Very dry conditions throughout much of June and only sparse rainfall in July led to the development of severe drought in parts of southeast Arkansas by the end of July.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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.
Very dry conditions throughout much of June and only sparse rainfall in July led to the development of severe drought in parts of southeast Arkansas by the end of July.
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 30, 5:45 AM CST, 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 645 AM CDT TUE JUL 30 2013 .AVIATION...30/12Z TAF CYCLE AREA OF RAIN/EMBEDDED TSRA WL CONT TO AFFECT KHRO/KBPK THRU THE MID TO LATE MRNG HRS...WITH OCNL MVFR/IFR CONDS IN HEAVIER RAINFALL. SCTD SHRA/ISOLD TSRA WL BE NOTED ACRS CNTRL AR...WITH MAINLY VFR CONDS EXPECTED...WITH BRIEF PDS OF MVFR VSBYS. EXPECT PRECIP TO DIMINISH IN AREAL COVERAGE TOWARD MIDDAY...WITH SCTD STORMS POSSIBLE THIS AFTN AND EVENING. CANNOT RULE OUT PATCHY BR/ MVFR CIGS FORMING LATE TNGT OVR NRN AR. /44/ && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 335 AM CDT TUE JUL 30 2013/ SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY MOISTURE HAS RETURNED TO THE REGION BEHIND THE FRONT THAT LIFTED NORTH ACROSS THE STATE ON MON...WITH DEWPTS BACK INTO THE 70S FOR MOST LOCATIONS. COMPLEX OF CONVECTION ONGOING THIS MORNING OVER NWRN AND NRN PORTIONS OF THE STATE...EXTENDING FURTHER NORTH AND WEST INTO OK AND MO. SOME ISOLATED SHRA HAVE ALSO DEVELOPED FURTHER SOUTH AND EAST OF THE MAIN AREA OF CONVECTION. A MOSTLY CLOUDY SKY WAS OBSERVED...WITH TEMPS IN THE 70S TO NEAR 80. THE COMPLEX OF PRECIP TO THE NORTH AND WEST WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST OVER TIME...WITH BEST POPS REMAINING ACROSS THE NWRN AND NRN COUNTIES THROUGH ABOUT MIDDAY. HOWEVER...HAVE ALSO MENTIONED CHANCE POPS FURTHER SOUTH AND EAST FOR ALL BUT THE FAR SERN COUNTIES DURING THIS SAME PERIOD AS THESE AREAS WILL SEE SOME CONVECTION POSSIBLE THROUGH ABOUT NOON. BY THIS AFTERNOON...OVERALL POPS DO DECREASE AS THE UPPER DISTURBANCE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PRECIP MOVES EAST. HOWEVER...ANY BOUNDARIES LEFT OVER COULD TRIGGER ADDITIONAL CONVECTION THIS AFTERNOON. BY WED...UPPER FLOW WILL RETURN TO THE NW OVER THE REGION...WITH A FRONT DROPPING SOUTH INTO THE STATE WED AFTERNOON. NOT MUCH COOLER OR DRIER AIR IS EXPECTED WITH THIS FRONT THIS TIME AROUND...WITH MAINLY JUST A WIND SHIFT THE MAIN RESULT. DO CONTINUE SLIGHT CHANCE TO LOW END CHANCE POPS AS THIS FRONT DROP SOUTH INTO THE STATE. BY THU...THIS FRONT WILL HAVE MOVED TO AROUND THE AR/LA BORDER...WITH WINDS GENERALLY FROM THE NORTH TO NE INTO THU. BY FRI...WINDS WILL BEGIN TO TURN BACK TO THE SOUTH...BUT UPPER FLOW LOOKS TO REMAIN FROM THE NW OVER THE REGION. ANOTHER DISTURBANCE LOOKS TO DROP SE OVER THE STATE FOR FRI...WITH POPS INCREASING AGAIN FOR AT LEAST THE NRN COUNTIES FOR THE END OF THE SHORT TERM PERIOD. LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY AN UNUSUALLY UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR WL PREVAIL THRU THE WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. NWLY FLOW ALOFT WL CONT TO BRING A SERIES OF UPR LVL IMPULSES SEWD ACRS THE FA... RESULTING IN CONTD CHCS OF SHRA/TSRA. RAINFALL CHCS WL ALSO BE AIDED BY A FNTL BNDRY THAT WL DROP SWD INTO AR AND MEANDER OVR THE REGION. LOCALLY HVY RAINFALL WL BE A CONCERN AND WL NEED TO BE MONITORED THRU THE FCST PD. TEMPS WL BE HELD CLOSE TO NORMAL LVLS FOR MOST LOCATIONS AS A RESULT OF CONTD RAIN CHCS/ABUNDANT CLOUD COVER. && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 500 AM CDT TUE JUL 30 2013 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-311000- 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 TUE JUL 30 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A LARGE AREA OF RAIN AND EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT MUCH OF NORTHERN AND WESTERN ARKANSAS THIS MORNING. THE OVERALL COVERAGE AND INTENSITY OF THE ACTIVITY WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH LATER THIS MORNING. WHILE A FEW STRONG STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE...THE CHANCES OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE LOW. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA. HOWEVER...SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY AN UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE ACROSS MUCH OF ARKANSAS THROUGH THE PERIOD. A PERSISTENT NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO BRING A PARADE OF UPPER LEVEL LOWS ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE PERIOD. THIS WILL RESULT IN PERIODIC CHANCES OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY OVER THE NORTHEAST HALF OF THE STATE. AT THIS TIME...THE CHANCE OF ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER APPEARS LOW. .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 national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe drought developed in the southeastern corner of Pulaski County at the end of July.
Severe drought developed in extreme southern Lonoke County at the end of July.
Severe drought developed over much of Jefferson County at the end of July.
Severe drought developed over the western part of Arkansas County at the end of July.
Severe drought developed over extreme northern Lincoln County at the end of July.
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: 457334, 457338, 457339, 457340, 457341.