NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Brinkley, 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
8 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Brinkley, Arkansas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Camille in 1969. Since 1950, 76 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 8
- Tornadoes
- 76
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
38 deaths in all
What the records show for Brinkley
None of the 8 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Brinkley; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 64 mph winds when its centre passed 60 miles away. The record near Brinkley begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Camille in 1969, a tropical storm 69 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 3 systems. None of the 8 systems has come since 2000. Brinkley has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 68% of the 213 Arkansas cities on this site. The strongest of the 76 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 21, 1952; its path came within 10 miles, and it killed 29 people. Of the 76, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 29 have come since 2000. December has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on April 30, 2022. Of the 213 Arkansas cities, 75% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Brinkley. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 59 times since 1967, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 213 Arkansas cities, 75% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Brinkley.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Brinkley
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | CamilleAug 19 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 16 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 20 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 30 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 20 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Brinkley: 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 Brinkley
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s9
- 2000s17(1 EF3+)
- 1990s10(2 EF3+)
- 1980s8(1 EF3+)
- 1970s17(4 EF3+)
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
- 1950s10(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 21, 1952 | F4 | 10 mi | 13.1 mi | 29 / 180 |
| Jun 6, 1974 | F3 | 25 mi | 3.8 mi | 4 / 112 |
| Dec 24, 1982 | F3 | 22 mi | 15 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jan 7, 1978 | F3 | 11 mi | 39.6 mi | 1 / 9 |
| May 4, 2003 | F3 | 21 mi | 43 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jan 21, 1999 | F3 | 21 mi | 39 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 21, 1999 | F3 | 3 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Mar 26, 1976 | F3 | 16 mi | 9.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Nov 19, 1970 | F3 | 14 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 27 |
| Feb 9, 1965 | F3 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Mar 21, 1952 | F3 | 23 mi | 17.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 1950 | F3 | 23 mi | 14.9 mi | 0 / 20 |
The strongest 12 of 76, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Brinkley
The Storm Prediction Center has 59 hail reports within 10 miles of Brinkley since 1967, made on 47 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently January 22, 2012. The most recent report is from April 30, 2022. May has the most reports, 15.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Brinkley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Brinkley, AR, 2 miles northwest of Brinkley at 185 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 48°F and 31°F. May is the wettest at 6.3 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 51.3 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 55 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 60 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 51.3 inches is more than at 41 of the 95 Arkansas stations used on this site (43%). Des Arc, 20 miles west, has its own station (Des Arc, AR): 50.0 inches a year, 1.3 less than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 31 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.7 |
| Feb | 53 | 34 | 4.1 | 6 | 1.1 |
| Mar | 61 | 42 | 5.0 | 7 | 0.8 |
| Apr | 71 | 51 | 5.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 80 | 60 | 6.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 69 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 72 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 70 | 3.1 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 63 | 3.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 74 | 51 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 61 | 41 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 51 | 34 | 5.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Year | 71 | 51 | 51.3 | 69 | 2.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Brinkley, AR (185 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 Brinkley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 74 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Brinkley: 57 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods, 8 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $58.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on November 15, 2006. Of the 212 Arkansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 17 have had fewer than Brinkley.
November 15, 2006: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Brinkley — 4 injured, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “Straight line winds blew seven tractor trailers off of Interstate 40 near Palestine. 4 injuries were reported from crashes.”
February 24, 2011: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Brinkley — 1 injured, $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Two tractor-trailers were blown over on Interstate 40 just northeast of Brinkley. One of the drivers was injured.”
May 1, 2011: flood 8 miles from the centre of Brinkley — $50.0 million damage.
NWS: “Parts of Arkansas Highways 1, 17, 86, 146, and 302 were closed due to flooding. Some parts of the Sheffield Nelson Dagmar Wildlife Management Area were closed due to flooding.”
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 Brinkley's ZIP code 72021 have filed 29 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1983, and were paid $307,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 21% 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, 45 have fewer than Brinkley.
Monroe County, which includes Brinkley, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 6 floods, 3 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 Monroe County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.6 million a year, the 59th highest of 75 Arkansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.2 million (29%), 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 Brinkley
- Des Arc, AR20 mi
- Hazen, AR23 mi
- Colt, AR24 mi
- Marianna, AR25 mi
- Mc Crory, AR25 mi
- Forrest City, AR25 mi
- Augusta, AR28 mi
- Carlisle, AR32 mi
- Wynne, AR32 mi
- Stuttgart, AR33 mi
- Kensett, AR37 mi
- Bald Knob, AR37 mi
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