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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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December 2008 Storm Report |
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| Short Weather Summary |
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| Temperatures varied widely in December. Southwest winds aloft brought mild air at times...and northwest winds aloft drove arctic fronts and much colder air through the region. This led to a variety of weather conditions, with anything from severe thunderstorms to icing (freezing rain and sleet). |
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| There were four record high temperatures at three sites. Check out the records below. |
| Site |
Record High (Date of Occurrence) |
| Camden |
77 (12/26) |
| El Dorado |
77T (12/20), 77T (12/26) |
| North Little Rock |
70 (12/26) |
| Note: "T" means record was tied. |
| Icy (Cold) and Stormy (Mild) |
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| One of the more memorable events in December occurred on the 14th/15th. It was windy and mild to start the event. Temperatures on the 14th climbed into the 60s to lower 70s ahead of a cold front in the Plains. |
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The front came barreling through the region during the night. Temperatures fell more than 50 in some spots behind the front! |
| In the picture: The pattern at 6 am CST on 12/15/2008. An arctic cold front was pushing through Arkansas, with much colder air and some mixed precipitation. |
| Falling Temperatures |
| Site |
Dec 14th (High) |
Dec 15th (Low) |
Difference |
| Fayetteville (NW AR) |
68° |
17° |
-51° |
| Harrison (NC AR) |
59° |
17° |
-42° |
| Jonesboro (NE AR) |
61° |
34° |
-27° |
| Fort Smith (WC AR) |
72° |
24° |
-48° |
| Little Rock (C AR) |
67° |
36° |
-31° |
| North Little Rock (C AR) |
65° |
33° |
-32° |
| West Memphis (EC AR) |
63° |
40° |
-23° |
| Texarkana (SW AR) |
68° |
41° |
-27° |
| El Dorado (SC AR) |
70° |
50° |
-20° |
| Monticello (SE AR) |
68° |
47° |
-21° |
| Low temperatures as of 6 am CST on the 15th |
| The front stalled along the Gulf Coast, and a storm system followed from the southwest on the 15th. The system interacted with the front, and moisture increased over Arkansas. By then, temperatures were in the 20s and 30s...and freezing rain and sleet resulted. |
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| In the picture: Just west of Vilonia (Faulkner County) on U.S. Highway 64, an accident was tying up traffic on 12/16/2008. Click to enlarge. |
| From west central into central and northeast Arkansas, the sleet was heavy at times and accumulated like snow. Some spots picked up as much as three inches of sleet. |
| Heavy Sleet Accumulations |
| Site |
Amount |
| Conway (Faulkner Co) |
3.00" |
| South Side (Independence Co) |
3.00" |
| Augusta (Woodruff Co) |
1.50" |
| Wooster (Faulkner Co) |
1.50" |
| Ash Flat (Sharp Co) |
1.00" |
| Danville (Yell Co) |
1.00" |
| Mountain View (Stone Co) |
1.00" |
| Perryville (Perry Co) |
1.00" |
| Salem (Fulton Co) |
1.00" |
| Waldron (Scott Co) |
1.00" |
| Later in the month, winds aloft went from northwest to southwest...and temperatures warmed up. By the 26th, afternoon readings were in the upper 60s to upper 70s...and records were tied or broken at several locations. This was ahead of an intense storm system in the southern Rockies. |
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The atmosphere became rather unstable by the 27th. A cold front moving through the Plains tapped into this unstable air, and a line of thunderstorms resulted. |
| In the picture: The satellite showed a line of strong to severe thunderstorms in the Plains at 5 am CST on 12/27/2008. An axis of unstable air fueled the storms, and the storms were driven by wind energy supplied by a storm system aloft ("L") in New Mexico. The storms hit the Kansas City, MO area with up to 80 mph winds, and knocked out power to 50,000 customers. |
| The storms brought some severe weather to northern Arkansas during the afternoon. Trees were downed at Marshall (Searcy County), Norfork (Baxter County) and Russellville (Pope County). A roof was blown off of a mobile home near Dardanelle (Yell County). A 61 mph gust was measured by a trained spotter just north of Mountain Home (Baxter County).
Aside from the storms, it was windy in general on the 27th. South to southwest winds at 20 to 30 mph were common, and gusts exceeded 40 mph. Winds shifted to the west behind the front.
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| Highest Wind Gusts on December 27, 2008 |
| Site |
Speed (mph) |
Direction |
Time (CST) |
| Fayetteville (NW AR) |
48 |
SW |
1041 am |
| Harrison (NC AR) |
49 |
SW |
1211 pm |
| Jonesboro (NE AR) |
47 |
W |
0444 pm |
| Fort Smith (WC AR) |
45 |
W |
1113 am |
| Little Rock (C AR) |
44 |
WSW |
0315 pm |
| West Memphis (EC AR) |
54 |
S |
1022 am |
| Texarkana (SW AR) |
41 |
W |
0115 pm |
| El Dorado (SC AR) |
39 |
SW |
0324 pm |
| Monticello (SE AR) |
44 |
SW |
1123 am |
| Additional December Details |
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| For more details about December, 2008...go to the "Temperatures and Precipitation" section below. |
| Temperatures and Precipitation |
| Temperatures were all over the place in December, but averaged close to normal. Readings at Little Rock are shown to right. |
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Rainfall was at or above normal in the eastern half of Arkansas, and mostly below normal farther west. Amounts at 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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