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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Danville, 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 Danville, Arkansas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Laura in 2020. Since 1950, 59 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
5

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
59

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
3

13 deaths in all

What the records show for Danville

None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Danville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1879, a tropical storm with 46 mph winds when its centre passed 64 miles away. The record near Danville begins with an unnamed storm in 1879; the most recent system was Laura in 2020, a tropical storm 68 miles away. Of the 5 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 213 Arkansas cities on this site, 54% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Danville. The strongest of the 59 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on February 5, 2008; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 13 people. Of the 59, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 28 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on November 4, 2024. Of the 213 Arkansas cities, 95% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Danville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 70 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.25 inches. Of the 213 Arkansas cities, 59% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Danville.

Compare Danville's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Danville

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Danville, Arkansas, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2020LauraAug 2868 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
2008IkeSep 1428 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1941Unnamed 1941 stormSep 2471 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 2059 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1879Unnamed 1879 stormAug 2464 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Danville: 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 Danville

By decade

  • 2020s6
  • 2010s8
  • 2000s14(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s7
  • 1980s3
  • 1970s9(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s5
  • 1950s7(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Danville, Arkansas
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Feb 5, 2008EF420 mi121.84 mi13 / 139
Mar 26, 1976F3in town16.1 mi0 / 4
Mar 14, 1953F318 mi12.2 mi0 / 7
Jun 18, 2023EF221 mi5.4 mi0 / 0
Jan 10, 2020EF216 mi13.6 mi0 / 0
Jan 12, 2006F27 mi14.7 mi0 / 0
Apr 26, 1999F223 mi6.5 mi0 / 2
Feb 6, 1999F224 mi8 mi0 / 0
Oct 26, 1995F219 mi12.5 mi0 / 0
Apr 7, 1980F213 mi4.1 mi0 / 0
Apr 7, 1980F216 mi20.9 mi0 / 1
May 7, 1978F222 mi12.3 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 59, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Danville

The Storm Prediction Center has 70 hail reports within 10 miles of Danville since 1962, made on 58 separate days. Of these, 38 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.25 inches, fell on April 4, 2012. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. April has the most reports, 23.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Danville

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Blue Mountain Dam, AR, 14 miles west of Danville at 426 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 50°F and 28°F. May is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 3.4 inches; the year adds up to 49.7 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 74 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 71 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.0 inches a year, most of it in March. That 49.7 inches is more than at 24 of the 95 Arkansas stations used on this site (25%). Ola, 10 miles east, has its own station (Nimrod Dam, AR): 54.4 inches a year, 4.7 more than here, and a July average high of 94°F against 93°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Blue Mountain Dam, AR
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan50283.450.6
Feb56313.450.6
Mar64384.970.7
Apr73474.970.0
May80575.170.0
Jun88653.760.0
Jul93693.860.0
Aug93683.650.0
Sep86604.050.0
Oct75483.850.0
Nov62384.660.0
Dec52304.560.1
Year734849.7672.0

Averages for 1991–2020 at Blue Mountain Dam, AR (426 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.

Arkansas weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Danville

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 182 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Danville: 99 thunderstorm wind reports, 62 floods, 16 flash floods, 3 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 3 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $2.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on April 26, 2017. Of the 212 Arkansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 82 have had fewer than Danville.

  • April 11, 2008: flood 7 miles from the centre of Danville — 2 killed, $10,000 damage.

  • October 28, 2014: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Danville — 1 killed.

    NWS: “A 33-year-old man was killed by lightning in a forested area. The man was sitting under a tree, when lightning traveled down the tree, striking the man.”

  • March 19, 2008: flood 8 miles from the centre of Danville — $605,000 damage.

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

Yell County, which includes Danville, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 5 floods, 3 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Yell County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $15.0 million a year, the 32nd highest of 75 Arkansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.8 million (52%), 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 Danville