Tropical Storm Ike moved into Arkansas on the evening of the 13th. By mid evening of the 13th, Ike was located in western Arkansas.
Every event with a place to put it; 35 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 LZK wrote it up.
Tropical Storm Ike moved into Arkansas on the evening of the 13th. By mid evening of the 13th, Ike was located in western Arkansas. Ike weakened to a tropical depression during the wee hours of the 14th, when it was located about 105 miles west-northwest of Little Rock. Ike exited northern Arkansas before sunrise on the 14th. In the Little Rock County Warning Area, wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph were common, and some gusts in the northern part of the state exceeded 50 mph. The strongest gusts measured were 67 mph at the Izard County Fairgrounds in Melbourne and 61 mph at the Newport airport. The strongest sustained wind measured was 46 mph at the Newport airport. Power was knocked out to more than 200,000 electric customers. Wind damage was estimated at just over $30 million. There was one injury due to the winds. The greatest storm total rainfall was 4.60 inches at Big Fork. The lowest barometric pressure was 29.10 inches at Mountain Home. There were seven weak tornadoes, with damage estimated at just over $450,000.
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 Sep 13, 1:32 PM CST, 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 232 PM CDT SAT SEP 13 2008 .DISCUSSION... MAIN CONCERNS THIS FORECAST CYCLE ARE THE IMPACTS OF IKE. STRONG WINDS...HEAVY RAIN...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON....TONIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY...BEFORE IKE LIFTS OFF TO THE NORTHEAST. IKE CONTINUES ON A NORTHWARD TRACK...OVER NORTHEAST TX...WITH THE SPIRAL BANDS REACHING SW AR AT THIS TIME. A TOR WATCH IS IN EFFECT OVER FAR SW AR AT THIS TIME. THE OUTER BAND CONVECTION HAS PROMPTED A FEW TOR WARNINGS OVER NORTHERN LA...BUT NO REPORTS HAVE BEEN SEEN YET. THIS OUTER BAND WILL PUSH INTO SW AR OVER NEXT FEW HOURS. LIGHT SHOWERS HAVE BEEN SEEN OVER REST OF AR. SURFACE WIND SPEEDS AROUND IKE HAVE BEEN AT TROPICAL STORM STRENGTH. EXPECT IKE TO CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTH...THEN MORE NORTHEAST OVER AR...AS THE UPPER TROUGH PICKS IT UP. FLOOD WATCH AND WIND ADVISORIES ARE OUT FOR THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY. && .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT OF COURSE...FORECAST WILL START WITH INCREASING RAIN CHANCES AND WINDS AS IKE MOVES OVER WESTERN AR THIS AFTERNOON...TONIGHT...AND INTO SUNDAY. ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS ARE EXPECTED WITH TORNADO POTENTIAL. WILL STAY WITH CURRENT HEAVY RAIN TRENDS WITH 3 TO 6 INCHES OVER WESTERN AREAS...2 TO 5 OVER CENTRAL...1 TO OVER THE EAST. AMOUNTS MAY BE A BIT LOWER DUE TO THE SPEED OF IKE. CURRENT FORECAST AND MODEL TRENDS HAVE THE REMNANTS NEAR THE MO/AR STATE LINE (NORTH OF MT HOME) SUNDAY MORNING...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AND OUT OF MO BY NOON SUNDAY. FORECAST IS TRAPPED WITH THAT TREND. SUNDAY EVENING...THE SURFACE LOW LIFTS NE...WHILE A COLD FRONT SWEEPS ACROSS AR. CLOUDS AND LIGHT PRECIP WILL STILL BE SEEN OVER NE AR...BUT DRIER AIR WILL QUICKLY FILTER IN OVER THE STATE AS IKE LIFTS NE. SUNDAY NIGHT TO MONDAY...CLOUDS DECREASE...AS WINDS LOWER. MONDAY WILL BE MOSTLY SUNNY WITH A N TO NW WIND. && .LONG TERM...TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY TROF WILL BE EXITING OUR AREA ON TUESDAY AS A LARGE RIDGE BUILDS TO OUR WEST. THE RIDGE WILL STRENGTHEN AND LINGER OVER THE AREA THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING...THEN IT WILL BEGIN TO WEAKEN TOWARD THE END OF THE LONG TERM. MEANWHILE...THE SURFACE PATTERN WILL HAVE A LARGE HIGH MOVE INTO OUR AREA FROM THE NORTHWEST...PUSHING COOLER AND DRIER AIR TO ALL SECTIONS. THE RIDGE AXIS WILL STAY JUST WEST OF THE STATE THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING. AXIS WILL MOVE FAR ENOUGH EAST TO ALLOW SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW BACK INTO THE STATE. ALL IN ALL...A PROLONGED PERIOD OF DRY WEATHER WILL BE THE RULE...AND NONE TOO SOON TO DRY OUT FROM THE EFFECTS OF IKE. TEMPERATURES WILL RUN SLIGHTLY BELOW OR AT NORMAL LEVELS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BATESVILLE AR 73 79 60 74 / 100 80 10 0 CAMDEN AR 73 82 63 81 / 100 70 10 0 HARRISON AR 71 75 56 71 / 100 80 10 0 HOT SPRINGS AR 72 80 61 78 / 100 70 10 0 LITTLE ROCK AR 73 80 61 77 / 100 80 10 0 MONTICELLO AR 73 83 63 81 / 90 70 10 0 MOUNT IDA AR 72 80 60 74 / 100 60 10 0 MOUNTAIN HOME AR 71 77 58 73 / 100 90 10 0 NEWPORT AR 73 80 60 74 / 90 80 10 0 PINE BLUFF AR 73 81 62 79 / 100 70 10 0 RUSSELLVILLE AR 71 78 59 75 / 100 70 10 0 SEARCY AR 73 80 61 75 / 100 80 10 0 STUTTGART AR 73 81 62 77 / 90 80 10 0 && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLOOD WATCH FROM 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING FOR ARKANSAS-BAXTER-BOONE-BRADLEY-CALHOUN-CLARK-CLEBURNE- CLEVELAND-CONWAY-DALLAS-DESHA-DREW-FAULKNER-FULTON-GARLAND-GRANT- HOT SPRING-INDEPENDENCE-IZARD-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-LINCOLN- LOGAN-LONOKE-MARION-MONROE-MONTGOMERY-NEWTON-OUACHITA-PERRY-PIKE- POLK-POPE-PRAIRIE-PULASKI-SALINE-SCOTT-SEARCY-SHARP-STONE-VAN BUREN-WHITE-WOODRUFF-YELL. WIND ADVISORY FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CDT SUNDAY FOR ARKANSAS-BAXTER-BOONE-BRADLEY-CALHOUN-CLEBURNE-CLEVELAND-CONWAY- DALLAS-DESHA-DREW-FAULKNER-FULTON-GARLAND-GRANT-HOT SPRING- INDEPENDENCE-IZARD-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-LINCOLN-LOGAN- LONOKE-MARION-MONROE-NEWTON-PERRY-POPE-PRAIRIE-PULASKI-SALINE- SEARCY-SHARP-STONE-VAN BUREN-WHITE-WOODRUFF-YELL. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM CDT SUNDAY FOR CLARK-MONTGOMERY- OUACHITA-PIKE-POLK-SCOTT. && SHORT TERM...59 / LONG TERM...32
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 500 AM CDT SAT SEP 13 2008 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-141000- ARKANSAS-BAXTER-BOONE-BRADLEY-CALHOUN-CLARK-CLEBURNE-CLEVELAND- CONWAY-DALLAS-DESHA-DREW-FAULKNER-FULTON-GARLAND-GRANT-HOT SPRING- INDEPENDENCE-IZARD-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-LINCOLN-LOGAN-LONOKE- MARION-MONROE-MONTGOMERY-NEWTON-OUACHITA-PERRY-PIKE-POLK-POPE- PRAIRIE-PULASKI-SALINE-SCOTT-SEARCY-SHARP-STONE-VAN BUREN-WHITE- WOODRUFF-YELL- 500 AM CDT SAT SEP 13 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT HURRICANE IKE MADE LANDFALL ALONG THE TEXAS GULF COAST EARLY THIS MORNING...AND WILL BEGIN AFFECTING ARKANSAS LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. HEAVY RAIN...STRONG WINDS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE EXPECTED. RAIN WILL BECOME LIKELY OVER WESTERN ARKANSAS TODAY...AND WILL SPREAD OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE STATE TONIGHT. THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON...3 TO 6 INCH AMOUNTS WILL BE POSSIBLE GENERALLY WEST OF HARDY...MORRILTON AND CAMDEN...WITH 1 TO 3 INCHES FARTHER EAST. A FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MUCH OF ARKANSAS TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. THE SOIL IS NEARLY SATURATED IN SOME AREAS DUE TO WELL ABOVE NORMAL RAIN IN AUGUST...AND THIS WILL MAKE FLOODING MORE LIKELY DURING THIS UPCOMING EVENT. VERY WINDY CONDITIONS WILL BE NOTED IN SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS THIS AFTERNOON. SOUTHEAST WINDS AT 30 TO 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED...WITH GUSTS APPROACHING 50 MPH. THESE WINDS WILL SPREAD TO THE NORTHEAST TONIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT IN THE SOUTHWEST THIS AFTERNOON...AND IN MUCH OF ARKANSAS TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES WILL LIKELY BE DOWNED. TREES WILL BE PUSHED OVER MORE READILY DUE TO WET SOIL CONDITIONS. THERE IS ALSO A CONCERN ABOUT SEVERE WEATHER. WITH SOME WARMING THIS AFTERNOON...AND AS SHEAR INCREASES AS THE CENTER OF IKE APPROACHES...ISOLATED TORNADOES MAY FORM IN DEVELOPING STORMS THROUGH THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE SUNDAY MORNING BEFORE THE REMNANTS OF IKE EXIT TO THE NORTHEAST. IKE WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A COLD FRONT...AND COOLER AND DRIER AIR. BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE FORECAST TO BEGIN THE WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH ISOLATED TORNADOES EXPECTED. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS. 61/46
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 1155 AM CDT SAT SEP 13 2008 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069- 141400- ARKANSAS-BAXTER-BOONE-BRADLEY-CALHOUN-CLARK-CLEBURNE-CLEVELAND- CONWAY-DALLAS-DESHA-DREW-FAULKNER-FULTON-GARLAND-GRANT-HOT SPRING- INDEPENDENCE-IZARD-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-LINCOLN-LOGAN-LONOKE- MARION-MONROE-MONTGOMERY-NEWTON-OUACHITA-PERRY-PIKE-POLK-POPE- PRAIRIE-PULASKI-SALINE-SCOTT-SEARCY-SHARP-STONE-VAN BUREN-WHITE- WOODRUFF-YELL- 1155 PM CDT SAT SEP 13 2008 ...VERY WINDY CONDITIONS EXPECTED OVERNIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING... TROPICAL STORM IKE MOVED INTO SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS SATURDAY EVENING... AND WAS TRACKING THE NORTHEAST. THE SYSTEM WILL GO THROUGH RUSSELLVILLE...MARSHALL AND MOUNTAIN HOME OVERNIGHT BEFORE EXITING INTO SOUTHERN MISSOURI BY DAWN SUNDAY. AHEAD OF IKE...THE PRESSURE WILL FALL MARKEDLY...FOLLOWED BY STRONG PRESSURE RISES AS IKE PASSES BY ANY GIVEN LOCATION. THESE LARGE PRESSURE TENDENCIES WILL CREATE A LOT OF WIND ACROSS ARKANSAS. WIND SPEEDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH WILL BE COMMON OVERNIGHT...WITH GUSTS OVER 50 MPH AT TIMES. DURING SATURDAY EVENING...THERE WAS A GUST TO 56 MPH AT CAMDEN...WITH A 49 MPH AT HOT SPRINGS...A 47 MPH GUST AT PINE BLUFF...A 46 MPH GUST AT LITTLE ROCK AND 43 MPH GUST AT ARKADELPHIA. WINDS OF THIS MAGNITUDE WILL DOWN NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES...WITH POWER OUTAGES LIKELY. THERE MAY ALSO BE SOME MINOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. AS THE CENTER OF IKE PASSED JUST TO THE WEST OF PEARCY IN GARLAND COUNTY SATURDAY EVENING...TREES WERE BLOWN OVER ON HOUSES...WITH ONE TREE ON HIGHWAY 70. WINDS WILL BEGIN DIMINISHING SOMEWHAT AND WILL BECOME LESS GUSTY BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON AS IKE MOVES AWAY FROM THE REGION. UNTIL IKE DEPARTS...PEOPLE IN ARKANSAS SHOULD PREPARE FOR VERY WINDY CONDITIONS OVERNIGHT AND INTO SUNDAY MORNING. 46
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 167 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:09 UTC.
46 tropical storm, 9 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
This tornado was spawned by Tropical Storm Ike. A few trees were blown down. The intermittent nature of the tornado's path indicated that the tornado was ill-formed and dipped up and down.
This tornado was spawned by Tropical Storm Ike. Many trees were blown down, as was a power line. The tornado exited Hot Spring County, east-northeast of Glen Rose, and moved into Saline County, northwest of Traskwood.
This tornado was spawned by Tropical Storm Ike. Trees were blown down in the forest. The tornado crossed U.S. Highway 70 east of the rest area.
This tornado moved out of Hot Spring County, east-northeast of Glen Rose, and entered Saline County, northwest of Traskwood. Many trees were blown down, one of which fell on a house. The tornado moved through the Crossroads community, which had been hit by a tornado on April 3, 2008.
This tornado was spawned by Tropical Storm Ike. A few trees were blown down. The tornado exited Garland County, north of Whittington, and moved into Saline County, south-southeast of Blocher.
This tornado moved out of Garland County, north of Whittington, and entered Saline County, south-southeast of Blocher. A few small trees were blown down.
This tornado was spawned by Tropical Storm Ike. Trees were blown down. One large tree fell on a mobile home.
This tornado was spawned by Tropical Storm Ike. A few trees were blown down.
This tornado was spawned by Tropical Storm Ike. The tornado peeled the metal structure off a self-storage warehouse building. Although the items stored in the warehouse were left pretty much in place, heavy rain poured onto them, badly damaging them. The roofs of several apartment buildings were damaged. In some cases, holes in the roof were large enough to allow rainwater to fall into the apartments. Metal buildings at an abandoned lumber yard had strips to metal torn off and thrown onto neighboring properties. A medical supply company's roof was damaged and bay doors were blown in. The facade of a strip mall was damaged, and business signs at the strip mall were blown out. Fences were blown down, as were power poles, power lines, and several large trees.
A 56 MPH wind gust was recorded at Camden Harrell Field Airport. Several large trees were down, including one on Warren Street. As many as eight trees were cleared from streets in Camden.
A 38 MPH wind gust was recorded at Mount Ida. Trees were reported down on U.S. Highway 270.
A 47 MPH wind gust was recorded at Pine Bluff Grider Field.
A 44 MPH wind gust was recorded at the Arkadelphia Airport. Trees and power lines were down across the county.
A 46 mph wind gust was recorded at Little Rock National Airport/Adams Field. A 45 MPH wind gust was recorded at the National Weather Service Office in North Little Rock, and a 41 mph wind gust was recorded at Little Rock Air Force Base. Tree branches were on utility lines in Little Rock. A 20-foot-tall tulip tree fell in Little Rock.
At the Newport airport, sustained winds reached 46 mph and gusts were recorded at 61 MPH. Trees were down all over Newport.
Wind gusts to 47 mph were recorded at the Batesville airport. City streets, county roads and highways had trees and power lines on them.
Numerous large trees were down. Two large locust trees were down on the court house in Jasper.
Trees were down and power outages occurred in the cities of Hardy, Ash Flat, and Cave City.
A 67 MPH wind gust was recorded at the Izard County fairgrounds in Melbourne. A large tree blocked the road in front of the animal control building. Trees and power lines were down across the county. Damage occurred to homes and chicken houses. A store in Violet Hill had a tree fall on the roof. A house on Spring Street was damaged by a large tree.
Trees and power lines were down across the county. Many county roads were blocked from fallen trees and debris. There was damage to homes, storage buildings, businesses and vehicles. A large tree fell on a home east of Heber Springs. At least 39 houses had trees on them. Seven businesses had damage. A church had minor damage to its metal roof and structure. Three barns were damaged. A large tree fell onto power lines north of Spring Park.
Trees and power lines were down across the county.
Trees and power lines were down across the county. Many county roads were blocked from fallen trees and debris. A tree fell on a home on Cedar Street in Mountain Home.
Trees and power lines were down across the county. Many county roads were blocked from fallen trees and debris. Trees and power lines were down in the Spencer and Thunderbird Road area.
A 49 mph wind gust was recorded at Hot Springs Memorial Field. Trees and power lines were down across the county. Approximately 72 trees were down on Ponce golf course. A utility pole and large tree were down on Prospect Avenue. Three major roads in Hot Springs were closed. A tree fell onto a car on Park Street. The driver of the car suffered minor injuries and was unable to get out of the car for several hours due to downed power lines. Trees were down on Arkansas Highway 7 north and south of Jessieville. Trees and power lines were down on Arkansas Highway 5 between Tyme Lane and Curtis Lane. Also, trees were down on Arkansas Highway 192. A pine tree fell onto a bath house in Hot Springs.
A marina on Greers Ferry Lake reported four docks were damaged, six boats were sunk, and about two dozen other boats were damaged. A yellow poplar tree fell in the Clinton Cemetery. Many trees were down across the county.
A tree fell on a house on N.W. 1st street.
A tree fell on a house in Paris.
A tree fell on a home in Murfreesboro. The awning over the Military Tribute in Murfreesboro was ripped off. A tree in front of a church was blown over. A giant willow fell on a side street off of Maple.
Trees and power lines were down along Arkansas Highway 66.
Winds gusted to 53 mph at the Flippin airport.
Winds gusted to 51 mph at the Harrison airport.
Winds gusted to 55 mph at Devils Knob.
Winds gusted to 45 mph at the Searcy airport.
Winds gusted to 48 mph at the Stuttgart airport.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Arkansas, 2008Warnings in Arkansas, September 2008The 2008 hurricane season
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: 126018, 124926, 124930, 124929, 124935, 124936, 125868, 124932, 124924, 130285, 130286, 130287, 130288, 130291, 130293, 130294, 130295, 130296, 130297, 130298, 130300, 130301, 130302, 130303, 136005, 136006, 136008, 136009, 136016, 136635, 136636, 136637, 136638, 136639, 136640, 136641, 136642, 136643, 136644, 136645, and more.