Craighead County tornado history

58 tornadoes touched Craighead County, Arkansas between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.8 a year. The strongest was rated F4 (May 15, 1968). Tornadoes here killed 46 and injured 717 people.

58tornadoes since 1950

F4strongest rating

46killed · 717 injured

89.4 milongest path · 1955

(E)F0(E)F1(E)F2(E)F3(E)F4(E)F5· dots = start point only

By rating

(E)F023

(E)F115

(E)F29

(E)F38

(E)F43

(E)F50

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: April.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
May 15, 1968	F4	20.9 mi	250 yd	364	35
Dec 10, 2021	EF4	81.2 mi	1,800 yd	14	8
May 26, 1973	F4	54.8 mi	300 yd	289	3
Apr 3, 1984	F3	49 mi	200 yd	2	0
Mar 21, 1952	F3	28.5 mi	440 yd	6	0
Apr 2, 2025	EF3	24.2 mi	1,500 yd	8	0
Apr 3, 1957	F3	22.6 mi	100 yd	0	0
Mar 28, 2020	EF3	12.5 mi	600 yd	22	0
Mar 1, 1997	F3	5 mi	200 yd	2	0
Apr 7, 1972	F3	2 mi	100 yd	0	0
Apr 25, 1957	F3	0.5 mi	313 yd	0	0
Mar 20, 1955	F2	89.4 mi	250 yd	1	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
May 16, 2025	EF1	7.1 mi	150 yd	0	0
Apr 2, 2025	EF3	24.2 mi	1,500 yd	8	0
Apr 2, 2025	EF2	14.4 mi	700 yd	0	0
Mar 14, 2025	EF0	1.4 mi	50 yd	0	0
Mar 14, 2025	EF2	13.8 mi	150 yd	4	0
Apr 13, 2022	EF1	5.4 mi	200 yd	0	0
Mar 6, 2022	EF0	2.5 mi	50 yd	0	0
Feb 22, 2022	EF0	2.8 mi	50 yd	0	0
Dec 10, 2021	EF1	6.1 mi	150 yd	0	0
Dec 10, 2021	EF0	1.3 mi	50 yd	0	0
Dec 10, 2021	EF4	81.2 mi	1,800 yd	14	8
Dec 10, 2021	EF1	4.6 mi	75 yd	0	0

Deadliest: May 15, 1968, F4, 35 killed.

Nearby counties

Poinsett County, AR48 Greene County, AR38 Lawrence County, AR24 Mississippi County, AR56 Jackson County, AR60 Cross County, AR29 Dunklin County, MO39 Clay County, AR25

Questions

How many tornadoes has Craighead County, Arkansas had?

58 tornadoes touched Craighead County, Arkansas between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.8 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Craighead County?

The strongest rating recorded was F4 on May 15, 1968, with a 20.9-mile path and 35 deaths.

When is tornado season in Craighead County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in April (16 of 58). Tornadoes can occur in any month, so keep alerts on year-round.

Right now: live tornado warnings map · alerts for your location. Dates link to that day’s full storm reports where available (2004 onward).