NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Malvern, 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
7 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Malvern, Arkansas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Laura in 2020. Since 1950, 119 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 119
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
22 deaths in all
What the records show for Malvern
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Malvern; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1879, a tropical storm with 46 mph winds when its centre passed 9 miles away. The record near Malvern begins with an unnamed storm in 1865; the most recent system was Laura in 2020, a tropical storm 17 miles away. Of the 7 systems, one has come since 2000. Malvern has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 213 Arkansas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 119 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 1, 1997, came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on March 1, 1997, killed 10 people. Of the 119, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 53 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 25 each. The most recent tornado was on October 18, 2025. Malvern has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 65% of the 213 Arkansas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 108 times since 1967, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Malvern has more hail reports within 10 miles than 67% of the 213 Arkansas cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Malvern
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | LauraAug 27 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 20 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 30 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1891 | Unnamed 1891 stormJul 7 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 23 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormSep 14 | 27 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 Malvern: 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 Malvern
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s17(1 EF3+)
- 2000s27
- 1990s20(6 EF3+)
- 1980s16(2 EF3+)
- 1970s9
- 1960s12(2 EF3+)
- 1950s9(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 1997 | F4 | 20 mi | 14 mi | 10 / 40 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | F4 | 19 mi | 27 mi | 6 / 100 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | F4 | 5 mi | 24 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Dec 2, 1982 | F3 | 25 mi | 18 mi | 2 / 53 |
| Apr 25, 2011 | EF3 | 20 mi | 16.78 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Jan 21, 1999 | F3 | 7 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 21, 1999 | F3 | 23 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1996 | F3 | 22 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 25, 1982 | F3 | 9 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 5, 1967 | F3 | 15 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Apr 12, 1966 | F3 | 24 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 13, 1957 | F3 | in town | 14.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 119, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Malvern
The Storm Prediction Center has 108 hail reports within 10 miles of Malvern since 1967, made on 70 separate days. Of these, 63 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 14, 2023. The most recent report is from June 25, 2023. May has the most reports, 27.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Malvern
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Malvern, AR, 3 miles northwest of Malvern at 300 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 52°F and 29°F. April is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.7 inches; the year adds up to 57.5 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 73 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 68 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.2 inches a year, most of it in January and February. That 57.5 inches is more than at 85 of the 95 Arkansas stations used on this site (89%). Donaldson, 11 miles southwest, has its own station (Hot Springs Asos, AR): 52.8 inches a year, 4.7 less than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 52 | 29 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Feb | 56 | 32 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Mar | 65 | 40 | 5.6 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Apr | 74 | 48 | 6.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 81 | 59 | 5.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 67 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 70 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 92 | 68 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 86 | 62 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 75 | 50 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 62 | 39 | 5.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 54 | 32 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Year | 73 | 50 | 57.5 | 75 | 1.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Malvern, AR (300 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 Malvern
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 177 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Malvern: 131 thunderstorm wind reports, 34 flash floods, 7 floods, 3 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $4.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 26, 1999. Of the 212 Arkansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 164 have had fewer than Malvern.
October 2, 2014: thunderstorm wind in Malvern — 1 killed, 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “A large tree, which had a considerable amount of internal rot, fell onto a house. A 28-year-old man was killed and a 15-month-old girl was injured.”
June 9, 2008: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Malvern — 1 killed, $25,000 damage.
NWS: “Lightning is believed to have set fire to a mobile home on Eiler Loop. A 48 year-old man in the home died in the fire.”
May 1, 2011: flood 10 miles from the centre of Malvern — $1.5 million 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 Malvern's ZIP code 72104 have filed 17 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1983, and were paid $98,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 6% 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, 19 have fewer than Malvern.
Hot Spring County, which includes Malvern, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1982, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 3 hurricanes, 3 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 21, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Hot Spring County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.6 million a year, the 35th highest of 75 Arkansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.3 million (47%), 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 Malvern
- Donaldson, AR11 mi
- Hot Springs, AR16 mi
- Arkadelphia, AR22 mi
- Hot Springs Village, AR22 mi
- Bismarck, AR22 mi
- Bauxite, AR23 mi
- Sheridan, AR24 mi
- Pearcy, AR25 mi
- Bryant, AR25 mi
- Alexander, AR26 mi
- Royal, AR27 mi
- Mabelvale, AR30 mi
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