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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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April 2007 Storm Report |
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| Short Weather Summary |
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| After
a very warm March, temperatures took a dive to begin April...with below
normal readings during the first two weeks of the month. A widespread
freeze occurred on the morning of the 8th. Rain was slow to materialize,
but severe storms were plentiful. Hail was the headliner from the 2nd
through the 4th, with damaging winds and the biggest precipitation event
on the 24th/25th. |
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| There were numerous record low temperatures tied or
broken on April 7th/8th. There were twenty records in all at fifteen
sites. Check
the records below... |
| Site |
Record
Low (Date of Occurrence) |
| Batesville |
23 (04/08) |
| Calico Rock |
22T (04/07), 17 (04/08) |
| Camden |
29T (04/08) |
| Fayetteville |
21 (04/07), 17 (04/08) |
| Fort Smith |
29T (04/07), 24 (04/08) |
| Gilbert |
16 (04/08) |
| Harrison |
23T (04/07) |
| Hot Springs |
24 (04/08) |
| Jonesboro |
28T (04/07), 28 (04/08) |
| Little Rock |
28 (04/08) |
| Mena |
25 (04/08) |
| Mountain Home |
25T (04/07) |
| North Little Rock |
30 (04/07), 30 (04/08) |
| Ozark |
23 (04/08) |
| Pine Bluff |
29 (04/08) |
| Note:
"T" means record was tied. |
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A ridge of high pressure built over the Rockies in early
April. This created a northwest wind flow aloft, with systems coming
toward Arkansas from Canada. Temperatures were commonly from 10 to as
much as 25 degrees below normal from the 6th through 8th. On the morning
of the 8th, readings dipped below freezing across much of the
state...with widespread crop damage. |
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In the picture: The pattern on 04/08/2007 featured Arctic high pressure ("H") nearing Arkansas
from the northwest with below normal temperatures. |
| The cool weather started after the passage of
a cold front on the 3rd. The front triggered thunderstorms on its way
through Arkansas, with numerous reports of large hail across northern
and central sections of the state. Penny to golfball size hail was
common. |
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| In the picture: Up to softball size hail stripped leaves from trees in west Little
Rock (Pulaski County) on 04/03/2007. |
| Just northwest of Little Rock (Pulaski County) toward
Pinnacle Mountain, up to softball size hail fell...with hail lasting for
almost two hours! The storm producing the hail became nearly stationary,
and dumped up to four inches of rain. A resident living in the area for
over 70 years said she never experienced a storm like this.
The Pulaski County storm was responsible for 2,200 lightning strikes
between 7 and 10 pm CDT. Taking all storms into account, there was a
total of 21,000 lightning strikes for the event. |
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A different type of storm arrived toward the end of the
month. There were at least a couple of bow echoes with 60 to 80 mph
straight line winds on the 24th/early on the 25th. Trees and power lines
were downed and some structural damage occurred from Clarksville
(Johnson County) to Mountain View (Stone County), Salem (Fulton County)
and Newport (Jackson County). These areas are in northern and western
sections of the state. |
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In the picture: The WSR-88D (Doppler Weather Radar) showed a bow echo (backward "C" shaped line of storms) tracking through
Clarksville (Johnson County) as of 815 pm CDT on 04/24/2007. There was rotation ("L") on the northern end of the bow (bookend). |
| Bow echoes are backward "C" shaped lines of
storms. The shape is created when strong to damaging winds cause the
leading edge of the lines to bulge forward.
In addition to the wind, there was a lot of rain. One to two inch
amounts were common, with locally over three inches. In the twenty
four hour period ending at 7 am CDT on the 25th, the heaviest rain was
across the northwest half of the state. Mount Ida (Montgomery County)
received 3.45 inches of rain, with 2.77 inches at Hot Springs (Garland
County) and an estimated 2.50 inches at Russellville (Pope County). |
| Additional April Details |
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| For more details about
April, 2007...go to the "Temperatures and Precipitation" section
below. |
| Temperatures and Precipitation |
| Temperatures
were below normal in April, mainly due to cool weather during the first
two weeks of the month. Readings at Little Rock are shown to right. |
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Rainfall was generally below normal across Arkansas. 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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www.weather.gov
