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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 2008 Storm Report |
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| Short Weather Summary |
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| Weather events continued to
be more extreme than normal in April, with heavy to excessive rain on
several occasions and a tornado outbreak. The rain caused historic
flooding along rivers in northern sections of the state for the second
time in two months. Several area lakes also reached or exceeded the
flood pool (capacity). Toward the middle of the month, it was cold
enough for a frost/freeze across much of the region. |
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| There were six record low temperatures
tied or broken at five sites in April on the 14th, 15th and 29th. Check
out the records below. |
| Site |
Record
High (Date of Occurrence) |
| Fayetteville |
24 (04/14) |
| Fort Smith |
30 (04/14) |
| Jonesboro |
30 (04/15), 35 (04/29) |
| North Little Rock |
42 (04/29) |
| Texarkana |
35T (04/14) |
| Note:
"T" means record was tied. |
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During the evening of the 3rd, one lone supercell (storm
with rotating updrafts) tracked across central Arkansas...and spawned
ten tornadoes. There were a total of twelve tornadoes during the event. |
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In the picture: The WSR-88D (Doppler Weather Radar)
indicated rotation over Burns Park (Pulaski County) at 1002 pm CDT on
04/03/2008. "RDA" is the "Radar Data Acquisition"
tower across the street from the National Weather Service office. |
| One of the tornadoes passed very near (within 500 yards)
of the National Weather Service (NWS) at the North Little Rock Airport
(Pulaski County). While millions of dollars in damage occurred to planes
and hangers, there was little damage to the NWS building.
Other tornadoes tore through areas around Benton and Bryant (both in
Saline County), west Little Rock (Pulaski County) and Cabot (Lonoke
County).
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| The most devastating flood event of the month occurred on
the 9th/10th. The ground was already saturated in northern Arkansas
following heavy rain in March. There was nowhere for additional water to
go, and there was a lot of water. |
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In the picture: Twenty four hour rainfall amounts
through 7 am CDT on 04/10/2008. |
| More than four inches of rain fell in some areas. Twenty
four hour amounts through 7 am CDT on the 10th included 5.07 inches at Big
Fork (Polk County), 5.02
inches at Gilbert (Searcy County), 4.84 inches at Marshall (Searcy
County), 4.28 inches at Ozone (Johnson County), 4.25 inches at
Botkinburg (Van Buren County), 4.06 inches at Norfork Dam (Baxter
County) and 4.05 inches at Calico Rock (Izard County).
There were many reports of flash flooding, and also some unusual
reports. A road at Marshall (Searcy County) washed away, exposing a water
line. The line broke, with no water in town. A bridge washed out along Highway
333, isolating the town of Gilbert (Searcy County). At Hardy (Sharp
County), two houses floated downstream along the Spring River. |
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| In the
picture: All flood gates were open at Norfork Dam (Baxter County) on
04/10/2008. The picture is courtesy of Mel Coleman. Click
to enlarge. |
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The rain pushed water levels above the flood pool
(capacity) at Norfork Dam (Baxter County), and releases were necessary. That was also the case at Beaver Lake
and Table Rock Lake (in southwest Missouri).
The White River was on the rise, with crests at downstream
points equaling or exceeding levels reached in late March. In most cases,
these were in the Top 10 highest crests on record. |
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Crests Along the White River |
|
Location |
Crest in March (ft) |
Rank |
Crest in April (ft) |
Rank |
Flood Stage |
| Calico Rock (Izard Co) |
39.64 (03/20) |
NA |
40.27 (04/11) |
NA |
19 |
| Batesville
(Independence Co) |
27.00 (03/20) |
8T |
26.40 (04/11) |
10 |
15 |
| Newport (Jackson Co) |
33.98 (03/21) |
6 |
33.16 (04/13) |
NA |
26 |
| Augusta (Woodruff Co) |
38.41 (03/22) |
4 |
37.79 (04/14) |
6 |
26 |
| Georgetown (White Co) |
30.18 (03/24) |
7 |
30.05 (04/15) |
9 |
21 |
| Des Arc (Prairie Co) |
33.74 (03/25) |
5! |
33.78 (04/17) |
4 |
24 |
| Clarendon (Monroe Co) |
33.04 (03/29) |
6!! |
33.78 (04/19) |
5 |
26 |
| Note: "NA"
is not in the Top 10 crests. "T" is tied. "!" was ranked 4th in March. "!!" was
ranked 5th in March |
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Frost/Freeze
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A northerly wind flow developed over
Arkansas in mid-April, and was right out of Canada. By the morning
of the 13th, a few areas in northern Arkansas were at or below freezing.
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In the picture: The pattern aloft at 7 am CDT on
04/14/2008...with a northerly wind flow into Arkansas. |
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Freeze (04/13/2008) |
|
Location |
Low
Temperature |
| Calico Rock (Izard Co) |
30° |
| Deer (Newton Co) |
31° |
| Evening Shade (Sharp Co) |
30° |
| Gilbert (Searcy Co) |
30° |
| Lead Hill (Boone Co) |
30° |
| Salem (Fulton Co) |
32° |
| High pressure built over the region from the Plains...and
brought dry air, a clear sky and light winds. These were optimum
conditions for temperatures to drop. Readings fell into the upper 20s
and lower 30s in the northern and western counties toward dawn on the
14th, with similar readings in much of the state by the morning of the
15th. |
| Additional April Details |
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| For more details about
April, 2008...go to the "Temperatures and Precipitation"
section below. |
| Temperatures and Precipitation |
| Temperatures were generally
below normal in April. Readings at Little Rock are
shown to right. |
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Rainfall was at or above normal in much of Arkansas, and
below normal in the far south. 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
