Hail and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, August 18, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, August 18, 2002
Start: 2002-08-18T13:30
End: 2002-08-18T14:55
Location: Arkansas

August 18, 2002 · NWS MEG · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

2 thunderstorm wind, 1 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: 0
Property damage: $12,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 Aug 18, 9:39 AM CST, 3 hours 51 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 18, 9:39 AM CST, 3 hours 51 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1039 AM CDT SUN AUG 18 2002

WEAK SHORTWAVE CURRENTLY DENOTED BY AREA OF MID CLOUDS ALONG THE
TN/MS BORDER. THIS FEATURE TRIGGERED SCT TSTMS ACRS PARTS OF W TN
THIS MORNING. AIRMASS ACRS THE MID SOUTH STILL MOIST AND UNSTABLE.
EXPECT CAP TO CONT TO WEAKEN AND AFTN DEVELOPMENT TO OCCUR. WEAK
SHORTWAVE SHOULD AID DEVELOPMENT ACRS W TN AND N MS. LARGE MCS
ACRS MO IS MOVING EAST AND SHOULD NOT BOTHER THE AREA. HOWEVER...THE
MCS PROBABLY WL SEND SOME BOUNDARIES INTO THE NRN SXNS OF THE CWFA
AND THIS COULD HELP TRIGGER SOME STORMS. ANOTHER THING TO CONSIDER IS
THE LARGE CIRRUS SHIELD MOVING INTO THE NRN SXNS. THIS MAY INHIBIT
DEVELOPMENT...ESPECIALLY ACRS NE AR WHERE WEAK SHORTWAVE (ALREADY TO
THE EAST) IS PROVIDING NO HELP. CURRENT FORECAST ON TRACK. WL REMOVE
AFTN WORDING AND LEAVE THE REST ALONE.

.MEG...NONE
SJM

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 119 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:30 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Clay

When: August 18, 1:30 PM CST to 1:35 PM CST
Where: Clay County, Piggott
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.383, -90.183

A couple of trees were knocked down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Clay

When: August 18, 1:45 PM CST to 1:50 PM CST
Where: Clay County, Pollard
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates: 36.433, -90.267

Many powerlines were blown down.

Hail, Lawrence

When: August 18, 2:50 PM CST to 2:55 PM CST
Where: Lawrence County, Black Rock
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $850
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 36.100, -91.100

What these are

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

Every storm in Arkansas in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Arkansas, August 2002

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: 5315405, 5315481, 5315482.