Arkansas, 2002

Hail and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, May 8 to 9, 2002

May 8 to 9, 2002 · NWS TSA · 12 events in 7 counties and zones

9 thunderstorm wind, 3 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
$1,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
12

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 Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 8, 8:15 PM CST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 8, 8:15 PM CST, 2 hours 25 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA
915 PM CDT WED MAY 8 2002

RUNNING A BIT BEHIND WITH ONGOING WEATHER AND GFE PROBLEMS.

SE KS CONVECTION HAS RACED OUT AHEAD OF COLD FRONT...WITH
WELL-DEFINED OUTFLOW BOUNDARY PUSHING INTO OUR FAR NRN COUNTIES AT
THIS TIME.  ADDITIONAL SEVERE CONVECTION JUST TO THE W OF OUR NWRN
CWA CONTINUES ALONG COLD FRONT.  00Z OUN SOUNDING WAS QUITE
IMPRESSIVE WITH NEARLY 4000 J/KG OF CAPE AND JUST A SLIVER OF A CAP
LEFT.

EXPECT THIS ACTIVITY TO GRADUALLY BECOME MORE LINEAR WITH TIME...AND
EVENTUALLY DEVELOP INTO A MCS OVERNIGHT. PROGGD CORFIDI VECTORS
SUGGEST MCS WILL PEEL ESE INTO FAR NE OK AND EVENTUALLY NW AR LATER
TONIGHT.

WILL UPDATE TO TWEAK POPS SOME...AND ADJUST TIMING OF CONVECTION.

UPDATE SHOULD BE OUT BETWEEN 930 AND 945 PM.

.TSA...
AR...NONE.
OK...NONE.

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 108 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:38 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Benton

When
May 8, 10:40 PM CST
Where
Benton County, Pea Ridge
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
36.450, -94.117

Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down power lines.

Thunderstorm Wind, Carroll

When
May 8, 10:59 PM CST
Where
Carroll County, Beaver
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
36.467, -93.767

Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down a tree.

Thunderstorm Wind, Benton

When
May 8, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Benton County, Bentonville
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
36.367, -94.217

Thunderstorm Wind, Benton

When
May 8, 11:12 PM CST
Where
Benton County, Rogers
Measured
57 kt (66 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.333, -94.117

Thunderstorm winds estimated at 65 miles an hour blew down a tree.

Thunderstorm Wind, Washington

When
May 8, 11:45 PM CST
Where
Washington County, Fayetteville
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
36.067, -94.167

Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down large tree limbs.

Thunderstorm Wind, Madison

When
May 8, 11:56 PM CST
Where
Madison County, Kingston
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
36.050, -93.517

Thunderstorm Wind, Benton

When
May 9, 1:55 AM CST
Where
Benton County, 2 mi W of Cave Spgs
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
36.267, -94.267

Thunderstorm Wind, Crawford

When
May 9, 2:52 AM CST
Where
Crawford County, Van Buren
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.433, -94.350

Hail, Sebastian

When
May 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Sebastian County, Ft Smith
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
35.383, -94.417

Thunderstorm Wind, Sebastian

When
May 9, 3:05 AM CST
Where
Sebastian County, 10 mi S of Ft Smith
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
35.233, -94.417

Hail, Sebastian

When
May 9, 3:07 AM CST
Where
Sebastian County, Greenwood
Measured
1.25 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
35.217, -94.267

Hail, Franklin

When
May 9, 3:22 AM CST
Where
Franklin County, Charleston
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
35.300, -94.033

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

More

Every storm in Arkansas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, May 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: 5294944, 5294943, 5294945, 5294946, 5294947, 5295022, 5295023, 5295024, 5295025, 5295027, 5295026, 5295028.