NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit El Dorado, 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
12 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of El Dorado, Arkansas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Laura in 2020. Since 1950, 79 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 12
- Tornadoes
- 79
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for El Dorado
None of the 12 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed El Dorado; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1909, a tropical storm with 64 mph winds when its centre passed 66 miles away. The record near El Dorado begins with an unnamed storm in 1865; the most recent system was Laura in 2020, a tropical storm 8 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 2 systems. Of the 12 systems, 2 have come since 2000. El Dorado has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 94% of the 213 Arkansas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 79 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 9 times; the most recent, on February 24, 2007, came within 10 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on January 12, 2005, killed 2 people. Of the 79, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 22. The most recent tornado was on July 8, 2024. Of the 213 Arkansas cities, 71% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than El Dorado. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 101 times since 1958, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). El Dorado has more hail reports within 10 miles than 62% of the 213 Arkansas cities.
Compare El Dorado's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near El Dorado
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | LauraAug 27 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2002 | LiliOct 4 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1965 | BetsySep 11 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1920 | Unnamed 1920 stormSep 22 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 30 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1891 | Unnamed 1891 stormJul 7 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormOct 13 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 23 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormSep 14 | 31 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 El Dorado: 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 El Dorado
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s10
- 2000s24(2 EF3+)
- 1990s11(2 EF3+)
- 1980s6(1 EF3+)
- 1970s12(4 EF3+)
- 1960s5
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 12, 2005 | F3 | 7 mi | 24 mi | 2 / 13 |
| Dec 3, 1978 | F3 | 15 mi | 60 mi | 2 / 4 |
| Feb 24, 2007 | EF3 | 10 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 4, 1999 | F3 | 25 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1999 | F3 | 16 mi | 14.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 3, 1982 | F3 | 25 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 8, 1979 | F3 | 22 mi | 62.4 mi | 0 / 18 |
| Dec 3, 1978 | F3 | 16 mi | 61.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 1972 | F3 | 11 mi | 10.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 3, 1978 | F2 | 9 mi | 6.4 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Jul 8, 2024 | EF2 | 18 mi | 1.49 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 2023 | EF2 | 12 mi | 10.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 79, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in El Dorado
The Storm Prediction Center has 101 hail reports within 10 miles of El Dorado since 1958, made on 72 separate days. Of these, 61 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on March 30, 1996. The most recent report is from May 6, 2025. April has the most reports, 40.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in El Dorado
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is El Dorado S Ar Regional Airport, AR, 10 miles west of El Dorado at 252 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 56°F and 34°F. December is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.2 inches; the year adds up to 52.1 inches over 70 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 43% of the year's precipitation (22.3 of 52.1 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 12 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 88°F and 3.2 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 88 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 53 nights a year. That 52.1 inches is more than at 54 of the 95 Arkansas stations used on this site (57%). Strong, 19 miles east, has its own station (Calion L&D, AR): 50.7 inches a year, 1.4 less than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56 | 34 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Feb | 60 | 37 | 4.5 | 6 |
| Mar | 69 | 44 | 5.1 | 7 |
| Apr | 76 | 51 | 5.4 | 7 |
| May | 84 | 61 | 4.8 | 7 |
| Jun | 91 | 68 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Jul | 94 | 71 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Aug | 94 | 70 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Sep | 88 | 63 | 3.2 | 4 |
| Oct | 78 | 52 | 4.6 | 5 |
| Nov | 66 | 42 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Dec | 58 | 36 | 5.6 | 6 |
| Year | 76 | 52 | 52.1 | 70 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at El Dorado S Ar Regional Airport, AR (252 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 El Dorado
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 149 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of El Dorado: 103 thunderstorm wind reports, 34 flash floods, 7 floods, 3 lightning strikes and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $4.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on April 8, 2002. July has had the most flash floods, 7 of 34. Of the 212 Arkansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 164 have had fewer than El Dorado.
February 10, 1998: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of El Dorado — 1 injured, $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Trees were toppled throughout the area with damage to many homes and businesses and powerlines. The Noalmark Broadcasting tower was blown down and a tree fell across a home totally demolishing it.”
May 25, 2011: thunderstorm wind in El Dorado — 1 injured, $40,000 damage.
NWS: “A large tree was downed in town that fell on a home. There was a report of one minor injury.”
April 4, 1997: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of El Dorado — 1 injured.
NWS: “High winds downed trees west of town including one that fell across an automobile. A person was trapped inside the car and sustained minor injuries.”
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 El Dorado's ZIP code 71730 have filed 64 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $900,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1991, with 15. Of the 103 Arkansas cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 72 have fewer than El Dorado.
Union County, which includes El Dorado, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 hurricanes). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Union County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.6 million a year, the 38th highest of 75 Arkansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.9 million (39%), 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 El Dorado
- Smackover, AR10 mi
- Junction City, AR12 mi
- Strong, AR19 mi
- Hampton, AR23 mi
- Camden, AR27 mi
- Bernice, LA27 mi
- Magnolia, AR32 mi
- Haynesville, LA32 mi
- Marion, LA33 mi
- Farmerville, LA35 mi
- Bearden, AR36 mi
- Dubach, LA37 mi
All Arkansas cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare El Dorado with another place →