The approach of a weak cold front triggered thunderstorms with large amounts of lightning, along with isolated instances of severe weather and flash flooding on the 15th. The front weakened as it moved farther into the state on the 16th and 17th, but it still managed to touch off isolated severe storms.
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.
The approach of a weak cold front triggered thunderstorms with large amounts of lightning, along with isolated instances of severe weather and flash flooding on the 15th. The front weakened as it moved farther into the state on the 16th and 17th, but it still managed to touch off isolated severe storms.
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 Jul 15, 2:00 PM CST, 0 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 300 PM CDT THU JUL 15 2010 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT HOT AND HUMID CONDS ONCE AGAIN NOTED ACRS THE FA THIS AFTN. MID AFTN READINGS IN THE 90S...WITH RESULTANT HEAT INDICES RUNNING FROM 105 TO 110 DEGREES. OUTFLOW BNDRY FM OVERNIGHT CONVECTION HAS DROPPED INTO NRN AR. MEANWHILE...ACTUAL CDFNT WAS SITUATED VCNTY OF THE I-44 CORRIDOR ACRS SW MO/NE OK WHERE SCTD CONVECTION CONTS TO DVLP. MODELS RMN IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH OVERALL FCST TRENDS THRU THE PD. THE UPR HIGH RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HOT TEMPS WL CONT TO RETROGRADE WWD IN THE COMING DAYS...ALLOWING UPR FLOW ACRS THE MID SOUTH TO BCM NWLY. CDFNT TO THE NW OF AR ATTM WL DROP SWD INTO THE STATE TNGT AND FRI...WITH SCTD SHRA/TSRA CONTG VCNTY OF THE BNDRY. SOME OF THE MODELS HAVE TRENDED A BIT SLOWER WITH THE SWD MOVEMENT OF THE FNT... SO HEAT INDICES OVR SRN AR MAY BE A CONCERN. FOR NOW...WL ALLOW HEAT ADVY TO EXPIRE THIS EVENING AND MONITOR LATER FCST TRENDS. UNSETTLED WX WL LINGER INTO THE EARLY PART OF THE WEEKEND...WITH CONTG SMALL CHCS OF PRECIP. UPR RDG WL BEGIN TO BLD BACK EWD LATE IN THE PD...WITH HOT TEMPS RETURNING TO THE MID SOUTH. RAIN CHCS WL ALSO BE ON THE DECLINE...WITH ONLY WDLY SCTD DIURNAL CONVECTION EXPECTED. HEAT ADVY CRITERIA WL AGAIN BE A CONCERN HEADING INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY MODELS IN GENERAL AGREEMENT TO START THE PERIOD. HIGH PRESSURE WILL MOVE OUT OF THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST AND SLOWLY BUILD BACK OVER THE SE US CONUS....WITH THE UPPER RIDGE OVER THE REGION BY THE END OF THE PERIOD. THE HIGH WILL BRING KEEP HOT AND MUGGY WEATHER IN THE FORECAST. HAVE MADE SLIGHT CHANGES TO THE AFTERNOON HIGHS TO SHOW WARMER TEMPS BY THE END OF THE LONG TERM...WITH HEAT INDICES AROUND 100 TO 105. HAVE LEFT POPS IN TO FOLLOW A MAINLY DIURNAL CYCLE THROUGH THE FIRST PART OF THE LONG TERM FORECAST. && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS 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. && SHORT TERM...44 / LONG TERM...62/224
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 500 AM CDT THU JUL 15 2010 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-161000- 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 THU JUL 15 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A LARGE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS WILL BRING VERY HOT AND HUMID CONDITIONS TO ARKANSAS TODAY. A HEAT ADVISORY HAS BEEN POSTED AS TEMPERATURES CLIMB INTO THE 90S THIS AFTERNOON. THIS COMBINED WITH HIGH HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL CREATE DANGEROUS HEAT INDEX VALUES OF 105 DEGREES OR GREATER IN MOST AREAS. THE HIGH WILL BEGIN BUILDING TO THE WEST TOWARD THE ROCKIES TONIGHT. A NORTHWEST WIND FLOW AROUND THE HIGH WILL DRIVE A COLD FRONT TOWARD ARKANSAS...WITH ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN AREAS TOWARD THE MISSOURI BORDER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ON FRIDAY AS THE FRONT CONTINUES SAGGING SOUTHWARD THROUGH THE REGION. A FEW STORMS COULD BE SEVERE...ESPECIALLY DURING THE HEAT OF THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN CONCERN. THE HIGH WILL REMAIN TO THE WEST THIS WEEKEND...AND THE FRONT MAY MAKE IT INTO SOUTHERN ARKANSAS BEFORE WASHING OUT. THE FRONT WILL BRING SLIGHTLY COOLER AIR...AND HEAT ADVISORIES MAY NOT BE NECESSARY. THE HIGH WILL HEAD BACK TO THE EAST EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE HIGH WILL SET UP OVER THE SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES BY THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK...AND OPPRESSIVE CONDITIONS MAY RETURN. ONCE THE HIGH IS ESTABLISHED...RAIN CHANCES WILL BE MINIMAL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED ON FRIDAY AS A COLD FRONT BRINGS A CHANCE OF SEVERE STORMS. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS. 46
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 153 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:51 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind, 3 lightning, 2 flash flood, 1 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
A 51 year-old farm worker collapsed from the heat while picking tomatoes near Hermitage. He was airlifted to a Little Rock hospital, but died on July 16th. During the flight, the victim's body core temperature exceeded 100 degrees, and it was still at this level when he arrived at the hospital.
Water was over roads south of Mitchell.
Lightning struck a house on Lightning Ridge Road. The resulting fire burned the house to the ground, leaving only one garage door standing. Between 6:30 and 8:00 PM CDT, about 1500 lightning strikes were recorded in Independence County.
Lightning struck a house at the corner of Watson Road and Carter's Ridge Road. The resulting fire destroyed the washer and dryer, set the laundry room on fire, destroyed insulation under the house, and knocked out the central air conditioning. Between 6:30 and 8:00 PM CDT, about 1500 lightning strikes were recorded in Independence County.
A tree and large limbs were blown down.
Widespread street flooding occurred.
Lightning struck the power source at the city water plant in Warren, causing the plant to stop pumping water.
Trees were blown down. One of the trees fell on a church, causing substantial roof damage.
Trees and power lines were blown down.
A tree and large limbs were blown down, blocking a road.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat, Bradley | 2010-07-16 | 51 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
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, July 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: 233543, 238316, 233238, 233239, 238309, 238313, 242356, 238310, 238311, 238314.