NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Conway, 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 Conway, Arkansas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Laura in 2020. Since 1950, 171 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 27 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 8
- Tornadoes
- 171
- EF3 or stronger
- 27
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
55 deaths in all
What the records show for Conway
None of the 8 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Conway; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1923, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 62 miles away. The record near Conway begins with an unnamed storm in 1879; the most recent system was Laura in 2020, a tropical storm 47 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 2 systems. Of the 8 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Conway has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 68% of the 213 Arkansas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 171 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2014, came within 9 miles. Of the 171, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 87 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 40. The most recent tornado was on June 12, 2025. Conway has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 93% of the 213 Arkansas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 153 times since 1961, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Conway has more hail reports within 10 miles than 81% of the 213 Arkansas cities.
Compare Conway's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Conway
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | LauraAug 28 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 16 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 19 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 30 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 24 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Conway: 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 Conway
By decade
- 2020s12(1 EF3+)
- 2010s23(1 EF3+)
- 2000s52(6 EF3+)
- 1990s15(2 EF3+)
- 1980s18(6 EF3+)
- 1970s22(3 EF3+)
- 1960s16(2 EF3+)
- 1950s13(6 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2014 | EF4 | 9 mi | 41.1 mi | 16 / 193 |
| Apr 10, 1965 | F4 | in town | 4.7 mi | 6 / 200 |
| May 2, 2008 | EF3 | 18 mi | 45.3 mi | 5 / 24 |
| Mar 29, 1976 | F3 | 21 mi | 17.2 mi | 5 / 64 |
| Jan 21, 1999 | F3 | 22 mi | 39 mi | 3 / 72 |
| Dec 2, 1982 | F3 | 18 mi | 18 mi | 2 / 53 |
| Apr 2, 1982 | F3 | in town | 3.5 mi | 2 / 37 |
| Nov 27, 2005 | F3 | 14 mi | 15 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Dec 18, 2002 | F3 | 7 mi | 9.8 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Nov 15, 1988 | F3 | 16 mi | 29 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Dec 24, 1982 | F3 | 11 mi | 16.5 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Feb 22, 1975 | F3 | 21 mi | 14.4 mi | 1 / 22 |
The strongest 12 of 171, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Conway
The Storm Prediction Center has 153 hail reports within 10 miles of Conway since 1961, made on 96 separate days. Of these, 80 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 21, 1990. The most recent report is from June 18, 2025. April has the most reports, 40.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Conway
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Conway, AR, 4 miles northwest of Conway 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%). Greenbrier, 12 miles north, has its own station (Greenbrier, AR): 50.7 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 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 Conway
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 213 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Conway: 135 thunderstorm wind reports, 47 flash floods, 19 floods, 9 heavy rain events and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $9.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 26, 1999. May has had the most flash floods, 8 of 47. Of the 212 Arkansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 175 have had fewer than Conway.
May 1, 2011: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Conway — 1 killed, $250,000 damage.
June 6, 2014: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Conway — 1 killed.
NWS: “A 59-year old man, who was fishing from a 14-foot boat on Beaverfork Lake, drowned when a severe thunderstorm capsized the boat.”
January 18, 1996: thunderstorm wind in Conway — 3 injured.
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 Conway's 2 ZIP codes have filed 140 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $3.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Mid-spring storms in 2011: 35 claims (25% of all) and $734,000, then Late spring severe storms in 2017 with 13. 40% 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, 86 have fewer than Conway.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-spring storms2011 | 35 | $734,000 |
| Late spring severe storms2017 | 13 | $681,000 |
Faulkner County, which includes Conway, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 5 floods, 4 tornadoes, 3 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on November 14, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Faulkner County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, lightning 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 $74.8 million a year, the 5th highest of 75 Arkansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $23.0 million (31%), 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 Conway
- Mayflower, AR7 mi
- Plumerville, AR12 mi
- Greenbrier, AR12 mi
- Bigelow, AR12 mi
- Vilonia, AR12 mi
- Roland, AR15 mi
- Maumelle, AR15 mi
- Morrilton, AR19 mi
- Sherwood, AR20 mi
- North Little Rock, AR22 mi
- Jacksonville, AR22 mi
- Little Rock, AR24 mi
All Arkansas cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Conway with another place →