NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pine Bluff, 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
9 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Pine Bluff, Arkansas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Laura in 2020. Since 1950, 73 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 9
- Tornadoes
- 73
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Pine Bluff
None of the 9 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Pine Bluff; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1909, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 36 miles away. The record near Pine Bluff begins with an unnamed storm in 1865; the most recent system was Laura in 2020, a tropical storm 29 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 2 systems. Of the 9 systems, one has come since 2000. Pine Bluff has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 77% of the 213 Arkansas cities on this site. The strongest of the 73 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 3, 1968; its path came within 22 miles, and it killed 5 people. Of the 73, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 34 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 14 each. The most recent tornado was on March 14, 2025. Of the 213 Arkansas cities, 78% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Pine Bluff. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 119 times since 1955, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Pine Bluff has more hail reports within 10 miles than 74% of the 213 Arkansas cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Pine Bluff
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | LauraAug 27 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 16 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 20 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormSep 21 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1905 | Unnamed 1905 stormSep 30 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1891 | Unnamed 1891 stormJul 7 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 24 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormSep 14 | 57 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 Pine Bluff: 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 Pine Bluff
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s15
- 2000s12
- 1990s5
- 1980s11(1 EF3+)
- 1970s12
- 1960s7(2 EF3+)
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1968 | F4 | 22 mi | 33.7 mi | 5 / 16 |
| May 14, 1983 | F3 | in town | 5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 12, 1966 | F3 | 24 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 19, 1957 | F3 | 13 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 1955 | F2 | 6 mi | 0.5 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Jan 22, 2012 | EF2 | 17 mi | 16.98 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 22, 2012 | EF2 | 24 mi | 19.64 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 2, 2008 | EF2 | 14 mi | 22.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 16, 2003 | F2 | 16 mi | 25.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 26, 2001 | F2 | 20 mi | 10.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 25, 1982 | F2 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1973 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 73, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Pine Bluff
The Storm Prediction Center has 119 hail reports within 10 miles of Pine Bluff since 1955, made on 81 separate days. Of these, 74 were 1 inch across or larger, and 15 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on March 10, 2018. The most recent report is from April 3, 2025. April has the most reports, 43.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Pine Bluff
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Pine Bluff, AR, 2 miles north of Pine Bluff at 230 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 52°F and 33°F. April and December are the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 3.5 inches; the year adds up to 53.8 inches over 70 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 72 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 50 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 53.8 inches is more than at 68 of the 95 Arkansas stations used on this site (72%). Rison, 19 miles south, has its own station (Fordyce, AR): 57.6 inches a year, 3.8 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 | 52 | 33 | 4.1 | 6 | 1.1 |
| Feb | 56 | 36 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Mar | 65 | 44 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.3 |
| Apr | 74 | 52 | 5.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 82 | 62 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 70 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 73 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 72 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 86 | 65 | 3.9 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 76 | 53 | 4.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 63 | 42 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 55 | 36 | 5.7 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Year | 73 | 53 | 53.8 | 70 | 2.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Pine Bluff, AR (230 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 Pine Bluff
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 213 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pine Bluff: 142 thunderstorm wind reports, 42 flash floods, 12 floods, 10 heavy rain events and 7 lightning strikes. They killed 3 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $10.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on October 29, 2009. Of the 212 Arkansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 172 have had fewer than Pine Bluff.
September 15, 2009: heavy rain event 9 miles from the centre of Pine Bluff — 1 killed, 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
April 12, 2020: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Pine Bluff — 1 killed, $30,000 damage.
June 23, 2017: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Pine Bluff — 1 killed.
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 Pine Bluff's 2 ZIP codes have filed 259 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1982: 30 claims (12% of all) and $208,000. The year with the most claims was 1984, with 43. 12% 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, 96 have fewer than Pine Bluff.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1982 | 30 | $208,000 |
Jefferson County, which includes Pine Bluff, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 7 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 hurricanes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on April 4, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jefferson County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $37.1 million a year, the 14th highest of 75 Arkansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.9 million (32%), 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 Pine Bluff
- White Hall, AR6 mi
- Rison, AR19 mi
- Redfield, AR19 mi
- Star City, AR20 mi
- Sheridan, AR23 mi
- England, AR24 mi
- Hensley, AR27 mi
- Gould, AR29 mi
- Bauxite, AR34 mi
- Stuttgart, AR34 mi
- Scott, AR34 mi
- Mabelvale, AR34 mi
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