NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fort Smith, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Fort Smith, Arkansas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 140 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 14 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 140
- EF3 or stronger
- 14
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
36 deaths in all
What the records show for Fort Smith
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Fort Smith; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1902, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 23 miles away. The record near Fort Smith begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm 31 miles away. Of the 213 Arkansas cities on this site, 77% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Fort Smith. The strongest of the 140 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on March 26, 1976; its path came within 9 miles, and it killed 2 people. The deadliest, an F4 on April 19, 1968, killed 14 people. Of the 140, 16 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 67 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 46. The most recent tornado was on June 6, 2025. Fort Smith has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 84% of the 213 Arkansas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 333 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Fort Smith has more hail reports within 10 miles than 97% of the 213 Arkansas cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Fort Smith
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Fort Smith: 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 Fort Smith
By decade
- 2020s21
- 2010s36
- 2000s10
- 1990s20(2 EF3+)
- 1980s13(2 EF3+)
- 1970s7(1 EF3+)
- 1960s16(5 EF3+)
- 1950s17(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 1976 | F5 | 9 mi | 11.9 mi | 2 / 64 |
| Apr 19, 1968 | F4 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 14 / 270 |
| Jan 22, 1957 | F4 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 10 / 20 |
| May 5, 1960 | F4 | 9 mi | 5.4 mi | 5 / 13 |
| Apr 21, 1996 | F3 | 4 mi | 10.1 mi | 2 / 89 |
| May 5, 1960 | F3 | 19 mi | 23.7 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 5, 1960 | F3 | 5 mi | 4.5 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 4, 1999 | F3 | 17 mi | 38.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 2, 1982 | F3 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Apr 14, 1960 | F3 | 10 mi | 13.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 20, 1957 | F3 | 22 mi | 20.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 140, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fort Smith
The Storm Prediction Center has 333 hail reports within 10 miles of Fort Smith since 1956, made on 187 separate days. Of these, 151 were 1 inch across or larger, and 19 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on April 26, 2011. The most recent report is from September 21, 2025. April has the most reports, 95.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fort Smith
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fort Smith Regional Airport, AR, 2 miles southeast of Fort Smith at 449 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 51°F and 30°F. May is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 47.4 inches over 66 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 78 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 63 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 47.4 inches is more than at 7 of the 95 Arkansas stations used on this site (7%). Alma, 14 miles northeast, has its own station (Mountainburg 2 NE, AR): 53.6 inches a year, 6.2 more than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 51 | 30 | 2.9 | 5 | 1.4 |
| Feb | 57 | 33 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Mar | 66 | 42 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Apr | 75 | 50 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 81 | 60 | 5.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 68 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 94 | 72 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 94 | 71 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 87 | 63 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 76 | 51 | 4.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 63 | 40 | 3.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 53 | 32 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Year | 74 | 51 | 47.4 | 66 | 2.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fort Smith Regional Airport, AR (449 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 Fort Smith
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 478 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fort Smith: 355 thunderstorm wind reports, 89 flash floods and 34 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 11, and the NWS estimated $4.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on February 20, 1997. May has had the most flash floods, 23 of 89. Of the 212 Arkansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 203 have had fewer than Fort Smith.
May 22, 2019: flood 6 miles from the centre of Fort Smith — 1 killed.
February 20, 1997: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Fort Smith — 4 injured, $540,000 damage.
February 20, 1997: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Fort Smith — 3 injured, $170,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Fort Smith's 4 ZIP codes have filed 349 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $15.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Mid-spring storms in 2011: 24 claims (7% of all) and $515,000, then Spring storm in 2015 with 12. The year with the most claims was 2019, with 77. 13% 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, 100 have fewer than Fort Smith.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-spring storms2011 | 24 | $515,000 |
| Spring storm2015 | 12 | $733,000 |
Sebastian County, which includes Fort Smith, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 floods, 4 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Sebastian County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, strong wind 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 $58.4 million a year, the 6th highest of 75 Arkansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $25.4 million (43%), 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 Fort Smith
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- Alma, AR14 mi
- Spiro, OK15 mi
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