An approaching cold front triggered numerous showers and thunderstorms on the afternoon and evening of the 26th. Isolated flash flooding occurred.
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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 approaching cold front triggered numerous showers and thunderstorms on the afternoon and evening of the 26th. Isolated flash flooding occurred.
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 26, 5:45 PM CST, 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 645 PM CDT FRI JUL 26 2013 .AVIATION... A LARGE AREA OF RAIN CONTINUES TO MOVE ACROSS THE STATE. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOTED IN WEST CENTRAL SECTIONS. THE RAIN WILL CONTINUE MUCH OF THE NIGHT AND WILL END LASTLY AT LLQ SATURDAY MORNING. MVFR TO LIFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED BEFORE IMPROVEMENT BEGINS SATURDAY MORNING. CLOUDS WILL DISSIPATE LATE MORNING SATURDAY AND IN THE AFTERNOON. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 248 PM CDT FRI JUL 26 2013/ DISCUSSION... MAIN CONCERNS THIS FORECAST CYCLE ARE AMOUNTS OF RAIN...HEAVY AT TIMES...AND POTENTIAL FOR FLASH FLOODING WITH THE CURRENT ON GOING SYSTEM. SEVERE STORM THREAT WILL BE LOW WITH THIS SYSTEM. THEN NEXT CHANCE OF CONVECTION LATER SUNDAY TO MONDAY AND CONCERN FOR RAIN AMOUNTS AND SEVERE THREAT. OTHERWISE TEMPERATURES WILL BE OVERALL BELOW NORMAL MUCH OF THE PERIOD. AREA OF RAIN SHOWERS WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS WESTERN TO CENTRAL AR THIS AFTERNOON. RAIN AMOUNTS HAVE BEEN OVERALL LIGHT TO MODERATE WITH A FEW LOCATIONS...SW AR...HAVING A BIT HEAVIER AMOUNTS AROUND AN INCH TO HIGHER AMOUNTS. AT THIS TIME NO FLASH FLOODING HAS OCCURRED TO SLOW PROGRESS OF SYSTEM AND A BIT LACK OF STRONG LIFT. DID SEE A SPLIT IN THE UPPER ENERGY WITH A SURGE GOING EAST TO MO...WHILE OTHER SE OK...NE TX...TO SW AR AND N LA. SURFACE LOW AND MCV WAS OVER NE TX AND MODELS DO MOVE THIS EAST TO ENHANCE POP CHANCES THIS AFTERNOON TO TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING...BEFORE MOVING EAST OF AR LATER SATURDAY. SHORT RANGE MODELS...WRF AND HRRR...HAVE THE AREA OF RAIN GRADUALLY MOVING ACROSS THE STATE WITH THE UPPER AND SURFACE SYSTEMS. WILL UPDATE FLASH FLOOD WATCH AND ADJUST HEAVIER RAIN A BIT MORE SOUTH...AND BRING AMOUNTS DOWN JUST A BIT. MAY ADD A FEW MORE COUNTIES OVER SOUTHERN AR TO WATCH. SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT WILL ADJUST HEAVIER RAIN AMOUNTS A BIT MORE SOUTH BASED ON LATEST TRENDS AND LATEST HPC QPF FORECASTS. WILL KEEP LIKELY TO CAT RAIN AMOUNTS THE REST OF TODAY...INTO TONIGHT. UPDATED FLASH FLOOD WATCH AND LOWERED JUST A BIT RAIN AMOUNTS DUE TO LATEST MODEL FORECASTS AND HPC FORECASTS. RAIN AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES WITH ISOLATED HIGHER AMOUNTS TO AROUND 3 INCHES ARE EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT 36 HOURS...AS THE SYSTEM...UPPER AND SURFACE...MOVE THROUGH AR. BEST CHANCES OF RAIN WILL BE CURRENT...AND TONIGHT. RISK OF FLASH FLOODING CONTINUES ESPECIALLY LATER DAY AND TONIGHT AS THE AMOUNTS SLOWLY INCREASE. SEVERE STORM THREAT WILL REMAIN VERY LOW AND BE ONLY ISOLATED DUE LACK OF HEATING WITH THE PRIMARYLY A STRATA FORM RAIN EVENT. THE SURFACE LOW DOES BRING A FRONT WITH IT THROUGH THE STATE ON SATURDAY...TAKING RAIN CHANCES TO THE EAST. SKIES BEGIN CLEARING LATER SATURDAY TO SUNDAY...BECOMING MOSTLY SUNNY ON SUNDAY. THEN THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM FORMS OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS...AND BRINGS THE NEXT CHANCE OF CONVECTION TO NW AR LATE SUNDAY...THEN OVER MUCH OF THE STATE ON MONDAY. THE CONTINUED UPPER NW FLOW HAS PLENTY OF ENERGY TO DEVELOP THE CONVECTION. AT THIS TIME ANY SEVERE THREAT IS UNCERTAIN BUT APPEARS LOW AT THIS TIME. THIS SYSTEM GRADUALLY MOVES E NE WITH RAIN HOLDING INTO THE MONDAY NIGHT PREIOD. OTHERWISE...TEMPERATURES WILL HOLD MAINLY BELOW NORMAL WITH HIGHS FROM THE MID 70S TO 80S...WHILE LOWS IN THE 60S TO LOWER 70S. LONG TERM...TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL CONTINUE...AS NORTHWEST FLOW REMAINS ACROSS THE REGION. SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE NORTHEAST...WITH PRECIP CHANCES REMAINING ACROSS THE NORTHEAST HALF TUESDAY. ANOTHER WEAK FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY...BUT WILL STALL OR WASH OUT. WITH LIMITED MOISTURE...HAVE KEPT RAIN CHANCES SMALL. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN NEAR NORMAL...WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S TO THE LOWER 90S. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BATESVILLE AR 63 84 60 85 / 60 10 10 10 CAMDEN AR 67 86 65 91 / 90 30 10 10 HARRISON AR 60 80 59 83 / 60 10 10 10 HOT SPRINGS AR 65 84 65 87 / 80 10 10 10 LITTLE ROCK AR 66 84 62 86 / 80 20 10 10 MONTICELLO AR 69 84 66 89 / 90 40 10 10 MOUNT IDA AR 63 84 61 86 / 80 10 10 10 MOUNTAIN HOME AR 61 82 58 84 / 60 10 10 10 NEWPORT AR 64 83 60 84 / 60 20 10 10 PINE BLUFF AR 66 84 64 88 / 80 30 10 10 RUSSELLVILLE AR 64 86 63 89 / 70 10 10 10 SEARCY AR 65 84 61 85 / 70 20 10 10 STUTTGART AR 67 84 62 86 / 70 30 10 10 && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 1 AM CDT SATURDAY FOR CLARK-DALLAS- GARLAND-GRANT-HOT SPRING-LOGAN-MONTGOMERY-OUACHITA-PERRY-PIKE- POLK-PULASKI-SALINE-SCOTT-YELL. && AVIATION...51
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 500 AM CDT FRI JUL 26 2013 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-271000- 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- 500 AM CDT FRI JUL 26 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A LARGE OF SHOWERS AND EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS...ACROSS KANSAS AND OKLAHOMA...WILL MOVE INTO WESTERN ARKANSAS LATER THIS MORNING. THE ACTIVITY WILL EVENTUALLY AFFECT THE REMAINDER OF THE STATE LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOME STRONG AND SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS SYSTEM...WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS THE MAIN THREATS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE...RESULTING IN A THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING. AS A RESULT...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR ABOUT THE WESTERN HALF OF ARKANSAS TODAY AND THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THE AFOREMENTIONED STORM SYSTEM WILL SHIFT EAST OF ARKANSAS ON SATURDAY...WITH RAINFALL DIMINISHING. SLIGHTLY COOLER AND DRIER AIR WILL FILTER INTO THE NATURAL STATE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEKEND. THE NEXT SIGNIFICANT CHANCE OF RAINFALL WILL RETURN TO THE MID SOUTH MONDAY AND TUESDAY...AS ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM APPROACHES FROM THE PLAINS STATES. .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. 44
The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 78 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:14 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Water was over some roads in and around Mena, and also on some county roads.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, July 2013
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: 456066.