Arkansas, 2001

Tornadoes and Hail in Arkansas, February 24, 2001

February 24, 2001 · NWS MEG · 11 events in 7 counties and zones

7 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 2 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
2
Property damage
$216,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Memphis, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 24, 2:30 PM CST, 3 hours 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 24, 2:30 PM CST, 3 hours 11 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
230 PM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

A SURFACE LOW OVER THE OK PANHANDLE AT 18Z WILL TRACK NEWD TO WI BY
12Z SUN. THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT SHOULD SWING THROUGH OUR FCST
AREA BETWEEN 06Z AND 12Z SUN. EXPECT THE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER
CENTRAL AND WRN AR TO APPROACH THE WRN COUNTIES LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND MOVE ACROSS MOST OF THE FCST AREA THIS EVENING. SOME STORMS MAY
LINGER OVER THE ERN COUNTIES AFTER MIDNIGHT. PLAN TO MENTION
SEVERE STORMS IN ALL ZONES. TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT AND A STRONG LOW
LEVEL JET WILL SUPPORT WINDY CONDITIONS AHEAD OF THE SQUALL LINE
THIS EVENING. CLEARING SHOULD OCCUR LATER TONIGHT FROM WEST TO
EAST...AND WINDS SHOULD BE SOMEWHAT LIGHTER. A SOUTHWEST FLOW
PATTERN WILL SUPPORT OFF AND ON CHANCES OF RAIN FOR THE COMING WEEK.

MODELS IN CLOSE AGREEMENT TODAY...BUT ETA HAS THE BEST ANALYSIS OF
THE CURRENT SCENARIO. GUIDANCE SEEMS REASONABLE.

.MEG...NONE.

012

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 113 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:36 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Poinsett

When
February 24, 5:41 PM CST to 5:55 PM CST
Where
Poinsett County, 2 mi W of Uno
Rating
F2
Path length
4 mi
Path width
25 yd
Property damage
$75,000
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
35.650, -91.067

The tornado moved into Poinsett county from Jackson county and continued to move northeast.One mobile home was demolished. Four other mobile homes were overturned. A few houses were damaged. One shed was blown over. A few trees were knocked down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Craighead

When
February 24, 6:00 PM CST to 6:15 PM CST
Where
Craighead County, 7 mi W of Jonesboro
Measured
55 kt (63 mph)
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.833, -90.833

A few homes were damaged. Several building on the Arkansas State University campus were damaged. A barn and an unoccupied mobile home were also damaged. Several trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cross

When
February 24, 6:35 PM CST to 6:40 PM CST
Where
Cross County, Hickory Ridge
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates
35.400, -91.000

Some power lines were blown down.

Tornado, Phillips

When
February 24, 6:45 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Phillips County, 6 mi SW of Mosby Spur
Rating
F2
Path length
6 mi
Path width
100 yd
Injuries
2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
34.117, -91.033

The tornado moved into the southeast corner of Phillips county from northern Desha county. The tornado struck several mobile homes just southwest of Mosby. Two mobile homes and a farm shop were destroyed. Two people from one of the mobile homes were injured.

Hail, Craighead

When
February 24, 6:53 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Craighead County, Bay
Measured
0.75 in hail
Property damage
$10
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
35.750, -90.567

Thunderstorm Wind, Cross

When
February 24, 7:15 PM CST to 7:20 PM CST
Where
Cross County, Cherry Vly
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
35.400, -90.767

One large tree was blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Clay

When
February 24, 7:15 PM CST to 7:25 PM CST
Where
Clay County, Countywide
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates
36.367, -90.400

Some trees, power lines and power poles were knocked down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Greene

When
February 24, 7:20 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where
Greene County, Countywide
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.117, -90.533

Several trees were blown down across the county.

Thunderstorm Wind, Craighead

When
February 24, 7:20 PM CST to 7:25 PM CST
Where
Craighead County, Lake City
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
35.817, -90.433

Some warehouses were damaged. Many trees and power lines were blown down.

Hail, Poinsett

When
February 24, 7:45 PM CST to 7:50 PM CST
Where
Poinsett County, 6 mi E of Lepanto
Measured
0.75 in hail
Property damage
$10
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
35.617, -90.233

Thunderstorm Wind, Crittenden

When
February 24, 7:50 PM CST to 7:55 PM CST
Where
Crittenden County, West Memphis
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.150, -90.183

Some power lines were knocked down.

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Arkansas in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Arkansas, 2001Warnings in Arkansas, February 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5232561, 5232559, 5232562, 5232803, 5232560, 5232799, 5232801, 5232800, 5232802, 5232563, 5232798.