On the afternoon of the 26th, thunderstorms developed in eastern Oklahoma and moved into western Arkansas during the overnight hours of the 26th.
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.
On the afternoon of the 26th, thunderstorms developed in eastern Oklahoma and moved into western Arkansas during the overnight hours of the 26th.
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 Mar 26, 5:20 PM CST, 1 hour 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 620 PM CDT THU MAR 26 2009 .AVIATION... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE MOVING INTO THE NORTHWEST PORTION OF THE STATE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. PRECIPITATION WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA AND EXIT EAST OF THE STATE BY THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. FOG IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS...REDUCING CONDITIONS TO MVFR TO IFR. LOW CLOUDS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE OVER THE AREA THROUGH THE END OF THE PERIOD. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 255 PM CDT THU MAR 26 2009/ SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT FIRST SHORTWAVE MOVING INTO EASTERN OKLAHOMA...WITH STORMS DEVELOPING. THESE WILL MOVE EAST DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS AND INTO THE AREA. MAIN CONCERN FOR THE EVENING HOURS AS FAR AS SEVERE POTENTIAL WILL BE HAIL. THIS FIRST ROUND WILL MOVE NORTH DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...AND SET THE STAGE FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF STORMS ON FRIDAY. MODELS ARE CONSISTENT ON MOVING SURFACE LOW FROM TEXARKANA TO JUST SOUTH OF MEMPHIS DURING THE AFTERNOON FRIDAY. THIS WILL PLACE THE SOUTHERN THIRD OF THE AREA IN THE WARM SECTOR. THE AREA OF BEST SEVERE WEATHER PARAMETERS REMAINS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN/SOUTHEAST COUNTIES...WITH MULTIPLE TYPES OF SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. MAIN CONCERNS WILL BE INSTABILITY DURING THE AFTERNOON...AND ALSO WHERE THE LOW LEVEL JET SETS UP. IF TEMPERATURES AND DEW POINTS CLIMB ENOUGH OVER THE SOUTH...INSTABILITY WILL BE ACHIEVED. THE BEST WIND SHEAR WILL BE OVER THE SOUTHEAST COUNTIES...INTO THE ARKLAMISS REGION...WHERE THE HIGHEST TORNADO POTENTIAL WILL BE. NEEDLESS TO SAY...THIS WILL ALL BE DEPENDENT ON MANY FACTORS...AND FORECASTS WILL BE REFINED AS MORE DATA BECOMES AVAILABLE. NEXT CONCERN BECOMES THE UPPER LOW AND COLD CORE ASSOCIATED WITH IT. MODELS HAVE BEEN FAIRLY CONSISTENT IN THE TRACK OF THE UPPER LOW...BUT WITH THIS SET OF RUNS HAVE SLOWED THE SYSTEM DOWN BY 6 TO 12 HOURS. THIS WILL PLACE THE TRACK ALONG A FORT SMITH TO POPLAR BLUFF LINE. THIS WILL PLACE MORE OF NORTHERN ARKANSAS IN THE RAIN/SNOW MIX AREA. HAVE INCLUDED A RAIN/SNOW MIX FOR FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY FOR AREAS NORTH OF A BOONEVILLE TO MOUNTAIN VIEW TO CHEROKEE VILLAGE LINE. THIS WILL MAINLY BE IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS...AND AM NOT EXPECTING MUCH IN THE WAY OF SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. THE BEST CHANCE OF ANY ACCUMULATION WILL BE IN THE FAR NORTHWEST...INCLUDING THE DEER AND HARRISON AREAS. THERE MIGHT BE A TENTH OF TWO OF ACCUMULATION...BUT FOR THE MOST PART...THERE MIGHT BE SOME FLURRIES IN THE AREA TO SOME AMOUNTS IN THE GRASS...BUT NOT EXPECTING ANY MAJOR AMOUNTS. WRAP AROUND MOISTURE WILL MOVE OUT OF THE STATE SATURDAY EVENING...WITH DRY WEATHER AND CLEARING SKIES FOR SATURDAY NIGHT. LONG TERM...SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE OVER THE REGION TO START THE EXTENDED PERIOD...BUT IT WILL NOT STAY LONG. THE HIGH WILL SHIFT TOWARD THE SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES ON MONDAY...WITH AN INTENSE STORM SYSTEM FORMING IN THE PLAINS. THE SYSTEM WILL MOVE WELL NORTH OF THE REGION...BUT WILL DRAG A COLD FRONT INTO ARKANSAS MONDAY NIGHT. HAVE A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AHEAD OF THE FRONT. DRY WEATHER WILL RETURN TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY...BUT ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL ARRIVE FROM THE WEST ON THURSDAY WITH SLIGHT CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION. MOISTURE APPEARS LIMITED WITH BOTH SYSTEMS. MAY HAVE TO INCREASE POPS IF MOISTURE BECOMES MORE AVAILABLE...ESPECIALLY WITH THE LATTER SYSTEM. APPEARS THERE WILL BE MORE DYNAMICS WITH THIS SYSTEM GIVEN A MORE SOUTHWARD TRACK. TEMPERATURES WILL BE AT/ABOVE NORMAL SURROUNDING THE FIRST SYSTEM. IT APPEARS COOLER AIR WILL FOLLOW THE LATTER SYSTEM...AND BELOW NORMAL READINGS MAY RESULT. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BATESVILLE AR 49 64 43 49 / 60 80 90 40 CAMDEN AR 58 75 46 55 / 60 70 70 20 HARRISON AR 47 54 38 43 / 70 80 90 60 HOT SPRINGS AR 55 70 43 52 / 60 70 80 30 LITTLE ROCK AR 54 70 44 52 / 60 80 80 30 MONTICELLO AR 57 76 49 58 / 60 80 80 30 MOUNT IDA AR 55 69 42 51 / 60 70 70 40 MOUNTAIN HOME AR 47 56 40 45 / 60 80 90 60 NEWPORT AR 50 67 44 51 / 60 80 90 40 PINE BLUFF AR 56 74 47 55 / 60 80 80 30 RUSSELLVILLE AR 52 65 41 48 / 60 80 80 40 SEARCY AR 51 69 44 51 / 60 80 90 40 STUTTGART AR 53 72 47 54 / 60 80 80 30 && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && AVIATION...60
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 600 PM CDT THU MAR 26 2009 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-271000- 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- 600 PM CDT THU MAR 26 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A WARM FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO LIFT THROUGH ARKANSAS AND DEVELOP SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE STATE. AS A STRONG SYSTEM MOVES CLOSER TO SOUTHERN PLAINS...ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE. THE MAIN CONCERN WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY ON FRIDAY THE STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS...WITH A CONTINUED POTENTIAL FOR STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. SOME HEAVY RAIN WITH LOCALIZED FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE. THE STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE NORTHEAST ACROSS ARKANSAS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. WITH THE SURFACE LOW...MUCH COLDER AIR WILL FILTER IN OVER NORTHERN ARKANSAS...AND A SMALL CHANCE OF WINTER WEATHER WILL BE POSSIBLE. DRY SUNDAY AND MUCH OF MONDAY. THEN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN LATE MONDAY TO TUESDAY WITH A WEAK COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE STATE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED DUE TO THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT ON FRIDAY. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS. 59/60
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 728 PM CDT THU MAR 26 2009 ARZ030-037-270110- LOGAN-SCOTT- 728 PM CDT THU MAR 26 2009 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR LOGAN AND SCOTT COUNTIES UNTIL 810 PM CDT... AT 728 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM GREENWOOD TO 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF MANSFIELD...TO MANSFIELD...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. SMALL HAIL...AND WIND GUSTS BETWEEN 40 AND 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. PEOPLE IN LOGAN AND SCOTT COUNTIES...INCLUDING GLENDALE...RATCLIFF... BOONEVILLE...MAGAZINE AND PARIS...SHOULD MONITOR THE WEATHER SITUATION CLOSELY. BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION IF THE ALERT IS UPGRADED TO A WARNING. 57
The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 37 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:57 UTC.
1 lightning, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
A man was struck by lightning while on a drilling rig off of Ferguson Valley Road.
A funnel cloud was seen on Polk County Road 13 east of Wickes.
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, March 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: 154039, 154036.