Greenwood Tornado of 1968

On April 19, 1968, an F4 tornado touched down and caused immense damage to the city of Greenwood (Sebastian County) and the nearby area. Lasting only four minutes, the twister resulted in more than a dozen deaths, more than 250 people injured, and over a million dollars in storm damage. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) used data from the 1968 Greenwood tornado to better understand the weather phenomenon.

Greenwood, one of the two seats of Sebastian County, had a population between 1,500 and 2,000 in 1968. It boasted general merchandise stores, grocers, multiple hotels, and medical professionals. On April 19, around 3:15 p.m., heavy rain began to fall in the area. Shortly thereafter, a tornado was sighted as it touched down just south of Greenwood. Later categorized as an F4 tornado (the second-most-severe category), it produced wind speeds between 166 and 200 miles per hour. In about four minutes, the tornado dissipated after it obliterated the local courthouse, hit Greenwood’s city hall, and barreled through businesses and homes.

The tornado carved a two-mile path, and its 300-yard width damaged 400 to 450 homes. Sixty businesses and most of the historic buildings in Greenwood were harmed, and the Missionary Baptist Church and the city’s school were destroyed. According to a government analysis, twenty-five percent of the city was gone. At least a dozen people lost their lives. Some sources state that thirteen or fourteen people died, but almost all sources confirm that 270 people were injured by the tornado.

Active storms continued to plague the state during the year of 1968, especially during a severe tornado outbreak that came the month after the tornado. On May 15–16, 1968, a deadly tornado outbreak, including two F5 tornadoes, affected ten states. Arkansas lost forty-five of the total of seventy-two people killed by tornadoes during this outbreak, with the damage concentrated in northeastern Arkansas. From April to May 1968, Arkansas suffered one of its most lethal stretches of storms in state history.

The town of Greenwood was mostly rebuilt by 1969. Many of the buildings were rebuilt with stone and in more modern styles than the preexisting buildings.

The city of Greenwood memorialized the catastrophic day. A clock and bell tower that stand in the center of town honors Greenwood’s history as well as the loss of life suffered in 1968. In 2014, Mayor Sharla Derry declared April 19 “Tornado Memorial Day” to remember the tragedy of the 1968 tornado.

For additional information:
“Death Toll In Greenwood Tornado Reaches 13.” Northwest Arkansas Times, April 20, 1968, p. 1.

Disaster Assistance Legislation, Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Flood Control … 91–2, on H.R. 17518, and Related Bills. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1970.

“Greenwood Remembers Deadly Tornado.” Fort Smith Times Record, April 18, 2013. https://www.swtimes.com/story/news/2014/04/19/greenwood-remembers-deadly-tornado/26376899007/ (accessed March 1, 2024).

“In Wake of Tornado Greenwood Starts Comeback.” Northwest Arkansas Times, April 22, 1968, p. 1.

NASA Authorization for Fiscal Year 1970: Hearings, Ninety-first Congress, First Session, on S. 1941. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969.

Pearson Allen D. “The Tornado Season of 1968.” Weatherwise22, no. 1 (1968):20–25.

“Tornado Kills 12 in Arkansas Town.” New York Times, April 20, 1968, p. 68. Online at https://www.nytimes.com/1968/04/20/archives/tornado-kills-12-in-arkansas-town-400-are-reported-injured-at.html (accessed March 1, 2024).

Michael J. Megelsh
Blue Mountain Christian University