Severe drought spread to Conway, Yell, Scott, and Polk counties during the latter half of December.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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.
Severe drought spread to Conway, Yell, Scott, and Polk counties during the latter half of December.
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 Dec 21, 5:57 AM CST, 3 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 557 AM CST TUE DEC 21 2010 .AVIATION... LOW CLOUDS COVERING MOST OF THE FA EARLY THIS MRNG...WITH MVFR CIGS COMMON. THE EXCEPTION WAS OVR NRN AR WHERE SCT-BKN LOW CLOUDS HAVE BEEN NOTED. SFC LOW OVR NERN OK WL TRACK EWD ACRS AR TODAY AND EARLY TNGT. MVFR CONDS WL CONT INTO THE AFTN HRS...WITH SOME IMPROVEMENT OVR WRN AR THIS AFTN AS SFC WINDS SHIFT TO THE W AND SOME DRIER AIR ADVECTS IN. WINDS WL TURN NLY TNGT AS SFC LOW HEADS E OF AR...WITH MVFR CIGS EXPECTED AREAWIDE. /44/ && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 339 AM CST TUE DEC 21 2010/ SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY THE MAIN FORECAST POINTS WITH THIS MORNINGS FORECAST IN THE SHORT TERM WILL BE THE CLOUDS/LIGHT PRECIP TODAY...THEN TO DEVELOPING STORM SYSTEM THAT COULD IMPACT MUCH OF THE CENTRAL MS RIVER VALLEY AND MID SOUTH LATE THIS WEEK... MUCH OF CENTRAL AND SRN AR WAS SEEING MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES AS LOW CLOUDS PERSISTED WITH HIGHER MOISTURE LEVELS FILTERING TO THE NORTH. DEWPTS HAVE NOW RISEN INTO THE 50S ACROSS CENTRAL AR...AND NEAR 60 ACROSS SRN AR...WITH SLIGHTLY LOWER MOISTURE LEVELS ACROSS THE NORTH WITH DEWPTS IN THE 40S. TEMPS WERE HOLDING NEARLY STEADY...WITH MID AND UPPER 40S ACROSS THE NORTH...AND HOLDING IN THE 50S AND LOW 60S FURTHER SOUTH. MOISTURE LEVELS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE SLIGHTLY THROUGH THE REST OF THIS TUE AS THE WARM FRONT RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS INCREASED MOISTURE CONTINUES TO LIFT NORTH AS A WEAK SFC LOW BEGINS MOVING EAST ACROSS AR. WILL CONTINUE WITH SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR LIGHT RAIN...WITH ALSO A MENTION OF DRIZZLE IN THE WX GRIDS FOR MUCH OF THE DAY. ALSO EXPECTING A WARMER DAY THAN SEEN IN A WHILE...WITH TEMPS ACROSS CENTRAL AND SRN AR WARMING INTO THE MID 60S TO LOW 70S...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE SW. DRIER AND COOLER AIR WILL RETURN TO THE NATURAL STATE STARTING WED AS THIS WEAK SFC LOW MOVES EAST...AND A COLD FRONT MOVES SOUTH ACROSS AR. BY LATE THU HOWEVER...THE FORECAST BECOMES MUCH MORE INTERESTING AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH EXITS THE SRN ROCKIES INTO THE SRN PLAINS THU...EVENTUALLY EAST ACROSS THE MID SOUTH FRI INTO SAT. AHEAD OF THIS UPPER TROUGH...SFC LOW PRESSURE WILL DEVELOP ACROSS TX...AND MOVE EAST ACROSS THE SRN MS RIVER VALLEY REGION. THIS WILL BRING INCREASED CHANCES FOR RAIN SHOWERS ACROSS MOST OF AR AS MOISTURE SURGES NORTH AHEAD AND NEAR THIS SFC LOW AS IT TRAVERSES THE REGION. MUCH COLDER AIR WILL RUSH IN BEHIND THIS SFC LOW...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR PRECIP TO MIX WITH...OR CHANGE OVER TO SNOW LATE FRI AFTERNOON AND FRI NIGHT. RIGHT NOW...LOOKS LIKE THE BEST CHANCES FOR ANY WINTRY PRECIP WILL BE ACROSS THE NRN AND NERN COUNTIES. HOWEVER...THERE REMAINS UNCERTAINTY REGARDING THE EXACT TRACK THIS UPPER TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED SFC LOW AS IT TRAVERSES THE MID SOUTH. MODELS HAVE BEEN TRENDING FURTHER SOUTH IN THE PAST FEW RUNS...WHICH HAS INCREASED THE POTENTIAL FOR WINTRY PRECIP FOR CHRISTMAS EVE FOR PORTIONS OF AR. THIS SCENARIO GARNERS ATTENTION IN THE COMING DAYS AS THE LATEST OBSERVED DATA IS ANALYZED...INCLUDING WHEN THE LATEST SHORT AND MED RANGE MODELS GET A BETTER HANDLE ON THE TRACK AND STRENGTH OF THIS LATE WEEK STORM SYSTEM. AREA RESIDENTS ARE URGED TO REFER TO THE LATEST FORECAST UPDATES AS THIS SYSTEM COULD IMPACT HOLIDAY TRAVEL ACROSS AT LEAST SOME PORTION OF THE REGION...WHICH COULD INCLUDE PORTIONS OF AR. LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE MUCH DISCUSSED STORM SYS WL BE DEPARTING TO THE E OF AR AT THE STATE OF THE PD. BREEZY NLY WIND FLOW WL CONT TO USHER COLDER AIR INTO THE REGION. UPR TROF AXIS WL SWING SEWD THRU THE AREA ON SAT... WITH SOME LINGERING FLURRIES POSSIBLE OVR NERN AR. HIGH PRES RDG WL BLD SWD ACRS THE CNTRL STATES INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK RESULTING IN DRY AND COLD CONDS. TEMPS WL RMN ABT 5 TO 10 DEGREES BLW NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 500 AM CST TUE DEC 21 2010 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-221100- 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 CST TUE DEC 21 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY A NEW STORM SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO APPROACH ARKANSAS FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS LATER IN THE WEEK. RAIN CHANCES WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE FROM THE WEST THURSDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY. WITH THE LOW FORECAST TO PASS JUST SOUTH OF THE STATE...INSTABILITY WILL BE LIMITED AND THUNDERSTORM FORMATION WILL BE KEPT TO A MINIMUM. MEANWHILE...COLDER AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE MID SOUTH STARTING LATE FRIDAY AS THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM SHIFTS EASTWARD. AS THIS OCCURS... ANY LINGERING RAIN WILL LIKELY MIX WITH AND EVEN CHANGEOVER TO A PERIOD OF LIGHT SNOW BEFORE ENDING FRIDAY NIGHT. BASED ON THE FORECAST MOVEMENT OF THE LOW...PARTS OF NORTH ARKANSAS MAY SEE A LIGHT ACCUMULATION OF SNOW FRIDAY NIGHT. THERE ARE STILL SOME DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE VARIOUS FORECAST MODELS REGARDING THE EVENTUAL TRACK AND SPEED OF THIS WEATHER SYSTEM LATER IN THE WEEK. ARKANSANS ARE REMINDED TO MONITOR LATER FORECASTS FOR ANY CHANGES THAT COULD OCCUR IN THE COMING DAYS. DRY AND COLDER CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL OVER THE MID SOUTH INTO THE EARLY PART OF NEXT WEEK. .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. 44
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe drought conditions developed over extreme southern Conway County during the latter half of December.
Severe drought conditions developed over southeastern Scott County during the latter half of December.
Severe drought conditions developed over all but northwestern Polk County during the latter half of December.
Severe drought conditions developed over southern Yell County late in December.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, December 2010
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: 268600, 268601, 268602, 268630.