Arkansas, 2009

Ice Storm in Arkansas, January 26 to 28, 2009

January 26 to 28, 2009 · NWS TSA · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Upper level disturbances passing through the Southern Plains resulted in precipitation development north of a stationary arctic front located in North Texas. Freezing rain began across the area during the early afternoon hours of the 26th and became more widespread and heavy through the afternoon and evening hours.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
1
Property damage
$108 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
7

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 TSA wrote it up.

Upper level disturbances passing through the Southern Plains resulted in precipitation development north of a stationary arctic front located in North Texas. Freezing rain began across the area during the early afternoon hours of the 26th and became more widespread and heavy through the afternoon and evening hours. The heaviest icing and most widespread power outages and tree damage occurred across portions of Washington, Madison, Benton, and Carroll Counties where one to two inch accumulations were reported. At the height of the storm, 75 percent of electric customers were without power in Benton County and nearly 100 percent were without power in Carroll County. Some remote, rural customers continued to be without power for more than two weeks.

Before the precipitation ended across northwest Arkansas, the freezing rain changed to sleet with one to two inch accumulations falling across portions of the region on top of the very heavy ice.

One direct injury occurred from the storm in northwest Arkansas. A woman was injured by ice coated tree limbs that fell on her in Springdale.

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 Jan 26, 11:50 AM CST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 26, 11:50 AM CST, 2 hours 10 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 26, 12:55 PM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 26, 10:12 AM CST, 3 hours 48 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1012 AM CST MON JAN 26 2009

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1010 AM     FREEZING RAIN    HENRYETTA               35.44N 95.98W
01/26/2009  E0.00 INCH       OKMULGEE           OK   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            FREEZING DRIZZLE DEVELOPING - ROADS BECOMING SLICK AND
            HAZARDOUS.

&&

RBD

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Crawford

When
January 26, 2:00 PM CST to January 28, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Crawford forecast zone
Property damage
$425,000
Reported by
Emergency Manager

Ice Storm, Franklin

When
January 26, 2:00 PM CST to January 28, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Franklin forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager

Ice Storm, Sebastian

When
January 26, 2:00 PM CST to January 28, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Sebastian forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager

Ice Storm, Benton

When
January 26, 2:00 PM CST to January 28, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Benton forecast zone
Property damage
$30 million
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
36.339, -94.256 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Carroll

When
January 26, 2:00 PM CST to January 28, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Carroll forecast zone
Property damage
$17 million
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
36.341, -93.538 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Washington

When
January 26, 2:00 PM CST to January 28, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Washington forecast zone
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$45 million
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
35.979, -94.216 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Madison

When
January 26, 2:00 PM CST to January 28, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Madison forecast zone
Property damage
$16 million
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
36.011, -93.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Ice Storm
Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Arkansas in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, January 2009

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 152537, 152538, 152539, 152540, 152541, 152542, 152543.