Hail, Howard
- When
- August 3, 3:45 PM CST
- Where
- Howard County, 2.37 mi NNW of Umpire
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- Law Enforcement
- Coordinates
- 34.300, -94.070
Hail was reported in the city of Athens, Arkansas.
Hail in Arkansas, August 3, 2011
A very hot airmass with surface temperatures above 105 degrees resulted in a very unstable airmass across Southwest Arkansas. The atmosphere was very dry in the lowest 8 thousand feet and temperatures were just cool enough aloft such that hail was reported with an isolated thunderstorm in Southwest Arkansas.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 SHV wrote it up.
A very hot airmass with surface temperatures above 105 degrees resulted in a very unstable airmass across Southwest Arkansas. The atmosphere was very dry in the lowest 8 thousand feet and temperatures were just cool enough aloft such that hail was reported with an isolated thunderstorm in Southwest Arkansas.
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 Shreveport, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 3, 1:57 PM CST, 1 hour 48 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 3, 1:57 PM CST, 1 hour 48 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
257 PM CDT WED AUG 3 2011
.DISCUSSION...
TIGHT RACE BETWEEN TUE AND TODAY FOR THE PEAK OF THIS HEAT WAVE.
GUIDANCE /WHICH IS RUNNING CLOSER TO REALITY/ TRENDING JUST A BIT
COOLER FOR THU. NOT SEEING MUCH DIFFERENCE IN THE 700/500 MB RIDGE
FROM TODAY VS THU...BUT INCREASED MOISTURE COULD BE THE CULPRIT.
DESPITE THE DEGREE OR TWO COOL-DOWN...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING
CRITERIA SHOULD BE EASILY MET THU AND POSSIBLY EVEN FRI.
MODELS REMAIN RATHER CONSISTENT AND BEGIN TO WEAKEN THE ERN SIDE
OF THE RIDGE THIS WEEKEND. THIS SHOULD HELP TO CONTINUE THE
RELATIVE COOLING TREND...AND MAKE COVERAGE OF AFTN/EVE CONVECTION
A LITTLE BETTER.
BY EARLY NEXT WEEK...THE RIDGE IS FCST TO MAKE A SIGNIFICANT MOVE
WWD TOWARD AZ/NM...AS A TROF DEVELOPS OVER THE NERN U.S. THAT WILL
PLACE THE REGION UNDER WEAK NW FLOW. APPEARS REASONABLE THAT MAX
TEMPS COULD BE BACK BELOW 100 DEGREES BY MID WEEK...WITH THE
POTENTIAL FOR SOME BETTER RAIN CHANCES. /12/
&&
.AVIATION...
VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE UPCOMING 18Z TAF PERIOD. A
SCT CU FIELD HAS DEVELOPED ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION IN RESPONSE TO
EXTREME HEATING. ISOLATED CONVECTION WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH EARLY
EVENING...MAINLY CONFINED TO THE NRN SECTIONS OF SW AR...AS WELL AS
CNTRL AND SE AR...ALONG THE E/SE SIDE OF THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE
CENTER. SOME SCT AC MAY PERSIST THIS EVENING/OVERNIGHT OVER EXTREME
NE TX/SE OK/SW AR...BEFORE AGAIN THINNING OUT BY LATE MORNING
THURSDAY. VRB WINDS 5-10KTS THIS AFTERNOON WILL BECOME S AND
DIMINISH TO 5KTS OR LESS AFTER 00Z. /15/
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
SHV 81 108 81 106 81 / 20 10 10 20 10
MLU 81 106 80 104 81 / 20 10 10 20 10
DEQ 81 109 78 108 79 / 20 20 10 20 10
TXK 81 109 80 107 80 / 10 20 10 20 10
ELD 80 106 78 104 79 / 10 20 10 20 10
TYR 84 108 82 107 82 / 20 10 10 10 10
GGG 83 108 82 107 81 / 20 10 10 10 10
LFK 80 106 80 105 78 / 20 10 10 10 10
&&
.SHV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AR...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 7 PM CDT THURSDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: ARZ050-051-059>061-070>073.
LA...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 7 PM CDT THURSDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: LAZ001>006-010>014-017>022.
OK...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 7 PM CDT THURSDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: OKZ077.
TX...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 7 PM CDT THURSDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING
ZONES: TXZ096-097-108>112-124>126-136>138-149>153-165>167.
&&
12/15Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 3, 10:18 AM CST, 5 hours 27 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA 1118 AM CDT WED AUG 3 2011 ARZ050-051-059>061-070>073-LAZ001>006-010>014-017>022-OKZ077- TXZ096-097-108>112-124>126-136>138-149>153-165>167-041200- SEVIER-HOWARD-LITTLE RIVER-HEMPSTEAD-NEVADA-MILLER-LAFAYETTE- COLUMBIA-UNION AR-CADDO-BOSSIER-WEBSTER-CLAIBORNE-LINCOLN- UNION LA-DE SOTO-RED RIVER-BIENVILLE-JACKSON-OUACHITA-SABINE LA- NATCHITOCHES-WINN-GRANT-CALDWELL-LA SALLE-MCCURTAIN-BOWIE- FRANKLIN-TITUS-CAMP-MORRIS-CASS-WOOD-UPSHUR-MARION-SMITH-GREGG- HARRISON-CHEROKEE-RUSK-PANOLA-NACOGDOCHES-SHELBY-ANGELINA- SAN AUGUSTINE-SABINE TX- 1118 AM CDT WED AUG 3 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARKANSAS...SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...NORTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA... NORTHWEST LOUISIANA...SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA...EAST TEXAS AND NORTHEAST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR TODAY. TEMPERATURES WILL RANGE FROM 104 TO 112 DEGREES...WITH HEAT INDEX VALUES REACHING INTO THE 110 TO 120 DEGREE RANGE. PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT AGAINST THE HEAT WILL BE NEEDED TODAY FOR EXTENDED TIME SPENT OUTDOORS...OR IN AN INSUFFICIENTLY COOLED BUILDING. A FEW ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE POSSIBLE...MAINLY OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE REGION. GUSTY WINDS AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING WILL ACCOMPANY THE STRONGER STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... LITTLE IF ANY RAIN WILL OCCUR DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS...AS THE UPPER RIDGE REMAINS PARKED DIRECTLY OVER THE FOUR STATE REGION. AS A RESULT...HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO SOAR WELL ABOVE 100 DEGREES ACROSS THE REGION. PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT AGAINST THE HEAT WILL BE NEEDED THROUGH AT LEAST SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT. 12
The radar
The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 113 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:46 UTC.
Event by event
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Excessive Heat in Tennessee, August 3 to 7, 2011
- Flash Flood and Hail in Alabama, August 3 to 4, 2011
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Missouri, August 3 to 5, 2011
- Excessive Heat in Louisiana, August 3, 2011
- Lightning Strike in South Dakota, August 3, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, August 3 to 4, 2011
- Excessive Heat in Missouri, August 3, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, August 3, 2011
- Damaging Winds in Tennessee, August 3, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Texas, August 3, 2011
- Damaging Winds and Heavy Rain in Arizona, August 3, 2011
- Wildfire in Oklahoma, August 3, 2011
More
Every storm in Arkansas in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, August 2011
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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 319722.