NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Barling, AR
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Barling, Arkansas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 134 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 15 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 134
- EF3 or stronger
- 15
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
40 deaths in all
What the records show for Barling
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Barling; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 26 miles away. The record near Barling begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 213 Arkansas cities on this site, 77% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Barling. The strongest of the 134 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on March 26, 1976; its path came within 12 miles, and it killed 2 people. The deadliest, an F4 on April 19, 1968, killed 14 people. Of the 134, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 73 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 42. The most recent tornado was on June 6, 2025. Barling has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 79% of the 213 Arkansas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 353 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Barling has more hail reports within 10 miles than 97% of the 213 Arkansas cities.
Compare Barling's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Barling
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Barling: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Barling
By decade
- 2020s25
- 2010s36(1 EF3+)
- 2000s12
- 1990s18(2 EF3+)
- 1980s11(2 EF3+)
- 1970s5(1 EF3+)
- 1960s13(5 EF3+)
- 1950s14(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 1976 | F5 | 12 mi | 11.9 mi | 2 / 64 |
| Apr 19, 1968 | F4 | 9 mi | 2 mi | 14 / 270 |
| Jan 22, 1957 | F4 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 10 / 20 |
| May 5, 1960 | F4 | 13 mi | 5.4 mi | 5 / 13 |
| May 24, 2011 | EF4 | 21 mi | 45.71 mi | 4 / 27 |
| Apr 21, 1996 | F3 | 8 mi | 10.1 mi | 2 / 89 |
| May 5, 1960 | F3 | 24 mi | 23.7 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 5, 1960 | F3 | 10 mi | 4.5 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 4, 1999 | F3 | 21 mi | 38.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 2, 1982 | F3 | 11 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 20 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Apr 14, 1960 | F3 | 10 mi | 13.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
The strongest 12 of 134, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Barling
The Storm Prediction Center has 353 hail reports within 10 miles of Barling since 1956, made on 199 separate days. Of these, 168 were 1 inch across or larger, and 23 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on March 26, 2000. The most recent report is from September 21, 2025. April has the most reports, 99.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Barling
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fort Smith Regional Airport, AR, 3 miles west of Barling at 449 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 51°F and 30°F. May is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 47.4 inches over 66 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 78 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 63 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 47.4 inches is more than at 7 of the 95 Arkansas stations used on this site (7%). Alma, 12 miles northeast, has its own station (Mountainburg 2 NE, AR): 53.6 inches a year, 6.2 more than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 51 | 30 | 2.9 | 5 | 1.4 |
| Feb | 57 | 33 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Mar | 66 | 42 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Apr | 75 | 50 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 81 | 60 | 5.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 68 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 94 | 72 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 94 | 71 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 87 | 63 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 76 | 51 | 4.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 63 | 40 | 3.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 53 | 32 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Year | 74 | 51 | 47.4 | 66 | 2.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fort Smith Regional Airport, AR (449 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Barling
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 514 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Barling: 393 thunderstorm wind reports, 93 flash floods, 26 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 3 people and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $4.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on May 18, 2019. May has had the most flash floods, 26 of 93. Of the 212 Arkansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 205 have had fewer than Barling.
August 24, 2019: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Barling — 1 killed, $400,000 damage.
May 22, 2019: flood 9 miles from the centre of Barling — 1 killed.
June 23, 2019: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Barling — 1 killed.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Sebastian County, which includes Barling, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 floods, 4 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Sebastian County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $58.4 million a year, the 6th highest of 75 Arkansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $25.4 million (43%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Barling
- Fort Smith, AR5 mi
- Arkoma, OK8 mi
- Lavaca, AR8 mi
- Van Buren, AR9 mi
- Greenwood, AR10 mi
- Pocola, OK11 mi
- Alma, AR12 mi
- Roland, OK12 mi
- Hackett, AR13 mi
- Charleston, AR15 mi
- Rudy, AR16 mi
- Muldrow, OK16 mi
All Arkansas cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Barling with another place →