left 600,000 Arkansans without power for up to two weeks. Freezing rain is more dangerous than snow here. A quarter inch of ice on power lines and trees causes catastrophic outages across entire regions.
Read the ice storms guide →
Straight-line winds, large hail, and derecho events cause widespread damage across the state from spring through fall. Arkansas sits where Gulf moisture meets cold fronts, producing some of the most intense storms in the region.
Read the severe thunderstorms guide →
Northeastern Arkansas sits on the New Madrid Seismic Zone. The 1811 and 1812 earthquakes were among the most powerful in North American history. Small earthquakes still occur regularly. Most structures in the region were not built to seismic standards.
Read the earthquakes guide →
Arkansas resources
Arkansas Division of Emergency Management. Coordinates disaster response, manages shelters, and runs the state emergency operations center during major events.
Central Arkansas forecasts, severe weather outlooks, river flood forecasts, and SKYWARN spotter training. The primary severe weather warning source for most of the state.
Dam safety, floodplain management, water resources. Maintains the Arkansas dam inventory and monitors flood risk infrastructure.
Statewide information and referral. Energy assistance, food banks, disaster recovery resources, and housing programs. Dial 2-1-1 from any phone.
The 2009 ice storm
In January 2009, a massive ice storm coated Arkansas in a half inch of ice. Trees snapped. Power lines came down by the mile. Over 600,000 people lost electricity, many for two weeks or more. Shelters overflowed. Generators ran out of fuel. Rural communities were completely cut off.
The lesson was not that ice storms happen. The lesson was duration. Most households were prepared for a day or two without power. Almost none were prepared for two weeks. The families that fared best had wood stoves or propane heaters, a week of food and water, and neighbors who checked on each other.
For every Arkansas household, the ice storm question is simple: can you heat one room and feed your family for seven days without electricity? If not, that is where your preparation starts.