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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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Severe Storms/Heavy Rain on September 5-7, 2012 |
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Following the remnants of Hurricane Isaac to begin the month, temperatures remained well above normal. On the 5th, readings peaked over 100 degrees at several locations. De Queen (Sevier County) hit 104 degrees, with 102 degrees at Fort Smith (Sebastian County) and Texarkana (Miller County) and 101 degrees at Russellville (Pope County).
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| In the picture: The satellite showed cumulus clouds bubbling up in northern and western Arkansas as the atmosphere destabilized (due to afternoon heating) at 155 pm CDT on 09/05/2012. |
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| In the picture: Storms erupted in the northeast by 345 pm CDT on 09/05/2012. |
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As it heated up, a weak system aloft headed into the state from Missouri. The system stirred the atmosphere enough to initiate thunderstorms in the northeast counties.
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Thunderstorm winds pushed over trees and snapped large tree limbs in several locations, including Cushman (Independence County), Grubbs (Jackson County) and Morton (Woodruff County). |
| In the picture: Storm reports on 09/05/2012. The graphic is courtesy of the Storm Prediction Center. |
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The heat continued on the 6th. In fact, the mercury climbed even higher than the previous day, and topped out at 105 degrees or more at De Queen (Sevier County), Fort Smith (Sebastian County) and Texarkana (Miller County). Storms were more isolated this time, and held off until the evening. At Cherry Hill (Polk County), several trees were toppled shortly after 800 pm CDT.
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| The end to the heat was on the horizon by the 7th. A strong cold front in the Plains promised significantly cooler weather. As is often the case, this came with some consequences. |
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| In the picture: A cold front pushed into Arkansas from the northwest toward evening on 09/05/2012. Temperatures (represented by yellow dashed lines) were 20 to 30 degrees cooler behind the front. |
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Scattered to numerous thunderstorms erupted as the front arrived. Storms produced a tremendous amount of lightning, with an estimated 51,000 strikes between 300 pm CDT (on the 5th)and 1200 am CDT (on the 6th). There were 12,200 strikes between 800 pm and 900 pm CDT! |
| In the picture: The satellite showed large clusters of thunderstorms building southward through Arkansas during the evening of 09/07/2012. |
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There were several lines of storms with bowing segments. Where storms bowed out, damaging winds resulted. In some cases, winds were extreme.
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| Winds were estimated between 70 and 80 mph at Batesville (Independence County). At the local airport, a hangar was thrown onto Highway 167 and blocked traffic. Farther west, similar storms downed trees on houses at Marshall (Searcy County), and caused damage to a few businesses. Gusts reached 59 mph at Newport (Jackson County) and Oil Trough (Independence County). |
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| In the picture: The WSR-88D (Doppler Weather Radar) showed two bowing segments producing damaging winds between 800 pm and 900 pm CDT on 09/07/2012. Bow #1 affected Batesville (Independence County) and areas to the east. Bow #2 surged into the Little Rock (Pulaski County) area. |
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Bowing storms also hit the Benton (Saline County) and Little Rock (Pulaski County) areas between 830 pm CDT and 900 pm CDT. At the latter location, an outdoor concert was taking place in the River Market district as damaging winds neared. The concert organizer contacted the National Weather Service 40 minutes and 20 minutes before the storms blew through. Information was relayed to the audience so that people could go to a safe place. No injuries were reported.
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One of the bigger storms during the event was near Dover (Pope County). A powerful storm produced up to baseball size hail, which is incredible considering that temperatures topped the century mark preceding the storm. The hail cracked car windows and damaged roof shingles. A trained spotter measured an 80 to 85 mph gust. |
| In the picture: A cross section of a severe storm near Dover (Pope County) showed a bounded weak echo region (BWER), or an area with no radar returns where strong updrafts were located at 641 pm CDT on 09/07/2012. The updrafts suspended a hail core aloft, allowing hailstones to get larger in cold air overhead. |
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Statewide, thousands of people were left without power. At one time, power outages affected at least 60,000 customers. This is three times as many as experienced with the remnants of Hurricane Isaac.
Rain was widespread, with one half to one and a half inch amounts common. There was locally more than two inches.
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| Twenty four totals through 700 am CDT on the 8th included 4.32 inches at Sparkman (Dallas County), 3.28 inches at Jonesboro (Craighead County), 2.99 inches at Fordyce (Dallas County), 2.88 inches at Camden (Ouachita County), 2.56 inches at Mountain Home (Baxter County) and 2.35 inches at Leola (Grant County). |
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| In the picture: Twenty four hour rainfall through 700 am CDT on 09/08/2012. |
| The front exited toward the Gulf Coast on the 8th, and rain ended. Rapid clearing and a breezy north to northwest wind followed. High temperatures were only in the mid 70s to mid 80s. |
| High Temperatures (September 5-8, 2012) |
| Site |
High (09/05) |
High (09/06) |
High (09/07) |
High (09/08) |
| Fayetteville (NW AR) |
94° |
97° |
94° |
74° |
| Harrison (NC AR) |
97° |
97° |
96° |
74° |
| Mtn Home (NC AR) |
96° |
96° |
96° |
75° |
| Jonesboro (NE AR) |
97° |
96° |
95° |
78° |
| Fort Smith (WC AR) |
102° |
105° |
104° |
83° |
| Russellville (WC AR) |
101° |
99° |
101° |
83° |
| Mount Ida (WC AR) |
98° |
99° |
98° |
81° |
| Hot Springs (C AR) |
99° |
99° |
99° |
82° |
| Little Rock (C AR) |
100° |
96° |
97° |
82° |
| West Memphis (EC AR) |
99° |
98° |
96° |
78° |
| Texarkana (SW AR) |
102° |
105° |
102° |
84° |
| El Dorado (SC AR) |
98° |
100° |
97° |
81° |
| Pine Bluff (SE AR) |
97° |
97° |
96° |
80° |
| Monticello (SE AR) |
100° |
99° |
98° |
80° |
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There were a few reports of severe weather in northeast Arkansas on September 5th, and isolated reports in the west on the 6th. There were numerous reports of damaging winds and hail on the 7th. For a look at some reports, click here.
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| In the picture: Preliminary reports of severe weather in the Little Rock County Warning Area on September 5-7, 2012 (in red). |
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