Winter Storm in Arkansas, December 13, 2000

A major Winter Storm developed in Arkansas late on December 12, 2000 and lasted through the evening of December 13, 2000. Arctic high pressure began moving east of the region, with clockwise flow around the high pumping warm and moist air from the Gulf Coast region over below freezing air in Arkansas. The end result was heavy snow and sleet across northern and western sections of the state...and freezing rain and sleet in central and southern sections. More specifically, 3 to 6 inches of snow fell across the extreme north before mixing with sleet...with 2 to 4 inches of snow and sleet across much of the north and west. In central and southern sections, one half to 1 inch of freezing rain accumulated...with some sleet mixed in at times. Where icing occurred, there were massive power outages with entire trees falling in some areas due to the weight of the ice. Where trees and tree limbs fell, there was some property damage reported...mainly to roofs and vehicles. The media reported some injuries due to falling tree limbs, but specific numbers were not provided. Power companies in Arkansas reported that about 250,000 customers lost power during the event...which is believed to be the largest outage in Arkansas history. Many people were without power for several days. Extra utility crews and tree trimmers from surrounding states were contacted to help restore power and to remove tree debris from lines. Winter Storm Warnings were posted almost a day in advance, with highway crews able to treat roads before the event began. Many schools announced they would be closed on the 13th, and the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management opened their Emergency Operations Center before precipitation began.