NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Royal, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Royal, Arkansas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Laura in 2020. Since 1950, 72 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 72
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Royal
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Royal; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1879, a tropical storm with 46 mph winds when its centre passed 36 miles away. The record near Royal begins with an unnamed storm in 1865; the most recent system was Laura in 2020, a tropical storm 44 miles away. Of the 6 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Royal has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 46% of the 213 Arkansas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 72 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 25, 2011, came within 13 miles. Of the 72, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 35 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 17 each. The most recent tornado was on October 18, 2025. Of the 213 Arkansas cities, 80% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Royal. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 112 times since 1967, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Royal has more hail reports within 10 miles than 69% of the 213 Arkansas cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Royal
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | LauraAug 27 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 20 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 23 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormSep 14 | 39 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 Royal: 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 Royal
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s11(1 EF3+)
- 2000s18
- 1990s5(1 EF3+)
- 1980s12
- 1970s7
- 1960s8(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25, 2011 | EF3 | 13 mi | 16.78 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Mar 5, 1999 | F3 | 21 mi | 13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 5, 1967 | F3 | 11 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 6 |
| May 26, 1955 | F3 | 16 mi | 28.8 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 7, 2024 | EF2 | 10 mi | 12.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | EF2 | 14 mi | 8.53 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2013 | EF2 | 12 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 25, 2011 | EF2 | 1 mi | 14.44 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Apr 25, 2011 | EF2 | 3 mi | 5.87 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Nov 27, 2005 | F2 | 5 mi | 13.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 27, 2005 | F2 | 8 mi | 4.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 5, 1999 | F2 | 22 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 72, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Royal
The Storm Prediction Center has 112 hail reports within 10 miles of Royal since 1967, made on 77 separate days. Of these, 70 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on June 14, 2023. The most recent report is from March 14, 2025. April has the most reports, 26.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Royal
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Blakely Mountain Dam, AR, 5 miles northeast of Royal at 426 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 50°F and 29°F. May is the wettest at 6.5 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 57.9 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 58 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 80 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.4 inches a year, most of it in December. That 57.9 inches is more than at 87 of the 95 Arkansas stations used on this site (92%). Hot Springs, 11 miles east, has its own station (Hot Springs 1 NNE, AR): 57.9 inches a year, the same as here, and a July average high of 93°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 50 | 29 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Feb | 54 | 32 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Mar | 63 | 38 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Apr | 72 | 46 | 5.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 79 | 56 | 6.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 63 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 67 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 66 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 60 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 73 | 48 | 4.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 61 | 38 | 5.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 52 | 32 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.6 |
| Year | 71 | 48 | 57.9 | 75 | 1.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Blakely Mountain Dam, AR (426 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 Royal
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 143 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Royal: 108 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 flash floods, 9 lightning strikes and 7 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $3.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on March 27, 2007. May has had the most flash floods, 6 of 19. Of the 212 Arkansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 104 have had fewer than Royal.
April 15, 2011: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Royal — 2 killed, $15,000 damage.
NWS: “A 24 year-old man and his 18-month old daughter were killed when a tree fell into their mobile home. They were in a bedroom at the time, and that is the end of the mobile home that the tree crashed into.”
November 7, 2019: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Royal — 1 injured, $75,000 damage.
NWS: “A woman, 61 years old, in Royal, was burned by a lightning strike and airlifted to a Memphis hospital due to bad weather in the Little Rock area. Her trailer caught fire from the lightning strike and she suffered burns to her hands and feet.”
August 18, 2000: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Royal — 1 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
Garland County, which includes Royal, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 floods, 4 ice storms, 3 hurricanes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 21, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Garland County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $57.1 million a year, the 7th highest of 75 Arkansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $28.0 million (49%), 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 Royal
- Pearcy, AR7 mi
- Hot Springs, AR11 mi
- Bismarck, AR17 mi
- Hot Springs Village, AR18 mi
- Mount Ida, AR19 mi
- Amity, AR22 mi
- Glenwood, AR24 mi
- Donaldson, AR25 mi
- Malvern, AR27 mi
- Arkadelphia, AR31 mi
- Ola, AR34 mi
- Danville, AR37 mi
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