NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mayflower, 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 Mayflower, Arkansas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Laura in 2020. Since 1950, 178 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 27 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 8
- Tornadoes
- 178
- EF3 or stronger
- 27
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
64 deaths in all
What the records show for Mayflower
None of the 8 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Mayflower; 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 Mayflower begins with an unnamed storm in 1865; the most recent system was Laura in 2020, a tropical storm 40 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 2 systems. Of the 8 systems, one has come since 2000. Mayflower has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 68% of the 213 Arkansas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 178 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 27, 2014, came within 3 miles. Of the 178, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 91 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 44. The most recent tornado was on June 12, 2025. Mayflower has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 94% of the 213 Arkansas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 202 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Mayflower has more hail reports within 10 miles than 87% of the 213 Arkansas cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Mayflower
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | LauraAug 28 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 21 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 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 30 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 24 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormSep 14 | 74 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 Mayflower: 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 Mayflower
By decade
- 2020s11(1 EF3+)
- 2010s29(1 EF3+)
- 2000s51(5 EF3+)
- 1990s20(4 EF3+)
- 1980s20(6 EF3+)
- 1970s21(3 EF3+)
- 1960s16(2 EF3+)
- 1950s10(5 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2014 | EF4 | 3 mi | 41.1 mi | 16 / 193 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | F4 | 23 mi | 14 mi | 10 / 40 |
| Apr 10, 1965 | F4 | 6 mi | 4.7 mi | 6 / 200 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | F4 | 20 mi | 11 mi | 5 / 180 |
| Mar 29, 1976 | F3 | 16 mi | 17.2 mi | 5 / 64 |
| Jan 21, 1999 | F3 | 16 mi | 39 mi | 3 / 72 |
| Dec 2, 1982 | F3 | 12 mi | 18 mi | 2 / 53 |
| Apr 2, 1982 | F3 | 8 mi | 3.5 mi | 2 / 37 |
| Nov 27, 2005 | F3 | 19 mi | 15 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Dec 18, 2002 | F3 | 11 mi | 9.8 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Nov 15, 1988 | F3 | 23 mi | 29 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Dec 24, 1982 | F3 | 9 mi | 16.5 mi | 1 / 7 |
The strongest 12 of 178, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Mayflower
The Storm Prediction Center has 202 hail reports within 10 miles of Mayflower since 1955, made on 111 separate days. Of these, 127 were 1 inch across or larger, and 12 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, 54.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Mayflower
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Conway, AR, 10 miles north of Mayflower 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%). Maumelle, 8 miles south, has its own station (Little Rock, AR): 51.8 inches a year, 0.6 more than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 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 Mayflower
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 242 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mayflower: 157 thunderstorm wind reports, 56 flash floods, 14 heavy rain events, 9 floods and 6 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $9.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 26, 1999. August has had the most flash floods, 10 of 56. Of the 212 Arkansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 183 have had fewer than Mayflower.
May 1, 2011: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Mayflower — 1 killed, $250,000 damage.
NWS: “At 1:08 AM CDT, water was approaching the doorstep of houses in Mayflower. Around 1:20 AM CDT, an SUV went into flood waters on North Main St.”
June 8, 2018: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Mayflower — 1 killed.
January 18, 1996: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Mayflower — 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 Mayflower's ZIP code 72106 have filed 144 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1994, and were paid $3.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Mid-spring storms in 2011: 44 claims (31% of all) and $676,000, then Early winter storms in 2015 with 14. 46% 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, 88 have fewer than Mayflower.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-spring storms2011 | 44 | $676,000 |
| Early winter storms2015 | 14 | $219,000 |
Faulkner County, which includes Mayflower, 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 Mayflower
- Conway, AR7 mi
- Maumelle, AR8 mi
- Roland, AR9 mi
- Bigelow, AR11 mi
- Sherwood, AR14 mi
- Vilonia, AR15 mi
- North Little Rock, AR16 mi
- Little Rock, AR16 mi
- Plumerville, AR17 mi
- Jacksonville, AR18 mi
- Greenbrier, AR19 mi
- Benton, AR19 mi
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