Ice Storm in Arkansas, November 28 to 29, 2001

Name: Ice Storm in Arkansas, November 28 to 29, 2001
Start: 2001-11-28T02:00
End: 2001-11-29T12:00
Location: Arkansas

November 28 to 29, 2001 · NWS TSA · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Surface High Pressure built into the region from the north supplying the cold air at the surface. An upper level storm system out of the southwest supplied the lift for the precipitation.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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: 0
Property damage: $1.8 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 happened

The episode as NWS TSA wrote it up.

Surface High Pressure built into the region from the north supplying the cold air at the surface. An upper level storm system out of the southwest supplied the lift for the precipitation. Ice accruals of 1/2 to 1 inch were found across the region. The ice also extended across into Adair County Oklahoma. The ice brought down trees and utility lines/poles across the area. The ice track was fairly narrow due to colder air aloft farther north and west that supported frozen precipitation instead of freezing precipitation.

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 Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 27, 9:50 PM CST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 27, 9:50 PM CST, 4 hours 10 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
950 PM CST TUE NOV 27 2001

VERY DIFFICULT WEATHER SITUATION EVOLVING ACROSS ERN OK/NW AR LATE
THIS EVENING.

FIRST OF ALL WL ADJUST WRNG/ADV SOMEWHAT. WL GO AHEAD AND SHIFT THE
CURRENT WARNING A FEW COUNTIES SOUTH AND EAST OF ITS CURRENT
LOCATION. ALSO WL EXTEND THE ADVISORY ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE
CWFA.

TRENDS OVER THE PAST FEW HOURS HAVE BEEN FOR MORE SLEET AND RAIN
THAN ANYTHING GENERALLY ALONG AND SE OF I-44. ECHOES ARE BEGINNING
TO BAND ROUGHLY ALONG A KFYV-KMLC LINE. TO THE NORTHWEST OF THIS
ENHANCED BAND...MUCH OF THE PCPN IS IN THE FORM OF SN MIXED WITH PL.
ALONG AND SE OF THE BAND...MUCH OF THE PCPN IS IN THE FORM OF RA AND
PL. HAVE BEEN WATCHING SOME STRONG BRIGHT BANDING ACROSS FAR NW
AR...AND A FEW CALLS INTO THE AREA INDICATE THAT MUCH OF THE PCPN IS
IN THE FORM OF SLEET. AREA CURRENTLY COVERED BY AN ADVISORY...BUT WL
CONTINUE TO MONITOR FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE EVENING...AS MAY HAVE
TO UPGRADE THIS AREA TO A WRNG BASED ON ICING ACCUMULATIONS. FURTHER
TO THE S...ADVISORY WL BE WORDED MOSTLY FOR LGT ICING. AM SOMEWHAT
CONCERNED THAT ICE MAY BUILD UP ON TREES/POWERLINES OVERNIGHT ACROSS
SE OK AS TEMPS FALL...AS HAS BEEN WITNESSED ACROSS PORTIONS OF SC
OK. (THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP OUN)

A QUICK LOOK AT THE 00Z ETA SHOWS THE LARGEST QPF AXIS SHIFTING
SLIGHTLY FURTHER TO THE SE THAN THE 18Z RUN...AND THIS MATCHES UP
WELL WITH CURRENT THINKING AND RADAR TRENDS. WL LIKELY BACK OFF
SLIGHTLY ON SN ACCUMULATIONS ACROSS FAR NW ZNS...BUT STILL KEEP THEM
IN THE CURRENT WRNG. HAVE NOT WITNESSED TOO MUCH ACCUMULATION OF
SNOW ALONG THE I-44 CORRIDOR AS OF YET...BUT THE NEW ETA SAYS NOT TO
WORRY...THERELL BE PLENTY OF QPF BY MORNING...AND MOSTLY IN THE
FORM OF SNOW. STRONG UPR DIVERGENCE DEVELOPS OVERNIGHT...ALONG WITH
VERY STRONG LOW LEVEL FRONTOGENETIC FORCING...AND GOOD
WAA/ISENTROPIC LIFT. THE FORECAST LLVL FRONTOGENETIC FORCING LOOKS
WELL RESOLVED BY THE MESOETA LOOKING AT RADAR TRENDS SHOWING PCPN
BECOMING MORE BANDED IN NATURE AS THE EVENING PROGRESSES.

AS A SIDE NOTE...NOV MONTHLY SNOWFALL RECORD MAY BE IN JEOPARDY FOR
KTUL...AS THE PREVIOUS RECORD NOVEMBER SNOWFALL IS 5.6 INCHES SET
BACK IN 1972.

AS ALWAYS...THANKS FOR THE COORD OUN

UPDATE OUT ASAP.

MANNING
FCSTID = 24

.TSA...
AR...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES
ARZ001>002...ARZ010>011...019>020...029.
OK...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES
OKZ054>067.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES
OKZ049...OKC053...OKZ068>076.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Washington

When: November 28, 2:00 AM CST to November 29, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Property damage: $1.0 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.979, -94.216 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Benton

When: November 28, 3:00 AM CST to November 29, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Benton forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.339, -94.256 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Carroll

When: November 28, 3:00 AM CST to November 29, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Carroll forecast zone
Property damage: $500,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.341, -93.538 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Madison

When: November 28, 3:00 AM CST to November 29, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Property damage: $200,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.011, -93.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Ice Storm: Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arkansas in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Arkansas, November 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: 5274719, 5274717, 5274718, 5274720.