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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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August 2009 Storm Report |
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| Short Weather Summary |
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| It did not feel much like Summer in August, and the deluge of July did not carry over. Temperatures were below normal statewide, and some spots received less than two inches of rain. There was a significant severe weather event on the 5th, and the tropics finally came to life with the first named storms of the season. |
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| There were several record low temperatures in late August. Check out the records below. |
| Site |
Record Low (Date of Occurrence) |
| El Dorado |
57 (08/24) |
| North Little Rock |
63 (08/22), 61 (08/23), 60 (08/24), 62 (08/25), 58 (08/31) |
| Wet and Stormy Initially/Dry in the End |
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It appeared that a wet month was in store as heavy rain began coming early (on the 1st). Two to four inch amounts were common in southwest sections of the state, and flash flooding occurred in areas such as Delight (Pike County), Haskell (Saline County) and Malvern (Hot Spring County). |
| In the picture: Twenty four hour rainfall through 700 am CDT on 08/02/2009. |
| On the 5th, a large cluster of showers and thunderstorms followed a northwest wind flow aloft from southern Missouri into eastern Arkansas. Two to four inches of precipitation was measured at Des Arc (Prairie County), Georgetown (White County) and Newport (Jackson County). |
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| In the picture: The satellite showed an MCS (Mesoscale Convective System...or large cluster of showers and thunderstorms) building into Arkansas from the north from 1215 am CDT to 415 am CDT on 08/05/2009. |
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In addition to a lot of rain, widespread damaging winds were noted during this event. Gusts as high as 70 to 80 mph downed numerous trees, with trees on houses and several roads blocked by trees.
For the remainder of August, rain became more spotty...and there was not much precipitation at all after the 20th. Some areas near the Louisiana border received less than 50 percent of normal rainfall for the month, including El Dorado (Union County) and Monticello (Drew County). At Little Rock (Pulaski County), record rainfall in July was followed by subpar totals in August.
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| Rainfall in August, 2009 |
| Site |
Amount |
Normal |
+/- |
% of Normal |
| Fayetteville (NW AR) |
6.13 |
3.13 |
+3.00 |
196% |
| Harrison (NC AR) |
3.26 |
3.41 |
-0.15 |
96% |
| Jonesboro (NE AR) |
4.17 |
2.67 |
+1.50 |
156% |
| Fort Smith (WC AR) |
5.10 |
2.56 |
+2.54 |
199% |
| Little Rock (C AR) |
2.75 |
2.93 |
-0.18 |
94% |
| West Memphis (EC AR) |
2.64 |
2.90 |
-0.26 |
91% |
| Texarkana (SW AR) |
3.38 |
2.35 |
+1.03 |
144% |
| El Dorado (SC AR) |
1.56 |
3.22 |
-1.66 |
48% |
| Monticello (SE AR) |
1.27 |
3.32 |
-2.05 |
38% |
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The last significant rainfall event occurred from the 17th through the 20th. Moisture became abundant ahead of a front in the Plains, and the remnants of Tropical Storm Claudette (which hit the Florida panhandle) added additional water to the air. Even so, precipitation tended to be hit and miss...with some some spots picking up more than two inches of rain. |
| In the picture: The pattern at 700 am CDT on 08/17/2009. A large area of high pressure was over the southeast United States, with a stalled front to the northwest of Arkansas. Between these two features, moisture levels were abnormally high...and increasing even more due to the remnants of Tropical Storm Claudette. |
| In the Tropics |
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The tropics finally woke up in August, with four named storms. Tropical Storm Ana was a short-lived system. It formed on the 15th and never became organized...eventually falling apart as it neared Puerto Rico and the Dominican Rupublic on the 17th.
Bill was a different story. The system formed well out in the Atlantic on the 15th, and became a Category 4 hurricane by the 19th. The system weakened as it approached the United States, and turned to the north. Bill was a Category 1 storm by the time it reached New England, and remained off the coast (did not move inland). The system lost its tropical characteristics on the 24th.
Tropical Storm Claudette formed off the Gulf Coast of Florida on the 16th. The system made landfall on the 17th in the panhandle (near Fort Walton Beach). Remnants of Claudette brought moisture to Arkansas by the 18th, and increased the rainfall potential in pop up thunderstorms.
Tropical Storm Danny was the last storm of the month. The system developed in the central Atlantic Ocean on the 26th, and had difficulty strengthening. Danny never amounted to much, and dissipated off the North Carolina Coast on the 29th.
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| Additional August Details |
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| For more details about August, 2009...go to the "Temperatures and Precipitation" section below. |
| Temperatures and Precipitation |
| Temperatures were below normal in August. Readings at Little Rock are shown to right. |
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Rainfall was much below normal in the far south and east. There was a surplus of precipitation from central into northeast Arkansas, portions of the northwest and the far southwest. |
| 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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