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| Storm Reports |
| Are you interested in what happened during a recent event? Check out the report below. |
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April, 2012 Storm Report |
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| Short Weather Summary |
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| April of 2011 featured over a foot of rain in portions of northern Arkansas, and more than four dozen tornadoes across the state. This year was far less active, with under an inch of rain in the northeast and only one tornado. |
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| There were several record high temperatures and one record low tied or broken in April. Check out the records below. |
| Site |
Record Low (Date of Occurrence) |
| North Little Rock |
45T (04/23) |
| Note: "T" means record was tied. |
| Site |
Record High (Date of Occurrence) |
| Batesville |
84 (04/25), 88 (04/26) |
| Fayetteville |
85 (04/01), 84 (04/02) |
| Fort Smith |
89 (04/25) |
| Jacksonville |
88 (04/01) |
| North Little Rock |
87 (04/01), 85T (04/02) |
| Note: "T" means record was tied. |
| Not Much Rain/Little Severe Weather |
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There was not much rain in April, especially in northeast Arkansas. |
| In the picture: Percent of normal rainfall in April, 2012. |
| Parts of the northeast had amounts under an inch. Blytheville (Mississippi County) had 0.82 inch, with 0.97 inch at Greers Ferry Lake (Cleburne County) and 0.99 inch at Batesville Lock and Dam (Independence County). Soil moisture along the Mississippi River dropped below normal, and there was a growing concern about a developing drought. |
| Precipitation in April, 2012 |
| Site |
Amount |
Normal |
+/- |
% of Normal |
| Fayetteville (NW AR) |
2.15 |
4.60 |
-2.45 |
47% |
| Harrison (NC AR) |
1.64 |
4.32 |
-2.68 |
38% |
| Jonesboro (NE AR) |
1.22 |
5.02 |
-3.80 |
24% |
| Fort Smith (WC AR) |
2.99 |
4.30 |
-1.31 |
70% |
| Little Rock (C AR) |
2.84 |
5.14 |
-2.30 |
55% |
| West Memphis (EC AR) |
1.87 |
5.38 |
-3.51 |
35% |
| Texarkana (SW AR) |
3.87 |
3.94 |
-0.07 |
98% |
| El Dorado (SC AR) |
4.37 |
4.09 |
+0.28 |
107% |
| Pine Bluff (SE AR) |
2.62 |
4.93 |
-2.31 |
53% |
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| In the picture: Forty eight hour rainfall through 700 am CDT on 04/04/2012. |
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The southern and western counties fared better, with at or above normal monthly totals at El Dorado (Union County) and Texarkana (Miller County). Much of this rain fell on the 2nd and 3rd ahead of a storm system in the southern Plains.
The same system spawned more than a dozen tornadoes in northeast Texas. Extensive property damage was noted in several Dallas suburbs (Kennedale, Arlington, Lancaster and Forney), and northeast along Interstate 30 toward Royse City and Sulphur Springs. Golfball to softball size hail was reported. The statistic that mattered most: no fatalities.
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| The system arrived on the 4th. Isolated severe storms erupted in western Arkansas. Cold air aloft surrounding the system made hail easier to form in developing storms. Hail bigger than golfballs covered the ground around Plainview and Ola (both in Yell County). |
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| In the picture: An overhead look at a severe storm near Ola (Yell County) revealed a large hail core at 840 pm CDT on 04/04/2012. Powerful updrafts suspended the core aloft in cold air, and this encouraged hail growth. Winds aloft were forced to go around the updrafts (divergent flow), and this resulted in a V-notch north of the core. |
| Link of Interest |
| Picture of a Hailstone |
| Note: This 2.25 inch diameter hailstone was photographed between Plainview and Ola (both in Yell County) on the morning of 04/05/2012, or 11 hours after the storm passed. There was so much hail that temperatures were up to 10 degrees cooler than in surrounding areas unaffected by the storm. The photo and information are courtesy of Lisa Carter Owens. |
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A week later, a cold front crossed the region from the north on the 10th. The front brought little or no rain to most areas, but did trigger a few hailstorms in southwest sections of the state. One to two inch diameter hail (quarter to hen egg size) fell at Murfreesboro, Delight and a few miles south of Kirby (all in Pike County). Nickel size hail was reported southwest of Alpine (Clark County). The front was followed by cooler and drier air.
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| In the picture: Storm reports on 04/14/2012. The graphic is courtesy of the Storm Prediction Center. |
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There was another tornado outbreak on the 14th from Oklahoma into Kansas and southern Iowa. Some of the hardest hit areas included Woodward, OK, Salina and Wichita, KS and Thurman, IA. Tornadoes in these spots were rated EF2 to EF4.
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In Arkansas, there was only one tornado in April. The tornado was weak (rated EF1) and affected areas near Morganton (Van Buren County) on the 15th.
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| In the picture: A brief tornado was spawned in southern Van Buren County toward evening on 04/15/2012. |
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On the 25th, there was a mild (and rare) heat burst at Mountain Home (Baxter County). A shower in the predawn hours caused temperatures to rise significantly from the mid 60s into the 70s/lower 80s.
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| Mountain Home Observations (04/25/2012) |
| Time |
Temperature |
| 353 am CDT |
64° |
| 453 am CDT(**) |
67° |
| 553 am CDT(!!) |
74° |
| 653 am CDT |
68° |
| 753 am CDT |
67° |
** - It was raining at observation time.
!! - Rain ended 1 minute prior to the observation. |
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There was one more chance for rain on the last day of April. Hit and miss thunderstorms brought more than an inch of rain to some locales south and west of Little Rock (Pulaski County). At Langley (Pike County), 3.38 inches was measured, which is more than many reporting stations got all month.
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| Additional April Details |
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| For more details about April, 2012...go to the "Temperatures and Precipitation" section below. |
| Temperatures and Precipitation |
| Temperatures were above normal in April. Readings at North Little Rock are shown to right. |
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Rainfall was much below normal in northern and eastern sections of the state, and closer to normal in the south/west. Amounts at North Little Rock are shown to left. |
| To right, a look at precipitation across the state. |
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| For a look at actual temperatures and precipitation in Arkansas as measured by the cooperative observer network, click here. |
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