Arkansas' severe weather mapped

Northwest Arkansas averages more severe weather than most of the state, a new National Weather Service analysis finds.

State of play: Crawford, Franklin, Sebastian, Madison and Washington counties averaged 18 severe thunderstorm or tornado watches a year between 2004 and 2023.

• Benton and Carroll counties had 17.
• The rates are among the highest in the nation and part of a central U.S. zone — spanning Nebraska south to Oklahoma — that sees the most extreme weather.

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