A fast-moving line of thunderstorms entered northern Arkansas during the wee hours of the 5th. Initially, mainly hail occurred.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
A fast-moving line of thunderstorms entered northern Arkansas during the wee hours of the 5th. Initially, mainly hail occurred. However, as the line swept rapidly southward, wind damage became the main severe weather event, especially from central into eastern 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 Little Rock, AR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 4, 11:36 PM CST, 42 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 1236 AM CDT WED AUG 5 2009 .AVIATION... COMPLEX OVER MISSOURI/NORTHEAST ARKANSAS CONTINUES TO BACKBUILD WESTWARD. BOTH THE NAM AND RUC INDICATE CONVECTION DRIFTING SOUTHWARD INTO ARKANSAS OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. NOT VERY CONFIDENT IN HOW FAR SOUTH IT WILL GET INTO THE MORE CAPPED AIRMASS BEFORE THINGS FALL APART. WILL INCLUDE TEMPORARY TSRA THROUGH 10Z IN THE NORTH. OUTFLOW FROM THE STORMS WILL INTERACT WITH DAYTIME HEATING AND COULD TOUCH OFF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTH. PREVAILING CONDITIONS SHOULD BE VFR AT ALL SITES THROUGH THE PERIOD. TAFS ALREADY OUT. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 951 PM CDT TUE AUG 4 2009/ UPDATE... LARGE MCS OVER SOUTHEAST MISSOURI WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE SOUTHEAST. WHILE MUCH OF THE CONVECTION WILL REMAIN EAST OF THE AREA...CONTINUED LOW CHANCE POPS OVER THE NORTHEAST. THERE IS SOME BACKBUILDING OVER SOUTH CENTRAL MISSOURI...AND WILL HAVE TO WATCH FOR FLOODING...WINDS AND HAIL. OTHERWISE...HEAT AND HUMIDITY WILL BE THE MAIN STORY THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. WITH PLENTY OF MOISTURE ACROSS THE REGION...DEW POINTS WILL REMAIN IN THE MID TO UPPER 70S...WITH HEAT INDEX BECOMING A CONCERN. WILL HAVE TO CLOSELY WATCH FORECASTED DEW POINTS...AS THE MODELS CONTINUE TO DRY OUT IN THE AFTERNOON HOURS...AND THIS HAS NOT HAPPENED THE PREVIOUS TWO DAYS. && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && AVIATION...57
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 345 PM CDT TUE AUG 4 2009 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-051000- 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- 345 PM CDT TUE AUG 4 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A SLIGHT RISK OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...OVER PARTS OF NORTH AND NORTHEAST ARKANSAS. AN UPPER LEVEL WEATHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE EASTERN TO SOUTHEASTERN PLAINS AND DEVELOP A FEW STORMS. THE MAIN THREATS WOULD BE STRONG WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. OTHERWISE...HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL BE ELEVATED THIS AFTERNOON. DUE TO THE HIGH HUMIDITY READINGS ACROSS THE STATE...AND THE EXPECTED AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES IN THE 90S... HEAT INDICES VALUES WILL REACH THE UPPER 90S TO AROUND 105 DEGREES. WHILE THESE READINGS WILL FALL JUST BELOW HEAT ADVISORY CRITERIA... EXTRA CAUTION SHOULD BE USED DURING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES. THIS WOULD BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW HEAT SAFETY RULES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY SEVERAL WEAK SYSTEMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION...ALLOWING FOR ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN PORTIONS OF THE AREA OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...A STRONGER WAVE WILL MOVE THROUGH. SOME STORMS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM COULD BECOME STRONG TO SEVERE...AND PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. AREAS MOST LIKELY TO SEE THE STRONGER STORMS WOULD BE NORTH OF A LINE FROM HARRISON TO NEWPORT. THE MOISTURE CONTENT OF THE AIR WILL REMAIN QUITE HIGH IN THE COMING DAYS...DUE TO THE RECENT RAINS...AND THIS WILL BRING INCREASED HUMIDITY LEVELS. COMBINED WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE 90S...HEAT INDEX READINGS WILL REMAIN IN THE UPPER 90S TO AROUND 105 DEGREES. EVEN THOUGH AFTERNOON HIGHS WILL ONLY BE IN THE MID TO UPPER 90S... HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL BE VERY HIGH...AND THIS WILL LEAD TO ELEVATED HEAT INDEX VALUES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS. 57/59
The Springfield radar (KSGF), 171 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:19 UTC.
28 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 lightning, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Limbs were blown down on Arkansas Highway 9.
A few tree limbs fell and broke power lines.
Nine residences (houses and mobile homes) were damaged, two of which were destroyed; one metal building collapsed; eight metal barns were severely damaged, two of which were flattened and another of which was destroyed; and six vehicles were damaged, one of which was totaled. A number of trees were blown down. Some of the structural damage was due to falling trees and some of it was caused by the wind alone.
Numerous trees were blown down.
Numerous trees were blown down, power lines were blown down, and shingles were blown off a mobile home. In Letona, one tree fell on a church and another fell on a house.
A few trees were blown down.
A few trees were blown down.
Numerous trees were blown down.
Trees, power lines, and a fence were blown down.
The roof of the high school was damaged. Part of the roof and the smokestack on a riverboat restaurant were blown off. A large tree and some power lines were blown down. Downtown Des Arc was without power for most of the day.
Trees were blown down and shingles were blown off a church.
A building was blown down at a fish farm and much of the roof was taken off another building. The roof was peeled back on an old store. A fence was blown down. Numerous large trees and power lines were blown down. Trees fell on several vehicles, a house, a mobile home, a couple of carports, and a riding lawnmower. Arkansas Highway 31 was impassable.
A number of trees were blown down, one of which fell on a house. Shingles were blown off roofs.
A tree was blown down.
A natural gas line was damaged by a lightning strike.
Trees and power lines were blown down. One tree fell into a house. Shingles were blown off a roof.
Numerous trees were blown down, and a couple of houses were damaged by the falling trees. A billboard was blown down.
A metal canopy at a convenience store was lifted up by the wind and landed on the roof of the store. Roof damage occurred on several homes. A fence was blown down. Numerous trees were blown down, as were power lines. Arkansas Highway 294 was blocked by the fallen trees. One tree fell on a mobile home. During the clean-up process, a man was badly injured on Jarry Lane when a tree fell on him. The man had to be airlifted to a hospital. This was an indirect injury.
A couple of trees were blown down. One of the trees took down cable television cables.
Several trees were blown down. One of the trees fell on a shed. A tree fell at the intersection of U.S. Highway 70 and Livermore.
Large trees and power lines were blown down. Several of the trees landed on houses.
A couple of trees were blown down.
A strong outflow boundary moved through Little Rock. A tree was down on Harrison Street. Trees were blown down on Pecan and Loma Streets.
Fallen trees blocked roads and power lines were down. Trees were also down on fences. A tree fell on a house and several were down in yards.
Trees were down in the area. A few limbs were down on power lines.
Sixth Avenue and many roads west of Main Street were flooded.
Trees and power lines were down around Kirby.
Trees were down in White Hall.
Winds were estimated at 60 mph.
A large tree was down across a gas line on Tanyard Mountain Road north of Carbon City.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, August 2009
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: 187277, 188780, 187276, 185683, 185690, 185694, 185730, 185742, 185752, 185765, 185813, 185774, 185786, 185787, 185789, 188817, 185791, 185797, 185799, 185802, 185812, 185810, 185808, 188755, 188783, 188787, 188789, 188747, 188748, 188751, 187316.