The heat and drought led to many well-developed dust devils in July. One of these damaged a business on the 31st.
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.
The heat and drought led to many well-developed dust devils in July. One of these damaged a business on the 31st.
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 31, 11:35 AM CST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 1235 PM CDT TUE JUL 31 2012 .AVIATION...31/18Z TAF CYCLE EXPECT VFR CONDS TO PREVAIL THRU THE PD. MID AND HIGH LVL CLOUDS WL CONT TO STREAM SEWD ACRS AR. APPEARS TO BE A WEAK OUTFLOW BNDRY ACRS CNTRL AR...WHICH COULD FOCUS A FEW SHRA/TSRA THIS AFTN. THUS... WENT AHEAD AND ADDED VCTS TO KLIT/KPBF AND KLLQ. CONVECTION WL BE TOO ISOLD AT BEST ACRS SWRN AR TO JUSTIFY A MENTION IN THE FCST THIS AFTN. BULK OF CONVECTION WL DISSIPATE DURG THE EARLY EVENING HRS. /44/ && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 1105 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2012/ UPDATE... TOUGH FORECAST WITH THIS UPDATE...DUE TO CLOUD COVER/RAINFALL ACROSS THE NORTHEAST...WHILE CLEAR SKIES ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO WARM AND MIXING TO TAKE PLACE. HAVE INCREASED POPS ACROSS THE NORTHEAST THIS AFTERNOON...BUT RAIN CHANCES STILL REMAIN SMALL. THE BIG QUESTION WILL BE HOW MUCH THE CLOUD COVER WILL HOLD TEMPERATURES DOWN AND HOW MUCH THEY IMPEDE MIXING. HAVE CONTINUED ALL HEAT RELATED HEADLINES DUE TO HEAT INDEXES REMAINING ABOVE 105 DEGREES. WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR FOR THIS AFTERNOON. WEDNESDAY HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR REACHING EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNINGS...AND WILL BE WATCHING AS NEW DATA COMES IN. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 250 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2012/ SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY SAME SONG...SECOND VERSE...SAME AS THE FIRST. FORGIVE ME...BUT THERE/S REALLY NO OTHER WAY TO SAY THE SAME THING WE/VE BEEN SAYING. HERE GOES... HOT WEATHER WILL CONTINUE FOR THE SHORT TERM PERIODS. HIGHS TODAY WILL RANGE FROM 100 TO 110 AGAIN. ANY CONVECTION WILL BE ISOLATED IN NATURE. HOWEVER...ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP COULD BECOME SEVERE... GIVEN A HIGH TEMP/DEWPOINT SPREAD DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS...THE UPPER RIDGE TO THE WEST WILL CONTRACT A BIT. MORE CLOUD COVER WILL BE NOTED BY LATE IN THE WEEK...WITH TEMPERATURES VERY SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN THEY ARE NOW. THERE WILL A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS/STORMS AROUND THE PERIPHERY OF THE RIDGE /BASICALLY THE NORTHEAST HALF OF THE AREA/. BY THE END OF THE WEEK...THE RIDGE WILL BUILD BACK AGAIN...WITH ANY PRECIP CHANCES LESSENING. WITH RECORD HEAT AND HIGH HUMIDITY...HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL CONTINUE TO RANGE ABOVE 105 DEGREES THROUGH AT LEAST THURSDAY... AND AS SUCH...HAVE EXTENDED THE HEAT ADVISORY AREAWIDE THROUGH THEN...THOUGH THE NORTH MAY HAVE A HARDER TIME REACHING CRITERIA BY THE END OF THE WEEK. IT LOOKS AS THOUGH HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL BE THE HIGHEST ON WEDNESDAY...WITH READINGS FROM LITTLE ROCK NORTHEASTWARD AND LITTLE ROCK SOUTHWARD RANGING FROM 110 TO 115 DEGREES. SO...WITH THAT IN MIND...HAVE GONE WITH AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH FOR THE AFOREMENTIONED TIME PERIOD. THE ONE CAVEAT WOULD BE IF THE HUMIDITY STAYS HIGH ENOUGH AND THINGS DON/T MIX OUT...THE TEMPERATURE MAY NOT BE AS HIGH AS FORECASTED AND MAXIMUM HEAT INDICES WOULD BE BELOW 110. ONE MORE CAVEAT...CLOUDS FROM ONGOING CONVECTION IN MISSOURI COULD SERIOUSLY BUST THE MAX TEMPERATURE FORECAST IN NORTHERN ARKANSAS TODAY. IT WILL ALL DEPEND ON HOW MUCH THE UPPER RIDGE CONTRACTS... AND HOW SOON THE CLOUDS BREAK UP. LONG TERM...FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY UPPER FLOW PATTERN AT THE START OF THE LONG TERM PERIOD WILL BE CHARACTERIZED BY AN ELONGATED UPPER RIDGE DRAPED ACROSS THE SRN THIRD OF THE CONUS. AR WILL BE UNDER THE CENTER OF THIS ELONGATED RIDGE...WITH CONTINUED WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS EXPECTED THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. HIGHS WILL CONTINUE TO HOVER AROUND 100...WITH LOWS IN THE 70S. POTENTIAL FOR WIDESPREAD PRECIP WILL REMAIN LOW THROUGH SUN WITH HIGH PRESSURE IN PLACE ALOFT. HOWEVER...DIURNALLY DRIVEN CONVECTION WILL BE POSSIBLE EACH AFTERNOON DURING THE PEAK HEATING. BY EARLY NEXT WEEK...THE UPPER RIDGE WILL AMPLIFY ACROSS THE WRN CONUS...WITH TROUGHING DEVELOPING ACROSS THE EAST. THIS WILL CAUSE TEMPS TO COOL SLIGHTLY...AS WELL AS BRINGING SOMEWHAT BETTER CHANCES FOR PRECIP. HOWEVER...GIVEN THIS SETUP BEING ABOUT A WEEK AWAY AND WITH LARGE PARTS OF AR IN EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT...CANNOT WARRANT GOING ANY MORE THAN HIGH END SLIGHT CHANCE POPS NOW FOR DAY 7. FIRE WEATHER... DANGEROUS WILDFIRE CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS AS VERY HOT CONDITIONS AND DRY WEATHER PERSIST. THE VERY DRY VEGETATION THAT IS IN PLACE AS A RESULT OF THE ONGOING SEVERE TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT WILL ONLY ADD TO THE WILDFIRE THREAT. THE WILDFIRE THREAT RANGES FROM HIGH TO EXTREME ACROSS ALL OF THE STATE. EXPECT WINDS OF 8 TO 14 MPH COMMON...WITH GUSTS NEARING 20 MPH IN SOME SPOTS. AFTERNOON RH VALUES WILL DROP TO AROUND 20 PERCENT. MOST COUNTIES IN AR REMAIN UNDER BURN BANS...AND ANY FIRE WILL QUICKLY SPREAD OUT OF CONTROL. && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM CDT THURSDAY 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. EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR ARKANSAS-BRADLEY-CLEVELAND-DESHA-DREW-JACKSON- JEFFERSON-LINCOLN-LONOKE-MONROE-PRAIRIE-PULASKI-WOODRUFF. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 354 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2012 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-011000- 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- 354 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT VERY HOT CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AGAIN TODAY...WITH AFTERNOON HIGHS NEAR OR ABOVE 100 DEGREES FOR MOST OF THE AREA. SOME LOCATIONS COULD APPROACH 110 DEGREES. AFTERNOON HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL RANGE FROM 105 TO NEAR 110 DEGREES IN MUCH OF THE AREA. AS A RESULT...A HEAT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT. MOST OF THE STATE IS NOW IN SEVERE WILDFIRE DANGER DUE TO THE SEVERE TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT CONDITIONS AND RESULTING DRY VEGETATION. MOST COUNTIES HAVE BURN BANS IN PLACE. OUTDOOR BURNING OF ANY KIND IS STRONGLY DISCOURAGED AS FIRES COULD QUICKLY SPREAD OUT OF CONTROL. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS COULD DEVELOP DURING THE HOTTEST PART OF THE AFTERNOON. WHILE WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED...ANY STORM COULD PRODUCE DAMAGING DOWNBURST WINDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY A HEAT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY DUE TO THE CONTINUED HOT TEMPERATURES AND ELEVATED HUMIDITY. AFTERNOON HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL RANGE FROM 105 TO NEAR 110 DEGREES. SOME PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EASTERN AND SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS COULD SEE HEAT INDEX VALUES APPROACH 115 DEGREES ON WEDNESDAY. AS A RESULT...AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR WEDNESDAY...INCLUDING AREAS GENERALLY ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM NEWPORT...TO LITTLE ROCK...TO WARREN. THE WILDFIRE DANGER IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN HIGH TO SEVERE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS DUE TO ONGOING SEVERE TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT AND VERY HOT TEMPERATURES. ONLY ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...WITH NO WIDESPREAD RAINFALL EXPECTED IN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE TO BRING MUCH RELIEF. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS. 62
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 1046 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2012 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-311800- 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- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ALTHEIMER...AMITY...ARKADELPHIA... ARKANSAS CITY...ASH FLAT...AUGUSTA...AVILLA...BATESVILLE... BAUXITE...BEARDEN...BEE BRANCH...BEEBE...BENTON...BISMARCK... BONNERDALE...BOONEVILLE...BRINKLEY...BRYANT...BULL SHOALS... CABOT...CALICO ROCK...CAMDEN...CAVE CITY...CENTER RIDGE... CHIDESTER...CLARENDON...CLARKSVILLE...CLINTON...CONWAY... COTTON PLANT...DANVILLE...DARDANELLE...DE VALLS BLUFF...DE WITT... DEER...DES ARC...DONALDSON...DRASCO...DUMAS...EL PASO...ENGLAND... FAIRFIELD BAY...FLIPPIN...FORDYCE...FOURCHE JUNCTION... GASSVILLE...GEORGETOWN...GILLETT...GLENWOOD...GOULD...GRADY... GRAVELLY...GREENBRIER...GREERS FERRY...GURDON...HAMPTON...HARDY... HARRISON...HASKELL...HAZEN...HEBER SPRINGS...HECTOR...HERMITAGE... HORSESHOE BEND...HOT SPRINGS...HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE...HOUSTON... HUMNOKE...HUMPHREY...JACKSONVILLE...JASPER...JESSIEVILLE... KINGSLAND...LACEY...LEAD HILL...LEOLA...LESLIE...LITTLE ROCK... LONOKE...MALVERN...MAMMOTH SPRING...MARSHALL...MAUMELLE... MAYFLOWER...MCCRORY...MCGEHEE...MELBOURNE...MENA...MONTICELLO... MORO BAY...MORRILTON...MOUNT IDA...MOUNT MAGAZINE... MOUNTAIN HOME...MOUNTAIN VIEW...MURFREESBORO...NEWPORT... NORFORK...NORMAN...NORTH LITTLE ROCK...OIL TROUGH...OKOLONA... OLA...OMAHA...OXFORD...OZONE...PARIS...PARON...PELSOR... PERRYVILLE...PINE BLUFF...PINE RIDGE...PLEASANT PLAINS...POYEN... PRATTSVILLE...REDFIELD...RISON...ROHWER...ROSE BUD... RUSSELLVILLE...SALEM...SEARCY...SHERIDAN...SHERWOOD...STAR CITY... STEPHENS...STUTTGART...SUMMIT...SWIFTON...THORNTON...TUCKERMAN... VILONIA...VIOLA...WALDRON...WARREN...WESTERN GROVE...WICKES... WRIGHTSVILLE...Y CITY...YELLVILLE 1046 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2012 ...DANGEROUS WILDFIRE CONDITIONS CONTINUE IN ARKANSAS... HIGH PRESSURE IN THE PLAINS WILL REMAIN IN PLACE FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES ACROSS MUCH OF THE STATE WILL CONTINUE TO TOP 100 DEGREES...WITH SOME AREAS SEEING READINGS RANGE FROM 105 TO 110 DEGREES. AS HEATING OCCURS...DRY AIR ALOFT WILL TEND TO MIX TO THE GROUND...AND AFTERNOON HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL DROP BELOW 30 PERCENT...POSSIBLY BELOW 20 PERCENT IN SOME LOCATIONS. THIS WILL BE ESPECIALLY TRUE ACROSS THE NORTHWEST HALF OF THE STATE CLOSEST TO THE CENTER OF THE HIGH PRESSURE. IN ADDITION TO VERY HOT TEMPERATURES AND LOW HUMIDITY VALUES... VEGETATION IS BONE DRY IN MOST OF ARKANSAS. NINETY SIX PERCENT OF THE STATE IS EXPERIENCING AT LEAST SEVERE DROUGHT...WITH EXTREME TO EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT IN THREE QUARTERS OF THE STATE. THE REGION EXPERIENCED THE DRIEST APRIL THROUGH JUNE ON RECORD...AND BENEFICIAL RAIN HAS BEEN SPOTTY SO FAR IN JULY. WITH LITTLE TO NO RAIN IN THE FORECAST...AND DETERIORATING DROUGHT CONDITIONS EXPECTED...DANGEROUS WILDFIRE CONDITIONS WILL BE NOTED IN THE COMING DAYS. FIRES WILL TEND TO START EASILY...AND THEY WILL SPREAD QUICKLY GIVEN LITTLE MOISTURE IN THE GRASS AND TREES. WINDS IN EXCESS OF 15 TO 20 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE ON MONDAY WHICH COULD CAUSE FIRES TO SPREAD MORE QUICKLY. THE ARKANSAS FORESTRY COMMISSION HAS THE ENTIRE STATE IN A HIGH FIRE DANGER. MOST COUNTIES ARE UNDER BURN BANS...EXCEPT FOR COUNTIES MAINLY IN THE SOUTH AND EAST. OUTDOOR BURNING IS STRONGLY DISCOURAGED IN ARKANSAS UNTIL WIDESPREAD SUBSTANTIAL RAIN FALLS. ANY UNCONTROLLED OR ACCIDENTAL FIRES COULD QUICKLY GROW OUT OF CONTROL. 44
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 dust devil. Local standard time, as filed.
A dust devil damaged a business in the Amboy section of North Little Rock. A metal awning was peeled off and part of the metal roof of a building was peeled back.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, July 2012
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: 387409.