An area of low pressure aloft triggered numerous showers and thunderstorms across Arkansas on the night of the 22nd and morning of the 23rd.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
An area of low pressure aloft triggered numerous showers and thunderstorms across Arkansas on the night of the 22nd and morning of the 23rd.
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 Oct 23, 12:12 AM CST, 2 hours 33 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 112 AM CDT SUN OCT 23 2011 .AVIATION...06Z TAF CYCLE A CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS IS MOVING THROUGH WESTERN ARKANSAS INTO CENTRAL ARKANSAS. THESE ARE FORMING ALONG A WARM FRONT THAT IS INTERACTING WITH A SHORT WAVE MOVING THROUGH NORTHWEST FLOW. WILL KEEP ONLY SHOWERS IN THE NORTH...THUNDERSTORMS ELSEWHERE. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BRING MVFR CONDITIONS WITH SOME SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS...OTHERWISE VFR CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED. RAIN WILL END IN THE SOUTHEAST EARLY SUNDAY AFTERNOON. CLOUDS WILL BE CLEARING DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. 51 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 742 PM CDT SAT OCT 22 2011/ UPDATE... STRONG CONVECTION CONTINUES TO DEVELOP OVER CENTRAL OKLAHOMA ALONG A WEST TO EAST ORIENTATED WARM FRONT. CONVECTION BEING AIDED BY A VIGOUROUS UPPER LEVEL SWINGING THROUGH THE REGION. DISTURBANCE FORECAST TO MOVE SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE NIGHT...PASSING OVER SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ARKANSAS AND EVENTUALLY INTO NORTHERN LOUISIANA. AS SUCH...HAVE RAISED POPS ACROSS THE BOARD THROUGH THE NIGHT FOR THE MAJORITY OF THH COUNTY WARNING AREA. HIGHEST POPS WILL REMAIN OVER THE SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL SECTION AND TAPER OFF TO THE NORTH. MAJORITY OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE EXITING THE SOUTH EARLY SUNDAY BUT WILL HOLD ONTO LINGERING POPS. && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 715 PM CDT SAT OCT 22 2011 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-231000- 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- 715 PM CDT SAT OCT 22 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER EASTERN OKLAHOMA AS A VIGOROUS UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES THROUGH. THIS FEATURE IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE MOVING SOUTHEAST AND ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST PART OF ARKANSAS THROUGH THE NIGHT AND EARLY MORNING HOURS. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO WESTERN AND SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS THIS EVENING AND SPREAD EAST AND SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE NIGHT. SOME OF THE STORMS COULD BE STRONG...ESPECIALLY OVER SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS WHERE LARGE HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS ARE THE PRIMARY CONCERN. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL AVERAGE BETWEEN ONE HALF INCH AND ONE INCH OVER SOUTHERN ARKANSAS WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS EXPECTED OVER THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF THE STATE. LESSER AMOUNTS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS CENTRAL SECTIONS OF THE STATE WHERE UPWARDS OF A QUARTER INCH COULD FALL WITH LITTLE RAIN EXPECTED OVER THE FAR NORTH. LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN ANY THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY RAIN WILL END EARLY SUNDAY ACROSS THE SOUTH AS THE UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES THROUGH. HIGH PRESSURE WILL THEN BUILD IN BRINGING SEVERAL DAYS OF DRY WEATHER TO THE MID SOUTH. A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE MID SOUTH WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY BRINGING A VERY GOOD CHANCE OF RAIN WITH IT. DETAILS REMAIN A BIT SKETCHY AT THIS POINT BUT THIS SYSTEM DOES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BRING HEAVY RAIN TO A GOOD PART OF THE STATE. .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
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
1034 PM CDT SAT OCT 22 2011
ARZ030-037-230420-
LOGAN AR-SCOTT AR-
1034 PM CDT SAT OCT 22 2011
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHERN SCOTT AND WESTERN LOGAN
COUNTIES UNTIL 1115 PM CDT...
AT 1033 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING
A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES WEST OF BOOTHE...OR 6 MILES SOUTHEAST
OF HUNTINGTON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.
HAIL UP TO ONE-HALF INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE
EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.
* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
BOONEVILLE... RATCLIFF... MANSFIELD...
MAGAZINE... ECHO... WINFIELD...
SUGAR GROVE... LUCAS... IONE...
HON... GRAYSON... ELM PARK...
CHISMVILLE... CAULKSVILLE... CAROLAN...
BARBER... ABBOTT... WATSON LAKE...
IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...TAKE SHELTER IN A
STURDY BUILDING.
LAT...LON 3511 9415 3515 9414 3515 9404 3524 9403
3524 9393 3529 9393 3532 9388 3510 9371
3488 9419 3497 9425 3505 9423 3507 9425
TIME...MOT...LOC 0334Z 241DEG 18KT 3504 9417
56SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 1048 PM CDT SAT OCT 22 2011 ARZ030-037-038-230435- LOGAN AR-SCOTT AR-YELL AR- 1048 PM CDT SAT OCT 22 2011 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHERN YELL...EXTREME NORTHEASTERN SCOTT AND EXTREME EASTERN LOGAN COUNTIES UNTIL 1130 PM CDT... AT 1045 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR CHALYBEATE SPGS...OR 12 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DANVILLE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH. HAIL UP TO ONE-HALF INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. * LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... DANVILLE... PETIT JEAN RIVER WMA... OLA... FOURCHE VALLEY... WING... WALTREAK... RANGER... HAVANA... CORINTH... CHICKALAH... BRIGGSVILLE... BLUFFTON... BELLEVILLE... SURROUNDED RIDGES LAKE... SPRING MTN... SPRING LAKE... POTATO HILL MTN... PLEASANT HILL... IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...TAKE SHELTER IN A STURDY BUILDING. LAT...LON 3525 9332 3504 9316 3486 9360 3501 9371 TIME...MOT...LOC 0349Z 238DEG 15KT 3499 9356 56
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 127 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:45 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning stuck a natural gas metering station, causing the natural gas to catch 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, October 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: 342665.