A strong upper level disturbance moved from southwest Texas to northern Texas into northern Arkansas on the 4th. Snow developed into the area during the morning hours and continued into the evening hours.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 TSA wrote it up.
A strong upper level disturbance moved from southwest Texas to northern Texas into northern Arkansas on the 4th. Snow developed into the area during the morning hours and continued into the evening hours. Some of this snow was moderate to heavy and resulted in bands of locally heavy accumulations of up to five inches across northwestern Arkansas.
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 Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 4, 9:03 AM CST, 57 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
903 AM CST FRI FEB 4 2011
...UPDATE...
WILL EXPAND THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TO INCLUDE MOST OF THE
AREA SOUTH OF I-44...EXPIRATION TIME WILL REMAIN AT 03Z ALTHOUGH
THE EVENT WILL LIKELY END PRIOR TO THAT TIME IN SOUTHERN AREAS.
.DISCUSSION...
12Z NAM AND LOCAL WRF MODELS SUPPORT EXPANDING AREA OF LIGHT SNOW
INTO NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA LATER THIS MORNING AND ESPECIALLY THIS
AFTERNOON AS UPPER SYSTEM OVER TEXAS LIFTS NORTHEAST. SFC OBS
REPORTING LIGHT SNOW AS FAR NORTH AS OKMULGEE-MUSKOGEE-TAHLEQUAH...
NO AMOUNTS REPORTED TO US AS OF 9 AM. NAM ALSO INDICATES A
DEFORMATION ZONE MAY SET UP ACROSS NE OKLAHOMA LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND KEEP AT LEAST SOME THREAT OF LIGHT SNOW GOING INTO EARLY
EVENING...THUS THE 03Z EXPIRATION TIME LOOKS GOOD RIGHT NOW.
UPDATED WSW AND FORECAST PRODUCTS WILL BE OUT BY AROUND 0930.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 543 AM CST FRI FEB 4 2011/
DISCUSSION...
THE 12Z AVIATION DISCUSSION IS INCLUDED BELOW.
AVIATION...
CONCERNING TAF SITES KTUL/KRVS/KBVO/KMLC/KXNA/KFYV/KFSM.
AN UPPER LOW WILL SPREAD LIGHT SNOW ACROSS THE REGION TODAY. THIS
SNOW WILL DROP CONDITIONS TO MVFR...POSSIBLY EVEN IFR IN THE
HEAVIER SNOW. THE SNOW WILL TAPER OFF FROM SW TO NE LATE THIS
AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING.
LACY
PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 500 AM CST FRI FEB 4 2011/
DISCUSSION...
TEXAS UPPER LOW MOVES DIRECTLY OVER OUR FORECAST
AREA TODAY. MARGINAL MOISTURE/LIFT FOR SOUTHEAST
PORTIONS OK AND WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST AR TO
BRING AN INCH OF TWO OF SNOW...MAYBE LOCAL THREE
ON THE MOUNTAIN TOPS. ADVISORY POSTED THAT AREA.
MOST SNOW FINISHED BY DARK...HOWEVER CARRIED THE
ADVISORY UNTIL 9PM IN CASE SNOW LINGERS INTO THE
EVENING HOURS.
SINCE WE HAVE DRAINED WEST CANADA OF ARCTIC AIR
NORTHWEST FLOW WILL ACTUALLY BRING WARMER TEMPS
OUR WAY SATURDAY...30S. NEXT WAVE IN NORTHWEST
FLOW BRINGS FORECAST DIFFICULTIES SATURDAY NIGHT
AND SUNDAY. CHANCE POP & VARIABLE PRECIPITATION
TYPES. GFS/ECMWF BLEND OF TEMP PROFILES USED FOR
PRECIP TYPE WITH USUAL DISCLAIMER...SUBJECT TO
FUTURE REVISION. ANOTHER WAVE BRINGS A POTENTIAL
FOR MORE SNOW TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY. FRESH INJECTION
OF ARCTIC AIR WILL FOLLOW.
GW
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
TUL 24 13 35 28 / 30 0 10 30
FSM 27 15 39 28 / 80 20 0 20
MLC 26 14 38 28 / 80 10 0 20
BVO 25 11 35 27 / 20 0 10 30
FYV 26 11 36 26 / 80 30 0 20
BYV 28 14 38 27 / 70 30 0 20
MKO 24 13 35 27 / 80 10 0 20
MIO 26 12 35 27 / 30 10 10 20
F10 25 14 37 28 / 70 10 0 30
HHW 27 15 41 29 / 80 10 0 20
&&
.TSA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM FRIDAY FOR OKZ049-OKZ053-
OKZ068-OKZ069-OKZ070-OKZ071-OKZ072-OKZ073-OKZ074-OKZ075-
OKZ076.
AR...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM FRIDAY FOR ARZ001-ARZ002-
ARZ010-ARZ011-ARZ019-ARZ020-ARZ029.
&&
SHORT TERM...14
LONG TERM....18HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 502 AM CST FRI FEB 4 2011 ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-051100- ADAIR OK-BENTON AR-CARROLL AR-CHEROKEE OK-CHOCTAW OK-CRAIG OK- CRAWFORD AR-CREEK OK-DELAWARE OK-FRANKLIN AR-HASKELL OK-LATIMER OK- LE FLORE OK-MADISON AR-MAYES OK-MCINTOSH OK-MUSKOGEE OK-NOWATA OK- OKFUSKEE OK-OKMULGEE OK-OSAGE OK-OTTAWA OK-PAWNEE OK-PITTSBURG OK- PUSHMATAHA OK-ROGERS OK-SEBASTIAN AR-SEQUOYAH OK-TULSA OK-WAGONER OK- WASHINGTON OK-WASHINGTON AR- 502 AM CST FRI FEB 4 2011 ...LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATION EXPECTED TODAY OVER MUCH OF THE REGION... THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS AS WELL AS MUCH OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. WINTER WEATHER. SNOW ACCUMULATION. RISK...LIMITED. AREA...EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. ONSET...THIS MORNING. WIND CHILL. RISK...LIMITED. AREA...EXTREME NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA. ONSET...LATE TONIGHT. DISCUSSION... AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL LIFT NORTHEAST ACROSS OKLAHOMA AND ARKANSAS TODAY. LIFT WITH THIS SYSTEM COMBINED WITH LIMITED MOISTURE WILL PRODUCE LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATION OVER MUCH OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. ONE TO TWO INCHES OF ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED BY EARLY THIS EVENING. THIS WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE TRAVEL MORE DIFFICULT THAT USUAL ACROSS THE REGION. SPOTTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION NOT EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. SATURDAY...WINTER WEATHER POTENTIAL...DANGEROUS WIND CHILL POTENTIAL. SUNDAY...WINTER WEATHER POTENTIAL. MONDAY...DANGEROUS WIND CHILL POTENTIAL. TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...WINTER WEATHER POTENTIAL...DANGEROUS WIND CHILL POTENTIAL. THURSDAY...DANGEROUS WIND CHILL POTENTIAL. EXTENDED DISCUSSION... A LIGHT WINTRY MIX MAY DEVELOP OVER EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY AS ANOTHER SYSTEM SWEEPS ACROSS THE REGION. SOME SNOW ACCUMULATION AND VERY LIGHT ICE ACCUMULATION IS POSSIBLE...AND THIS WILL CAUSE MORE TRAVEL HEADACHES. WIND CHILL VALUES NEAR ZERO ARE EXPECTED ACROSS EXTREME NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA SATURDAY MORNING. A COLD FRONT WILL ACCOMPANY THE LATE WEEKEND SYSTEM...AND WIND CHILLS ARE FORECAST TO DROP INTO THE 10 BELOW TO 15 BELOW RANGE BY MONDAY MORNING. YET ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE REGION TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING ANOTHER CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATION...ALONG WITH COLD WIND CHILL VALUES AS LOW AS 20 BELOW AS AN ARCTIC FRONT SWEEPS THROUGH THE REGION WITH THIS SYSTEM. WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA CONTAINS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
930 AM CST FRI FEB 04 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0930 AM SNOW MCALESTER 34.93N 95.77W
02/04/2011 E3.0 INCH PITTSBURG OK FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
&&
JDSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
934 AM CST FRI FEB 04 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0931 AM SNOW WILBURTON 34.92N 95.31W
02/04/2011 E3.0 INCH LATIMER OK EMERGENCY MNGR
2-3 INCHES AROUND WILBURTON.
&&
JDSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
935 AM CST FRI FEB 04 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0931 AM SNOW STIGLER 35.25N 95.12W
02/04/2011 E2.0 INCH HASKELL OK LAW ENFORCEMENT
&&
JDSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
938 AM CST FRI FEB 04 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0935 AM SNOW POTEAU 35.05N 94.62W
02/04/2011 E1.0 INCH LE FLORE OK LAW ENFORCEMENT
&&
JDSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
958 AM CST FRI FEB 04 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0950 AM SNOW SALLISAW 35.46N 94.79W
02/04/2011 E2.0 INCH SEQUOYAH OK CO-OP OBSERVER
SALLISAW WATER TREATMENT PLANT
0950 AM SNOW OKEMAH 35.43N 96.30W
02/04/2011 E2.0 INCH OKFUSKEE OK LAW ENFORCEMENT
1-2 INCHES STILL SNOWING MODESTLY
&&
JDSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
959 AM CST FRI FEB 04 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0956 AM SNOW EUFAULA 35.29N 95.58W
02/04/2011 E0.5 INCH MCINTOSH OK LAW ENFORCEMENT
&&
JDSThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Four inches of snow fell across the county.
Four inches of snow fell across the county.
Four to six inches of snow fell across the county.
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: 286857, 286858, 286859.