Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed during the heating of the afternoon in a very unstable airmass across the region. Storms that developed across southwest Arkansas produced a lightning strike in Sevier County Arkansas that struck the local Fire Department in De Queen, Arkansas.
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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.
The episode as NWS SHV wrote it up.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed during the heating of the afternoon in a very unstable airmass across the region. Storms that developed across southwest Arkansas produced a lightning strike in Sevier County Arkansas that struck the local Fire Department in De Queen, Arkansas.
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 Shreveport, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 23, 1:52 PM CST, 2 hours 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA 252 PM CDT SAT AUG 23 2008 .DISCUSSION... CONVECTION INCREASING ACROSS THE CWA THIS AFTERNOON IN RESPONSE TO VORT MAX MOVING SOUTH THROUGH ARKANSAS. NAM HAS THE BEST HANDLE ON THIS SHORT TERM FEATURE...AND USED IT TO INITIALIZE POPS FOR THE EVENING. HOWEVER...AFTER SUNSET ACTIVITY SHOULD DECREASE RAPIDLY. NEXT FORECAST CHALLENGE COMES WITH FAY. GFS AGAIN QUICKER THAN NHC AND BRINGS THE CENTER INLAND MORE. NAM ACTUALLY BRINGS THE CENTER FURTHER WEST INTO LOUISIANA AND STALLS IT JUST SOUTH OF THE CWA BY MONDAY...WHICH WOULD PLACE MUCH OF THE AREA IN A FLOOD SITUATION. ALL THE SOLUTIONS HAVE MERIT...BUT WILL STICK WITH NHC ON THIS ONE. FAY SHOULD BEGIN TO DEPART THE AREA BY WEDNESDAY...ALLOWING THE RIDGE TO ONCE AGAIN BUILD EASTWARD. THE GFS NO LONGER HAS A DEEP TROUGH DIGGING INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS BY WEEKS END...SO AFTER FAY MOVES OFF TO THE NORTHEAST...EXPECT A RETURN OF HOT AND DRY WEATHER. && .AVIATION... WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS AN UPPER LOW CENTERED OVER AR...AND T.S. FAY MEANDERING WESTWARD ALONG THE FL PANHANDLE. WIDESPREAD CB FIELD HAS DEVELOPED...ALONG W/CONVECTION ACROSS OK/AR. EXPECT THIS ACTIVITY TO PREVAIL THRU SUNSET R SO. BY SUNDAY...OUTER BANDS OF FAY WILL BEGIN EDGING INTO KELD/KMLU...BUT CIGS SHOULD REMAIN VFR THRU 18Z...EXCEPT AT KMLU...WHERE FORECAST SOUNDINGS SUGGEST A MVFR CIG BY LATE MORNING. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... SHV 72 93 74 91 71 / 50 20 20 20 20 MLU 72 88 73 86 72 / 50 50 50 50 30 DEQ 70 94 70 93 68 / 30 10 20 20 20 TXK 71 94 72 91 69 / 30 10 20 20 20 ELD 71 91 72 88 70 / 40 30 30 30 20 TYR 72 94 72 94 71 / 20 10 20 20 10 GGG 71 94 72 92 70 / 30 10 20 20 10 LFK 72 93 72 93 72 / 30 20 20 20 10 && .SHV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. LA...NONE. OK...NONE. TX...NONE. && 14/44
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA 1200 PM CDT SAT AUG 23 2008 ARZ050-051-059>061-070>073-LAZ001>006-010>014-017>022-OKZ077-TXZ096- 097-108>112-124>126-136>138-149>153-165>167-241100- ANGELINA-BIENVILLE-BOSSIER-BOWIE-CADDO-CALDWELL-CAMP-CASS-CHEROKEE- CLAIBORNE-COLUMBIA-DE SOTO-FRANKLIN-GRANT-GREGG-HARRISON-HEMPSTEAD- HOWARD-JACKSON-LA SALLE-LAFAYETTE-LINCOLN-LITTLE RIVER-MARION- MCCURTAIN-MILLER-MORRIS-NACOGDOCHES-NATCHITOCHES-NEVADA-OUACHITA- PANOLA-RED RIVER LA-RED RIVER TX-RUSK-SABINE LA-SABINE TX- SAN AUGUSTINE-SEVIER-SHELBY-SMITH-TITUS-UNION AR-UNION LA-UPSHUR- WEBSTER-WINN-WOOD- 1200 PM CDT SAT AUG 23 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARKANSAS...SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...NORTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA... NORTHWEST LOUISIANA...SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA...EAST TEXAS AND NORTHEAST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS THE FOUR STATE REGION INTO TONIGHT AS ABUNDANT MOISTURE COMBINES WITH AN UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING ISOLATED WIND GUSTS TO 35 TO 40 MPH...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE HALF TO ONE INCH CAN OCCUR IN A SHORT TIME...RESULTING IN PONDING OF WATER IN STREETS...LOW LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... TROPICAL STORM FAY OR THE REMNANTS WILL BE MOVING INTO SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI ON SUNDAY. THE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO TURN BY MONDAY NIGHT AND MOVE SLOWLY NORTHEAST THROUGH CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI. RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL WARP AROUND FAY... POTENTIALLY RESULTING IN LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL FOR EASTERN PARTS OF LOUISIANA...POSSIBLY AS FAR WEST AS A MONROE TO JENA LINE. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH THIS SYSTEM...HOWEVER WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... THE ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS...AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL...IN SUPPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER OPERATIONS...IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY OR TONIGHT.
The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 140 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:58 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck the fire department's radio tower in De Queen, Arkansas. The electricity from the strike followed the wiring into the wall resulting in a fire inside the local fire department. Moderate damage was reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, August 2008
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: 132113.