NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bigelow, 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
9 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Bigelow, Arkansas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Laura in 2020. Since 1950, 136 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 25 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 9
- Tornadoes
- 136
- EF3 or stronger
- 25
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
62 deaths in all
What the records show for Bigelow
None of the 9 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Bigelow; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1923, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 73 miles away. The record near Bigelow begins with an unnamed storm in 1865; the most recent system was Laura in 2020, a tropical storm 42 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 2 systems. Of the 9 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Bigelow has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 77% of the 213 Arkansas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 136 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2014, came within 11 miles. Of the 136, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 69 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on April 20, 2025. Bigelow has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 81% of the 213 Arkansas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 52 times since 1960, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 213 Arkansas cities, 83% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Bigelow.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Bigelow
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | LauraAug 28 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 16 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 19 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 30 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 24 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormSep 14 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Bigelow: 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 Bigelow
By decade
- 2020s9(1 EF3+)
- 2010s24(2 EF3+)
- 2000s36(7 EF3+)
- 1990s4
- 1980s16(5 EF3+)
- 1970s19(2 EF3+)
- 1960s14(2 EF3+)
- 1950s14(6 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2014 | EF4 | 11 mi | 41.1 mi | 16 / 193 |
| Feb 5, 2008 | EF4 | 22 mi | 121.84 mi | 13 / 139 |
| Apr 10, 1965 | F4 | 11 mi | 4.7 mi | 6 / 200 |
| May 2, 2008 | EF3 | 22 mi | 45.3 mi | 5 / 24 |
| Dec 2, 1982 | F3 | 22 mi | 18 mi | 2 / 53 |
| Apr 2, 1982 | F3 | 11 mi | 3.5 mi | 2 / 37 |
| Apr 25, 2011 | EF3 | 21 mi | 16.78 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Nov 27, 2005 | F3 | 10 mi | 15 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Dec 18, 2002 | F3 | 19 mi | 9.8 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Nov 15, 1988 | F3 | 19 mi | 29 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Dec 24, 1982 | F3 | 20 mi | 16.5 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Feb 22, 1975 | F3 | 24 mi | 14.4 mi | 1 / 22 |
The strongest 12 of 136, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bigelow
The Storm Prediction Center has 52 hail reports within 10 miles of Bigelow since 1960, made on 42 separate days. Of these, 32 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on February 28, 2017. The most recent report is from April 16, 2024. April has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bigelow
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Conway, AR, 11 miles northeast of Bigelow at 312 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 49°F and 27°F. May is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 51.2 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 70 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 66 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 51.2 inches is more than at 39 of the 95 Arkansas stations used on this site (41%). Morrilton, 14 miles northwest, has its own station (Morrilton, AR): 51.2 inches a year, the same as here, and a July average high of 93°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49 | 27 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Feb | 54 | 30 | 4.2 | 6 | 1.3 |
| Mar | 63 | 39 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Apr | 72 | 47 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 79 | 58 | 5.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 66 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 70 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 68 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 85 | 61 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 74 | 48 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 61 | 38 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 52 | 30 | 4.7 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Year | 72 | 49 | 51.2 | 71 | 2.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Conway, AR (312 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 Bigelow
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 186 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bigelow: 99 floods, 58 thunderstorm wind reports, 27 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $55.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 21, 2018. Of the 212 Arkansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 139 have had fewer than Bigelow.
May 1, 2011: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Bigelow — 1 killed, $250,000 damage.
May 30, 2013: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Bigelow — 1 killed.
NWS: “Numerous streets and roads were flooded. The Little Rock Fire Department responded to several calls of cars stalled in high water.”
May 1, 2011: flood 5 miles from the centre of Bigelow — $28.0 million damage.
NWS: “Widespread areal flooding continued from April into May. On the morning of the 1st, Arkansas Highway 300 was closed just west of Arkansas Highway 10 due to a washed-out culvert.”
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Bigelow's ZIP code 72016 have filed 18 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2008, and were paid $783,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 50% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 103 Arkansas cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 21 have fewer than Bigelow.
Perry County, which includes Bigelow, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 5 floods, 4 ice storms, 3 hurricanes). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Perry County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.4 million a year, the 60th highest of 75 Arkansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.7 million (50%), 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 Bigelow
- Roland, AR9 mi
- Plumerville, AR11 mi
- Mayflower, AR11 mi
- Conway, AR12 mi
- Morrilton, AR14 mi
- Perryville, AR14 mi
- Maumelle, AR16 mi
- Greenbrier, AR22 mi
- Little Rock, AR23 mi
- Benton, AR24 mi
- Vilonia, AR24 mi
- Atkins, AR25 mi
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