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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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February, 2013 Storm Report |
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| Short Weather Summary |
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| Meteorological winter (December, 2012 through February, 2013) ended on a cold note, with at or below normal temperatures common. There were a few rounds of light snow in northern and western Arkansas, and an ice storm across the northern counties. Spring also made an appearance, with one severe storm destroying a house. But the big monthly headlines were in neighboring states, with blizzards in the Plains and monster tornadoes in Mississippi. |
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| There was one record high temperature tied on February 6th. Check out the record below. |
| Site |
Record High (Date of Occurrence) |
| Fayetteville |
66T (02/06) |
| Note: "T" means record was tied. |
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If you were looking for winter in February, the place to be was the central and southern Plains. Several big snowstorms hit areas from the Texas panhandle to Kansas and northern/western Missouri, with blizzard conditions at times. |
| In the picture: As clouds began clearing out behind a departing storm system, satellite showed snow on the ground from the Texas panhandle to southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas at 1030 am CST on 02/13/2013. Up to nine inches of snow was reported at Pampa, TX. |
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Amarillo, TX had a monthly total of 25.6 inches of snow, which is more than Chicago, IL got all of last winter. Most of this snow fell on the 25th, when 19.0 inches accumulated (the third largest snowfall event locally). At Wichita, KS...21.2 inches of powder was measured in February, with 14.2 inches of this on the 20th/21st (the 2nd highest storm total on record locally). Kansas City, MO had 20.2 inches for the month.
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Around here, there was a taste of winter at times. On the 20th, up to 4 inches of snow piled up at Fort Smith (Sebastian County) and near Alma (Crawford County). Two to three inch amounts were common around Clarksville (Johnson County) and Paris (Logan County).
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| In the picture: An ice storm unfolded across the northern half of Arkansas on 02/21/2013. Interestingly, freezing rain was accompanied by thunder. Farther north, heavy snow fell in a wide swath from Nebraska and Kansas into Iowa and Missouri. |
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On the 21st, moisture spread into areas north of Little Rock (Pulaski County) where subfreezing temperatures existed, and ice collected on trees and power lines. Quarter to half inch accruals were common in the northern two to three rows of counties.
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| In the picture: Ice buildup was impressive at Batesville (Independence County) on 02/21/2013. The photo is courtesy of Entergy Arkansas. Click to enlarge. |
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There was light snow in portions of the Ozark Mountains late on the 12th/early on the 13th, and also early on the 26th. Temperatures dropped enough in February to result in at or slightly below normal temperatures for the first time all winter. Above normal readings were observed in December and January.
Of course, with spring approaching, severe weather is usually a concern. Severe storms were most numerous during an event on the 18th. There were several reports of at least quarter size hail between 200 pm and 800 pm CST. A few wind damage reports were received by the National Weather Service as well, including a tree blown onto a moving vehicle at Okolona (Clark County).
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Just northeast of Bismarck (Hot Spring County), a house slid off its foundation with the help of gusts in excess of 80 mph. One person was injured.
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| In the picture: A house was wiped from its foundation by 80 to 90 mph winds near Bismarck (Hot Spring County) on 02/18/2013. Click to enlarge. |
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Severe storms were a much bigger deal in Mississippi. Between 400 pm and 600 pm CST on the 10th, two strong long track tornadoes affected areas south of Columbia, MS (rated EF2/120 mph peak winds) and also the Hattiesburg, MS area (rated EF4/170 mph peak winds). More than 180 homes were destroyed, and close to 400 homes had major damage. At least 85 people were injured. |
| In the picture: Ice buildup was impressive at Batesville (Independence County) on 02/21/2013. The photo is courtesy of Entergy Arkansas. Click to enlarge. |
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As far as rainfall, there were some positive rainfall totals in northern and central Arkansas in February, but it was pretty much negative across the south.
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| Precipitation in February, 2013 |
| Site |
Amount |
Normal |
+/- |
% of Normal |
| Fayetteville (NW AR) |
2.82 |
2.81 |
+0.01 |
100% |
| Harrison (NC AR) |
3.25 |
2.64 |
+0.61 |
123% |
| Jonesboro (NE AR) |
4.42 |
3.72 |
+0.70 |
119% |
| Fort Smith (WC AR) |
4.46 |
2.76 |
+1.70 |
162% |
| Little Rock (C AR) |
4.75 |
3.66 |
+1.09 |
130% |
| West Memphis (EC AR) |
4.99 |
4.45 |
+0.54 |
112% |
| Texarkana (SW AR) |
1.78 |
3.99 |
-2.21 |
45% |
| El Dorado (SC AR) |
3.00 |
4.79 |
-1.79 |
63% |
| Pine Bluff (SE AR) |
4.38 |
4.06 |
+0.32 |
108% |
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Precipitation totals at Fort Smith (Sebastian County), Harrison (Boone County), Jonesboro (Craighead County), Little Rock (Pulaski County) and West Memphis (Crittenden County) were at least a half inch above normal. Meanwhile, amounts at El Dorado (Union County) and Texarkana (Miller County) were subpar by more than an inch.
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| Additional February Details |
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| For more details about February, 2013...go to the "Temperatures and Precipitation" section below. |
| Temperatures and Precipitation |
| Temperatures were at or a little below normal at most locations. Readings at North Little Rock are shown to right. |
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Rainfall was at/above normal in much of northern and central Arkansas, and below normal in the south. 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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