Damaging Winds in Arkansas, August 23, 2003

Name: Damaging Winds in Arkansas, August 23, 2003
Start: 2003-08-23T03:00
End: 2003-08-23T03:00
Location: Arkansas

August 23, 2003 · NWS LZK · 2 events in 1 county or zone

Thunderstorm winds toppled some trees.

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: None recorded
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 happened

The episode as NWS LZK wrote it up.

Thunderstorm winds toppled some trees.

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 Little Rock, AR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 23, 3:00 AM CST, 0 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 23, 3:00 AM CST, 0 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
400 AM CDT SAT AUG 23 2003

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST ARKANSAS EARLY
THIS MORNING...AND MOVED TO THE SOUTHWEST...COMING CLOSE TO THE
LITTLE ROCK METRO AREA. AREAL COVERAGE HAS DECREASED AND WILL
CONTINUE TO DO SO IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. HOWEVER... LEFTOVER
BOUNDARIES FROM THIS CONVECTION WILL AID IN NEW DEVELOPMENT DURING
THE DAYLIGHT HOURS. IN ADDITION...A WEAK COLD FRONT IN EXTREME
NORTHERN ARKANSAS WILL MOVE SLOWLY SOUTH DURING THE DAY...AIDING IN
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.

COLD FRONT NOT PACKING MUCH OF A PUNCH...AS THERE IS LACK OF
MOISTURE...AND DRIER AIR IS STILL FAR BEHIND IN MISSOURI.
THEREFORE...HIGH TEMPERATURES TODAY WILL STILL BE ON THE HOT SIDE.
DUE TO THIS...ALONG WITH HIGH HUMIDITY VALUES...HAVE DECIDED TO
REISSUE THE HEAT ADVISORY FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTH TODAY. LOCATION
OF THE COLD FRONT AND ASSOCIATED CLOUD COVER/RAINFALL WILL BE A BIG
PLAYER AS FAR AS TEMPERATURES...BUT CURRENT THINKING IS FRONT WILL
NOT REACH CENTRAL ARKANSAS UNTIL MID AFTERNOON. THIS WILL ALLOW
PLENTY OF TIME FOR TEMPERATURES TO RISE...AS WELL AS MOISTURE WILL
POOL AROUND THE FRONT. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP DURING
THE DAY...BUT COVERAGE WILL LIMITED.

FRONT WILL BE SLOW TO MOVE OUT OF THE STATE...BUT PRECIPITATION WILL
END OVERNIGHT. SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES AND DRIER AIR WILL
FOLLOW FOR TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY.

NEXT SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...BRINGING
A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH PRESSURE WILL FOLLOW FOR
THE END OF NEXT WEEK.

HRO   94  69  94  67 /  20  20   5   5
LIT   96  73  95  72 /  20  20  10  10
HOT   97  74  96  72 /  30  30  10  10
PBF   98  74  95  73 /  20  20  10  10

.LZK...
AR...HEAT ADVISORY FOR TODAY FOR ZONES ARZ021>022...ARZ030>034...
ARZ037>047...ARZ052>057...ARZ062>069.

58

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 22, 5:05 PM CST, 9 hours 55 minutes before

ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-231000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
605 PM CDT FRI AUG 22 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT THIS
EVENING. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A COUPLE OF THE STORMS TO BE
STRONG WITH GUSTY WINDS AND HAIL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

A COLD FRONT MAY REACH THE STATE WEDNESDAY...BRINGING ANOTHER CHANCE
OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AT THAT TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED.

28

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 23, 12:00 AM CST, 3 hours before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK, AR
100 AM CDT SAT AUG 23 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1240 AM    3 SW SWIFTON              AR   WIND DAMAGE
08/23/03   JACKSON                        HIGHWAY SIGNS BLOWN DOWN
                                          ON U.S. HWY 67. REPORTED BY
                                          LAW ENFORCEMENT

1240 AM    SWIFTON                   AR   WIND DAMAGE
08/23/03   JACKSON                        TREES DOWN ACROSS TOWN.
                                          POWER LINES DOWN. POLICE
                                          RADIO SYSTEM KNOCKED OUT.
                                          REPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT

1243 AM    2 W TUCKERMAN             AR   WIND DAMAGE
08/23/03   JACKSON                        TREE DOWN ACROSS STATE HWY
                                          37. REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

22

Local storm report, Aug 23, 12:07 AM CST, 2 hours 53 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK, AR
107 AM CDT SAT AUG 23 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0103 AM    NEWPORT                   AR   .75 INCH HAIL
08/23/03   JACKSON                        REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

22

Local storm report, Aug 23, 12:31 AM CST, 2 hours 29 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK, AR
131 AM CDT SAT AUG 23 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0115 AM    NEWPORT                   AR   WIND DAMAGE
08/23/03   JACKSON                        TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN. REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

22

Local storm report, Aug 23, 12:47 AM CST, 2 hours 13 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK, AR
147 AM CDT SAT AUG 23 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0112 AM    NEWARK                    AR   WIND DAMAGE
08/23/03   INDEPENDENCE                   TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN. SOME ROADS BLOCKED.
                                          REPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT

22

Local storm report, Aug 23, 1:55 AM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK, AR
255 AM CDT SAT AUG 23 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0155 AM    PANGBURN                  AR   WIND DAMAGE
08/23/03   WHITE                          TREES DOWN. REPORTED BY
                                          LAW ENFORCEMENT

0158 AM    LETONA                    AR   WIND DAMAGE
08/23/03   WHITE                          TREES DOWN. REPORTED BY
                                          LAW ENFORCEMENT

22

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 54 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:57 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Perry

When: August 23, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Perry County, Perry
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.050, -92.800

Thunderstorm Wind, Perry

When: August 23, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Perry County, 5 mi SE of Perry
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.000, -92.733

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arkansas in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Arkansas, August 2003

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: 5333375, 5333376.