Arkansas Tornado Update: EF-4 Twister with Nearly 200 MPH Winds Is State’s Strongest in Over a Decade

Little Rock, AR – A powerful EF-4 tornado with peak winds nearing 200 mph tore through Diaz in Jackson County over the weekend, making it the strongest tornado to hit Arkansas in more than a decade.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Little Rock, survey teams confirmed the tornado’s intensity, marking the first EF-4 in the region since the devastating Mayflower-Vilonia tornado on April 27, 2014. The last EF-4 tornado recorded in Arkansas struck Bay, Craighead County, on December 10, 2021.

Officials are continuing damage assessments, and residents are urged to remain alert for further updates.