A low pressure center tracked across Arkansas on the 1st, taking a path from near Texarkana to the Missouri Bootheel. In the colder air to the northwest of the low, freezing rain and sleet occurred, then precipitation changed over to light snow.
Every event with a place to put it; 36 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.
A low pressure center tracked across Arkansas on the 1st, taking a path from near Texarkana to the Missouri Bootheel. In the colder air to the northwest of the low, freezing rain and sleet occurred, then precipitation changed over to light snow. In the warmer air to the southeast of the low, widespread rain and thunderstorms occurred. After the low moved by, much colder Arctic air rushed across the state, accompanied by strong winds. Wind gusts between 30 and 45 mph were common. The winds brought down tree limbs and power lines, knocking out electricity to more than 7000 customers. Snow flurries occurred in many sections of the state on the night of the 1st and continued into the 2nd.
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 Jan 31, 11:39 PM CST, 2 hours 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 1139 PM CST MON JAN 31 2011 .AVIATION... OVERALL IFR CONDITIONS WITH AREAS OF MVFR EXPECTED OVERNIGHT. CEILINGS WILL CONTINUE TO LOWER OVERNIGHT AS A WEATHER SYSTEM SLOWLY MOVES INTO AR. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING LIGHT RAIN AND DRIZZLE TO SOUTH AND CENTRAL AR...WHILE LIGHT RAIN MIXING WITH OR BECOMING FREEZING LIGHT RAIN OR SLEET OVERNIGHT ACROSS THE NORTH. ON TUESDAY ALL RAIN...HEAVY AT TIMES...WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH AND PARTS OF CENTRAL AR. NORTHERN AR WILL SEE THE LIGHT RAIN CHANGE OVER TO FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET...THEN BECOMING SNOW AROUND MID MORNING. SOME HEAVY SNOW TUESDAY AFTERNOON OVER THE NORTH. MAINLY IFR CEILINGS ON TUESDAY...WITH PATCHY MVFR OVER THE SOUTH. WINDS SE 3 TO 7 KNOTS OVER SE AR OVERNIGHT WHILE N TO NW 3 TO 8 KNOTS OVER NORTHERN AREAS. WINDS ON TUESDAY SE TO E 5 TO 15 KNOTS OVER EASTERN AR AREAS...WHILE BECOMING N TO NW TO W AT 10 TO 25 KNOTS AND GUSTY THROUGH THE DAY AS THE SURFACE LOW MOVES THROUGH THE STATE. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 903 PM CST MON JAN 31 2011/ UPDATE... HAVE MADE A FEW IMPORTANT CHANGES TO THE FORECAST TONIGHT...THOSE BEING TO ADD A FEW MORE COUNTIES TO THE WINTER STORM WARNING AREA AND ALSO TO INCREASE THE EXPECTED ICE ACCUMULATIONS. FIRST UP...ICE ACCUMULATIONS. MODELS HAVE BEEN KEYING IN ON AN AREA OF ENHANCED LIFT AND MOISTURE TRANSPORT OVER THE NORTHWEST HALF OF THE STATE FOR A FEW DAYS NOW. MODEL PRECIPITATION TOTALS HAVE CONSISTENTLY BEEN IN THE 0.75-1.00 INCH RANGE BETWEEN 12Z AND 18Z TOMORROW FOR THAT AREA OF THE STATE. THE DAY SHIFT HAD SIMILAR QPF VALUES IN FOR THAT TIME PERIOD AND HAVE NOT REALLY MESSED WITH THOSE TOO MUCH. THERMAL PROFILES IN THE MODELS DURING THIS TIME HAVE ALSO CONSISTENTLY BEEN SUPPORTIVE OF EITHER FREEZING RAIN OR SLEET. HAVE DECIDED TO HEDGE TOWARDS THE CHANCE FOR A LONGER DURATION OF FREEZING RAIN BEFORE THE CHANGE TO SLEET..AND EVENTUALLY TO SNOW...OCCURS. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS IS THAT ICE ACCUMULATIONS NEEDED TO BE ADJUSTED UPWARD...AND I HAVE INCREASED THESE TO A QUARTER TO A HALF AN INCH. LOCAL ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH WOULD NOT SURPRISE ME EITHER. THESE ACCUMULATIONS ARE PRIMARILY FOR BOONE...NEWTON...MARION...SEARCY AND BAXTER COUNTIES WHICH WERE IN THE ORIGINAL WINTER STORM WARNING ISSUED BY THE DAY SHIFT. IN ADDITION TO INCREASING ICE ACCUMULATIONS ACROSS THE NORTHWEST I HAVE ALSO ADDED SOME COUNTIES TO THE WARNING AREA. FULTON...IZARD...STONE...VAN BUREN...POPE...JOHNSON AND LOGAN COUNTIES HAVE BEEN CONVERTED FROM A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TO WINTER STORM WARNINGS. ICE ACCUMULATIONS THERE ARE EXPECTED TO BE THE GREATEST IN THE NORTHERN PARTS OF THOSE COUNTIES...AND SHOULD BE MORE TOWARDS A QUARTER INCH. OTHERWISE THE FORECAST LOOKS TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE AND HAVE MADE NO FURTHER CHANGES. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 550 PM CST MON JAN 31 2011/ AVIATION... OVERALL MVFR CONDITIONS WITH AREAS OF IFR EXPECTED OVERNIGHT. CEILINGS WILL GRADUALLY LOWER OVERNIGHT AS A WEATHER SYSTEM SLOWLY MOVES IN AR. E TO SE WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS OVERNIGHT. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING LIGHT RAIN AND DRIZZLE TO SOUTH AND CENTRAL AR...WHILE LIGHT RAIN MIXING WITH OR BECOMING FREEZING LIGHT RAIN OR DRIZZLE TOWARD MORNING ACROSS THE NORTH. ON TUESDAY ALL RAIN WITH AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH AND PARTS OF CENTRAL AR. NORTHERN AR WILL SEE THE LIGHT RAIN CHANGE OVER TO FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET...THEN BECOMING SNOW LATE MORNING TO NOON. MAINLY IFR CEILINGS ON TUESDAY...WITH PATCHY MVFR OVER THE SOUTH. WINDS ON TUESDAY SE TO E 5 TO 15 KNOTS OVER EASTERN AR AREAS...WHILE BECOMING N TO NW TO W AT 10 TO 25 KNOTS AND GUSTY THROUGH THE DAY AS THE SURFACE LOW MOVES THROUGH THE STATE. (59) PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 353 PM CST MON JAN 31 2011/ SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE STATE TONIGHT...BRINGING A MIXTURE OF WINTER PRECIPITATION. DUE TO THE BUSY DAY...THIS WILL BE A SHORT AND SWEET DISCUSSION. SURFACE LOW WILL MOVE OUT OF EAST TEXAS AND MOVE JUST EAST OF THE INTERSTATE 30 CORRIDOR. ON THIS TRACK...A COLD RAIN WILL PREVAIL FOR MUCH OF THE SOUTHEAST HALF OF THE STATE. IN FACT...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST DURING THE DAY TUESDAY. IF ENOUGH INSTABILITY IS PRESENT...THERE WILL BE ENOUGH WIND FOR AN ISOLATED TORNADO THREAT. HOWEVER...THE MORE PRESSING MATTER WILL BE WINTER WEATHER ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN SECTIONS OF THE STATE. WITH NEAR SURFACE TEMPERATURES AROUND FREEZING DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS ACROSS THE NORTH AND WEST...FREEZING RAIN AND ICE ACCUMULATION WILL BE LIKELY ACROSS THE FAR NORTHWEST. HAVE UPGRADED THE WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THE FAR NORTHWEST COUNTIES TO A WINTER STORM WARNING...AS ICE ACCUMULATION...SLEET AND SNOW WILL ALL COMBINE FOR HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS. THE REST OF THE COUNTIES THAT WERE IN THE WATCH HAVE BEEN PUT IN A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY...AS FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LESS. FAR SOUTH ACROSS CENTRAL ARKANSAS...A COUPLE OF HOURS OF A FREEZING RAIN/SLEET MIXTURE WILL BE POSSIBLE...AND THEN A QUICK CHANGEOVER TO SNOW. HOWEVER...ANY AMOUNTS WILL BE LIGHT...AND WITH WARM GROUND DUE TO HIGHS OVER 70 THIS PAST WEEKEND...ANY TRAVEL CONCERNS WILL BE LIMITED TO ELEVATED SURFACES. THERE MAY BE UP TO HALF AN INCH OF SNOW LATE TUESDAY AROUND LITTLE ROCK. THE SYSTEM WILL BE A FAST MOVER...SO ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE TEMPERED. AS THE SYSTEM MOVES NORTHEAST...PRECIPITATION WILL END FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST. THERE MAY BE LIGHT SNOW/FLURRIES AFTER MIDNIGHT WEDNESDAY...BUT MUCH OF THE SNOW WILL HAVE ENDED. IN ADDITION...DUE TO THE STRENGTH OF THE SYSTEM...A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE ENTIRE AREA. MUCH COLDER AIR WILL THEN MOVE INTO THE STATE FOR WEDNESDAY...AND WITH STRONG WINDS CONTINUING...A WIND CHILL ADVISORY WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED FOR THE NORTH. LONG TERM...THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY SFC WINDS WILL BEGIN TO SUBSIDE AT THE START OF THE LONG TERM...AS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT RELAXES AND HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN TEMPORARILY. MEANWHILE A CUT OFF LOW OVER THE SOUTHWEST CONUS WILL SPIN UP THE NEXT PIECE OF ENERGY INTO SOUTH/SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS IN THE THURSDAY NIGHT/FRIDAY TIME FRAME. BOUNDARY LAYER TEMPS WILL BE WELL BELOW FREEZING THURSDAY NIGHT...BUT WILL WARM UP ENOUGH THAT THERE WILL BE A BRIEF CHANCE OF RAIN/SNOW MIX DURING THE DAY ON FRIDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE A BIT MOISTURE STARVED...SO LEFT OUT ANY MENTION OF ACCUMULATION. THE OVERALL WEATHER PATTERN WILL REMAIN UNSETTLED WITH THE NEXT CHANCE FOR WINTER WEATHER LATE IN THE PERIOD...IN THE SUNDAY NIGHT/MONDAY TIME FRAME. RIGHT NOW...IT APPEARS MOST AREAS WILL GET NOTHING MORE THAN A COLD RAIN. HOWEVER...NORTHERN ARKANSAS COULD SEE A RAIN/SNOW MIX BEGINNING MONDAY MORNING AND CONTINUING THROUGH THE DAY. QPF DOESNT LOOK TO BE TOO SIGNIFICANT AT THIS POINT...BUT THERE ARE TOO MANY MODEL INCONSISTENCIES AT THIS POINT TO BE SURE. WENT WITH RAIN/SNOW MIX FOR FAR NORTHWEST COUNTIES...WITH LIQUID PRECIP OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE STATE. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BATESVILLE AR 47 41 42 18 / 30 70 100 40 CAMDEN AR 61 51 55 21 / 20 60 100 20 HARRISON AR 50 32 34 11 / 30 90 100 40 HOT SPRINGS AR 55 47 48 20 / 20 70 100 20 LITTLE ROCK AR 53 48 49 21 / 20 60 100 30 MONTICELLO AR 61 54 65 24 / 20 40 100 30 MOUNT IDA AR 56 43 45 18 / 30 80 100 20 MOUNTAIN HOME AR 48 34 36 13 / 30 80 100 50 NEWPORT AR 49 44 45 21 / 30 60 100 40 PINE BLUFF AR 57 51 57 23 / 20 50 100 30 RUSSELLVILLE AR 52 40 43 16 / 30 80 100 30 SEARCY AR 50 45 46 21 / 30 60 100 40 STUTTGART AR 55 50 54 23 / 20 50 100 30 && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TUESDAY NIGHT FOR CLEBURNE-CONWAY-FAULKNER-INDEPENDENCE-MONTGOMERY-PERRY-POLK- SCOTT-SHARP-YELL. WIND ADVISORY FROM 6 AM TUESDAY TO 6 AM CST WEDNESDAY 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. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TUESDAY NIGHT FOR BAXTER- BOONE-FULTON-IZARD-JOHNSON-LOGAN-MARION-NEWTON-POPE-SEARCY-STONE- VAN BUREN. && SHORT TERM...51 / LONG TERM...56 AVIATION...56
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 835 PM CST MON JAN 31 2011 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-011100- 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- 835 PM CST MON JAN 31 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT WINTER STORM WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF NORTHWEST AND PARTS OF NORTH ARKANSAS TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT FOR SIGNIFICANT ICING AND SNOW POTENTIAL. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF NORTH CENTRAL AND CENTRAL ARKANSAS FROM TONIGHT TO TUESDAY NIGHT. A POWERFUL STORM SYSTEM WILL APPROACH ARKANSAS FROM THE SOUTHWEST TONIGHT...AND SPREAD SEVERAL TYPES OF PRECIPITATION TO THE STATE. AHEAD OF IT...SCATTERED RAIN AND SHOWERS WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT OVER WESTERN AND CENTRAL AREAS...WITH ISOLATED HEAVY RAIN OF A QUARTER TO HALF AND INCH INTO TUESDAY MORNING. THE RAIN WILL TRANSITION TO SOME WINTRY WEATHER EARLY TUESDAY MORNING OVER NORTHWEST AND NORTHERN ARKANSAS. LIGHT FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER NORTHWEST ARKANSAS BY TUESDAY MORNING. ARCTIC AIR WILL SURGE INTO THE REGION FROM THE PLAINS LATE TONIGHT CAUSING A CHANGEOVER OF RAIN TO FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET ACROSS THE NORTH AND WEST PORTION OF THE STATE. THIS WILL OCCUR CLOSER TO SUNRISE TUESDAY MORNING...MAINLY NORTH AND WEST OF A LINE FROM AROUND JASPER...TO CLINTON...TO MOUNTAIN VIEW AND SALEM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING IN THE NORTHWEST AND PARTS OF THE NORTH. ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF A QUARTER TO HALF AN INCH WILL BE COMMONPLACE THROUGH LATE TUESDAY MORNING. LOCAL ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH MAY ALSO OCCUR...NORTH AND ALONG THE PARIS TO SALEM LINE. COLDER AIR WILL CONTINUE TO FILTER INTO THE STATE...WITH FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET CHANGING OVER TO ALL SNOW BY MID DAY. HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING...WITH TWO TO SIX INCHES POSSIBLE OVER PARTS OF NORTHERN ARKANSAS. HIGHER TERRAIN COULD SEE A BIT HIGHER SNOW AMOUNTS. OVER PARTS OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS IN THE ADVISORY AREAS...ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF A TENTH OF AN INCH ARE POSSIBLE WITH LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS OF NEAR A QUARTER OF AN INCH...WHILE SNOW AMOUNTS OF ONE TO TWO INCHES WITH ISOLATED HIGH AMOUNTS WILL BE POSSIBLE. HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE STATE WITH AN ADDITIONAL INCH TO AN INCH AND A HALF OF RAIN FALLING. IN ADDITION TO THE RAIN...THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH SOME OF THE STORMS STRONG TO POSSIBLY SEVERE OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN HALF OF THE STATE. THE PRIMARY THREAT AT THIS TIME APPEAR TO BE STRONG WINDS BUT AN ISOLATED TORNADO CAN NOT BE RULED OUT. ALTHOUGH MUCH OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS WILL MAINLY BE LIQUID PRECIPITATION...THERE WILL BE A BRIEF PERIOD OF FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET...BEFORE ENDING AS LIGHT SNOW OR FLURRIES AS THE COLDER AIR SEEPS INTO THIS PORTION OF THE STATE IN THE AFTERNOON TO EVENING. CENTRAL ARKANSAS COULD SEE ANYWHERE BETWEEN A DUSTING TO ONE INCH OF SNOW AND ICE ACCUMULATION INTO TUESDAY EVENING. ADDITIONALLY ON TUESDAY...BY THE EARLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS...IT WILL BECOME VERY WINDY...AS WINDS SHIFT TO THE WEST AND NORTHWEST BEHIND THE STRONG SURFACE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM. GUSTS COULD EXCEED 40 MPH IN PLACES. A WIND ADVISORY WILL BE IN EFFECT INTO WEDNESDAY. ARCTIC AIR WILL CONTINUE POURING INTO THE REGION TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...WITH WELL BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES IN THE FORECAST. BY THURSDAY MORNING...READINGS MAY DROP BELOW ZERO IN THE NORTHWEST... WITH SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS COMMON ELSEWHERE. PRECAUTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN TO MINIMIZE THE EFFECT THE WINTER WEATHER WILL HAVE ACROSS ARKANSAS. MAINLY DRY AND COLD WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. STAY TUNED TO YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FOR THE LATEST FORECAST AND INFORMATION REGARDING THIS DEVELOPING SITUATION. .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. 56/61/59
The Springfield radar (KSGF), 125 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:37 UTC.
45 strong wind, 5 winter storm, 5 winter weather, 2 hail, 2 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Boone County received freezing rain, followed by sleet, and then snow. Estimates of ice accumulation ranged from 1/4 to 3/4 inch. Snow amounted to an inch or two.
Newton County received freezing rain, followed by sleet, and then some light snow. Estimates of ice accumulation ranged from 1/4 to 3/4 inch.
Marion County received freezing rain, followed by sleet, and then snow. Estimates of ice accumulation ranged from 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Snow amounted to an inch or so.
Baxter County received freezing rain, followed by sleet, and then some very light snow. Estimates of ice accumulation ranged from 1/4 to 1/2 inch.
Television video from Arkansas Highway 7 in northern Pope County showed ice encrusted trees and sleet partially covering the ground.
Penny size hail covered the ground in Fordyce. The police department reported that there was so much hail on the ground that it looked like it had snowed.
Lightning struck a tree behind a house on Wetherborne Dr., in the Pleasant Valley area of Little Rock. The lightning did not set the house on fire but did knock out many of the electronics inside the house.
Lightning struck a large tree behind a house on Hyde Ct. in the Pleasant Valley area of Little Rock. The lightning traveled down the tree and into the house, setting it on fire.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, February 2011
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: 270194, 270197, 270195, 270199, 270203, 270218, 270196, 270198, 270200, 270223, 270145, 270146, 270201, 270233, 270234, 270242, 270142, 270202, 270241, 270243, 270246, 270140, 270204, 270209, 270224, 270225, 270228, 270229, 270231, 270232, 270236, 270240, 270247, 270213, 270214, 270219, 270221, 270226, 270227, 270230, and more.