Damaging Wind and High Wind in Arkansas, January 31, 2002

Name: Damaging Wind and High Wind in Arkansas, January 31, 2002
Start: 2002-01-31T03:30
End: 2002-01-31T17:20
Location: Arkansas

January 31, 2002 · NWS MEG · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

1 high wind, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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: $25,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 Jan 30, 9:22 PM CST, 6 hours 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 30, 9:22 PM CST, 6 hours 8 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
922 PM CST WED JAN 30 2002

FRONT STILL DRAPED ACRS NE AR THIS EVENING WITH TEMPS IN THE MID
40S AT WALNUT RIDGE. FRONT SHOWING SIGNS OFF LIFTING N WITH
TEMPS RISING TO 66 AT HKA AND TO 57 AT JBR. FRONT WL RETREAT BACK
INTO MO AFTER MIDNIGHT. WL UPDATE NE AR TO REFELCT TIMING CHANGES.
CURRENT IR SAT PIX INDICATE A LARGE SWATH OF CLEAR SKY ACRS THE ERN
HALF OF THE CWFA. EXPECT LOW CLOUDS WL REDVELOP OVRNGT AND FOR THIS
CLEARING TO FILL IN. WL WORD AS BECOMING CLOUDY.

.MEG...NONE.
SJM

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 87 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:10 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high wind, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Craighead

When: January 31, 3:30 AM CST to 3:35 AM CST
Where: Craighead forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.831, -90.633 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Two businesses were damaged. A few homes had some of their shingles blown off. Most of the damage occurred near the town of Brookland.

Thunderstorm Wind, Crittenden

When: January 31, 5:13 PM CST to 5:20 PM CST
Where: Crittenden County, Horseshoe Lake
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 34.933, -90.350

Some trees were knocked down.

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
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.

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, January 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: 5280158, 5280159.