NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bradford, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Bradford, Arkansas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 131 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 20 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 131
- EF3 or stronger
- 20
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
111 deaths in all
What the records show for Bradford
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Bradford; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1923, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 5 miles away. The record near Bradford begins with an unnamed storm in 1906; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm 4 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 2 systems. None of the 5 systems has come since 2000. Of the 213 Arkansas cities on this site, 54% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Bradford. The highest rating among the 131 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 7 times; the most recent, on March 14, 2025, came within 8 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on March 21, 1952, killed 50 people. Of the 131, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 51 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 28. Bradford has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 74% of the 213 Arkansas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 50 times since 1955, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 213 Arkansas cities, 86% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Bradford.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Bradford
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 16 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 20 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Bradford: 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 Bradford
By decade
- 2020s8(1 EF3+)
- 2010s19(1 EF3+)
- 2000s24(1 EF3+)
- 1990s25(2 EF3+)
- 1980s18(3 EF3+)
- 1970s12(3 EF3+)
- 1960s14(4 EF3+)
- 1950s11(5 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 21, 1952 | F4 | 7 mi | 14.6 mi | 50 / 325 |
| May 15, 1968 | F4 | 24 mi | 20.9 mi | 35 / 364 |
| May 15, 1968 | F4 | 13 mi | 0.3 mi | 7 / 24 |
| Mar 15, 1984 | F4 | 13 mi | 26 mi | 5 / 12 |
| May 26, 1973 | F4 | 13 mi | 54.8 mi | 3 / 289 |
| Mar 15, 1984 | F4 | 15 mi | 41 mi | 2 / 13 |
| Mar 14, 2025 | EF4 | 8 mi | 18.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 24, 1982 | F3 | 17 mi | 15 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Nov 15, 1955 | F3 | 16 mi | 36.5 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Apr 2, 1950 | F3 | 24 mi | 2.5 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Apr 30, 2010 | EF3 | 11 mi | 7.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 2003 | F3 | 23 mi | 43 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 131, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bradford
The Storm Prediction Center has 50 hail reports within 10 miles of Bradford since 1955, made on 37 separate days. Of these, 24 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently March 30, 2025. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. April has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bradford
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Newport, AR, 15 miles northeast of Bradford at 228 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 46°F and 30°F. May is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 51.3 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 56 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 60 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.6 inches a year, most of it in February. That 51.3 inches is more than at 40 of the 95 Arkansas stations used on this site (42%). Bald Knob, 11 miles southwest, has its own station (Searcy, AR): 51.8 inches a year, 0.5 more than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 30 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.8 |
| Feb | 51 | 33 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Mar | 60 | 41 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.7 |
| Apr | 70 | 51 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 78 | 60 | 5.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 69 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 72 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 70 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 62 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 72 | 50 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 59 | 40 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 49 | 33 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Year | 69 | 51 | 51.3 | 74 | 2.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Newport, AR (228 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 Bradford
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 68 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bradford: 34 thunderstorm wind reports, 25 floods, 8 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $16.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on April 27, 2011. Of the 212 Arkansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 17 have had fewer than Bradford.
July 1, 2014: flood 6 miles from the centre of Bradford — $4.5 million damage.
NWS: “Due to excessive rain on the morning of June 29th, some roads and fields remained flooded into July.”
November 1, 2009: flood 6 miles from the centre of Bradford — $3.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rainfall at the end of October allowed the White River at Augusta to remain above flood stage into late November. Some crops were damaged, while others were lost altogether.”
June 29, 2014: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Bradford — $2.1 million damage.
NWS: “45 inches at McCrory. About 40 homes flooded around Augusta, Patterson, and McCrory, and about 26 homes and businesses flooded around Cotton Plant.”
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 Bradford's ZIP code 72020 have filed 40 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1997, and were paid $861,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Mid-spring storms in 2011: 12 claims (30% of all) and $273,000. 68% 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, 54 have fewer than Bradford.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-spring storms2011 | 12 | $273,000 |
Jackson County, which includes Bradford, has been named in 35 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 27 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 severe storms, 5 floods, 4 ice storms, 3 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 21, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jackson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $17.2 million a year, the 28th highest of 75 Arkansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.5 million (26%), is from tornadoes.
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 Bradford
- Bald Knob, AR11 mi
- Judsonia, AR14 mi
- Newport, AR15 mi
- Augusta, AR16 mi
- Newark, AR18 mi
- Kensett, AR20 mi
- Pangburn, AR20 mi
- Searcy, AR22 mi
- Mc Crory, AR24 mi
- Batesville, AR24 mi
- Mc Rae, AR31 mi
- Heber Springs, AR32 mi
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