National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

It did not feel much like July to start the month. The first three days featured low temperatures in the 50s and 60s, and there were several records set. With cool and dry air in place, there was not much rain.

A cold front approached from the north as the atmosphere baked, and triggered scattered severe thunderstorms. The storms were most concentrated in the western half of the state. Toward evening, a severe storm toppled numerous trees at Arkadelphia (Clark County), with some trees on houses. Widespread power outages were reported in and around town. Up to three inches of rain was measured locally.

As far as rainfall, there were spotty amounts over an inch in the western counties. At Hattieville (Conway County), 1.35 inches was measured, with 1.30 inches at Parks (Scott County), 1.25 inches at DeGray Dam (Clark County), 1.19 inches at Center Ridge (Conway County), 1.18 inches at Malvern (Hot Spring County) and 1.15 inches at Subiaco (Logan County).

A few days later, there was an oddity. While weather typically moves from west to east, that did not happen on the 14th. A storm system moved from southern Missouri into the southern Plains.

The system brought widespread rain from Oklahoma City, OK to Dallas, TX. Clouds and precipitation in these areas kept temperatures in the 60s/70s. The storm system eventually produced widespread two to five inch rainfall amounts across northern Texas.

Locally, storms (a few severe) were much more isolated, and temperatures were generally in the 80s (a little below normal). Drought conditions slowly worsened at this point.

On the 18th through the 23rd, rain chances increased for the first time in awhile as a new cold front approached from the north, and a storm system formed in east Texas. While not everyone got rain, there were some impressive amounts over five inches.

Many of the larger amounts happened in the twenty four hour period ending at 700 am CDT on the 24th. Delight (Pike County) racked up 5.71 inches, with 5.21 inches at Murfreesboro (Pike County), 4.71 inches at Langley (Pike County), 4.00 inches at Calico Rock (Izard County), 3.74 inches near Gamaliel (Baxter County), 3.61 inches at Waldron (Scott County), 3.30 inches at Bonnerdale (Hot Spring County), 3.04 inches at Big Fork (Polk County) and southeast of Camden (Ouachita County), and 3.00 inches at Clinton (Van Buren County). All of these locations are in northern and western sections of the state.

There were instances when big downpours netted at least two inches twice at the same location. For example, the deluge at Waldron (Scott County) on the 24th was preceded by 2.42 inches of rain on the 20th. The Calico Rock (Izard County) total of 4.00 inches on the 24th was on top of the 3.00 inches received on the 21st.

Lightning was a big deal in the Little Rock (Pulaski County) area on the 23rd. More than 600 lightning strikes in an hour led to roughly 15,000 power outages locally. On the same day, a thunderstorm downburst (microburst) damaged a strip mall on the west side of Hot Springs (Garland County). At a dollar store in the mall, wind blew into the structure and rearranged merchandise. Part of the ceiling collapsed.

On the 26th, rain hit again. Between 500 pm and 700 pm CDT, Mena (Polk County) and Mount Ida (Montgomery County) picked up 1.80 inches and 1.90 inches respectively. A Flash Flood Warning was issued for portions of Scott, Polk, Montgomery and Garland Counties through 900 pm CDT. Water covered several roads in and around Mena (Polk County). A few county roads were impassible due to high water.

Temperatures failed to get out of the 70s across much of the region. Record cool high readings were established at many spots, including Batesville (Independence County), Fort Smith (Sebastian County), Harrison (Boone County), Hot Springs (Garland County), Mount Ida (Montgomery County), North Little Rock (Pulaski County), Russellville (Pope County) and Texarkana (Miller County).

Heading into the overnight hours, amounts topped three inches in the southwest. Twenty four hour totals through 700 am CDT on the 27th included 3.71 inches at Mena (Polk County), 3.36 inches at De Queen (Sevier County), 3.35 inches near Hope (Hempstead County), 3.18 inches at Langley (Pike County), 3.05 inches at Ashdown (Little River County) and 3.00 inches at Dierks (Howard County).

By the time this event was over, rainfall from the 18th through the 26th was locally over ten inches in the southwest. There was less than an inch of rain at several locales in the southeast, which was barely enough to settle the dust.  

Given a lot of rain in the southwest, and days that felt more like spring than summer, the numbers added up to a Top 5 cool and near record wet July in places.

A ridge of high pressure stayed to the west to end the month, and that kept extreme heat away from Arkansas. Rain was also a possibility, with a persistent northwest wind flow around the high driving yet another cold front toward the region from the Plains. Ahead of the front, there was more rain over the northern half of the state, with one to two inch amounts measured at several locations.

On the 31st, the front arrived, and so did a few severe storms. One storm produced a 54 mph gust at Searcy (White County) at 618 pm CDT, and pushed over trees along Highway 16 in town. A deluge resulted in 1.32 inches of rain in a little less than an hour.

Looking at final precipitation tallies, there was enough rain to put a dent in an ongoing drought. For the most part, the drought that existed was not all that bad (classified as "abnormally dry" or "moderate").

Drought conditions were the worst in the southeast (classified as "severe"). The ground water supply was dwindling, mainly due to a lack of rain (less than two inches) at sites like Pine Bluff (Jefferson County).

There were two named storms in July. Tropical Storm Chantal formed in the Atlantic Ocean on the 7th, not far from the Lesser Antilles. The system raced to the west (over 25 mph at times), and reached the Caribbean Sea by the 9th. Chantal moved across the Dominican Republic, Haiti and parts of Cuba before falling apart on the 10th.

Tropical Storm Dorian formed well out in the open Atlantic on the 24th. Like Chantal, this system also moved quickly west, with a slightly more northerly track. Dorian was not around long, with weakening by the 27th east of the Bahamas.