Drought in Arkansas, September 1 to 30, 2013

Name: Drought in Arkansas, September 1 to 30, 2013
Start: 2013-09-01T00:00
End: 2013-09-30T23:59
Location: Arkansas

September 1 to 30, 2013 · NWS LZK · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS LZK wrote it up.

Very dry weather affected most of southern Arkansas and parts of central Arkansas from August into September. Drought conditions worsened through the middle of September, but improvement occurred after rain fell from the 20th into the 21st. Additional rain fell in parts of southeast Arkansas on the morning of the 24th, and in parts of southwest Arkansas from the 28th into the morning of the 29th.

What forecasters said that day

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 Aug 31, 11:48 PM CST, 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 31, 11:48 PM CST, 12 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
1248 AM CDT SUN SEP 1 2013

.AVIATION...01/06Z TAF CYCLE

VFR CONDS WL PREVAIL THRU THE PD. SMALL CHCS FOR CONVECTION WL
RETURN TO THE MAINLY NRN AR SUN AFTN AHEAD OF AN APCHG CDFNT.
COVERAGE STILL APPEARS LIMITED...SO CONTD WITH VCTS AT KHRO AND
KBPK. ANY STORMS THAT FORM ELSEWHERE SUN AFTN WL BE ISOLD AT BEST.
LGT WINDS THRU THE MRNG HRS...INCRSG FM THE S/SW AT 5 TO 10 MPH
SUN AFTN. /44/
&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 930 PM CDT SAT AUG 31 2013/

UPDATE...
MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES TONIGHT...WITH LOWS SIMILAR TO THIS MORNING.
ONLY CONCERN OVERNIGHT WILL BE ISOLATED STORMS ACROSS THE FAR
NORTHEAST....AS COMPLEX NEAR ST. LOUIS MOVES SOUTH. AS FRONT MOVES
THROUGH SUNDAY...SCATTERED STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE. WILL LET MID
SHIFT LOOK AT LATEST DATA BEFORE DECIDING ON HEAT ADVISORY FOR
SUNDAY AHEAD OF COLD FRONT.

PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 223 PM CDT SAT AUG 31 2013/

DISCUSSION...

MAIN CONCERNS THIS FORECAST CYCLE REMAIN ISOLATED CHANCES OF
CONVECTION THIS AFTERNOON TO EVENING...THEN AGAIN ON SUNDAY TO
MONDAY WITH A FRONTAL SYSTEM. TEMPERATURE FORECAST AND POSSIBLE
HEAT INDEX VALUES THROUGH SUNDAY...THEN A COOLER TREND BEHIND THE
FRONT.

ISOLATED CONVECTION HAS FORMED THIS AFTERNOON OVER WESTERN TO
PARTS OF CENTRAL AR...WITHIN WEAK CONVERGENT SURFACE FLOW...WHILE
THE WEAK UPPER SHORT WAVE MOVES THROUGH THE HOT...MOIST AND
UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE. OVERALL DO EXPECT CONVECTION TO REMAIN
ISOLATED. TEMPS ARE RUNNING MID TO UPPER 90S...AND STILL EXPECTING
A FEW 100 DEGREE READINGS. HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL REACH AROUND 105
DEGREES THIS AFTERNOON TO EARLY EVENING...MOSTLY CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN AR. THE UPPER HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE HAS MOVED MORE WEST
CENTERING OVER WEST TX TO THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES...ALLOWING SOME
SHORT WAVE ENERGY TO MOVE OVER AR.

SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT

WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE OF CONVECTION IN THE EARLY EVENING HOURS
WHILE THE HEAT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM. OVERNIGHT A
FRONTAL BOUNDARY IS EXPECTED TO SAG SOUTH TO SOUTHERN MO...THEN
DRIFT INTO AR ON SUNDAY...THEN SLOWLY EXIT SOUTH ON TUESDAY.
OVERALL CONVECTION CHANCES WILL REMAIN IN THE CHANCE CAT...DUE TO
LIMITED UPPER SUPPORT. STRONG TO SEVERE STORM THREAT WILL ALSO BE
LOW WITH ONLY AN ISOLATED RISK. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE FILTERS IN
OVER AR LATER TUESDAY TO WEDNESDAY AND BRINGS IN A DRIER AND
COOLER AIR MASS. TEMPS WILL REMAIN ABOVE NORMAL ON SUNDAY WITH A
CONTINUED THREAT OF HEAT INDEX VALUES FROM AROUND 100 TO 105. A
HEAT ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED. THEN TEMPS WILL LOWER BACK TO NORMAL
TO A BIT BELOW NORMAL VALUES BEHIND THE FRONT.

LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL BE OVER THE ROCKIES TO BEGIN THE LONG TERM
PERIOD. ARKANSAS SHOULD BE ON THE EASTERN EDGE OF THE CENTER OF HIGH
PRESSURE THROUGH THIS PERIOD. WITH DRY AIR REMAINING IN PLACE...
CHANCES OF RAIN WILL BE NEARLY NONEXISTENT. NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE
NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE EXTENDED PERIOD.
&&

.LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.
&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 31, 11:20 PM CST, 40 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
1220 AM CDT SUN SEP 1 2013

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-
1220 AM CDT SUN SEP 1 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS.

.DAY ONE...OVERNIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE THE DOMINANT WEATHER FEATURE OVER THE CENTRAL
PART OF THE NATION THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEKEND. UNDER THE
INFLUENCE OF THE HIGH...ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED WITH
LITTLE IN THE WAY OF RAINFALL. AFTERNOON HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL
RANGE FROM 100 TO 105 DEGREES ON SUNDAY.

HEADING INTO THE NEW WORK WEEK...THE UPPER HIGH WILL SHIFT WESTWARD
INTO THE ROCKIES. THIS WILL ALLOW A COLD FRONT TO DROP SOUTHWARD
ACROSS ARKANSAS ON MONDAY. SMALL RAIN CHANCES WILL ACCOMPANY THE
FRONT. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO RETURN TO NORMAL LEVELS BEHIND
THE FRONT.

.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.

44

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Jefferson

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 34.269, -91.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe drought was occurring in the southeastern panhandle portion of Jefferson County at the beginning of September. Conditions worsened through the middle of the month, with severe drought spreading to all parts of the county except the extreme northwest. Rain later in the month provided improvement, with severe drought lingering only over parts of southeastern Jefferson County at the end of the month.

Drought, Arkansas

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Arkansas forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 34.291, -91.375 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe drought was occurring over the southern half of Arkansas County at the beginning of September. Conditions worsened through the middle of the month, with severe drought spreading across the entire county and extreme drought developing in the southwestern corner of the county. Rain later in the month provided improvement, with severe drought lingering only over extreme southern Arkansas County at the end of the month.

Drought, Dallas

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Dallas forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 33.970, -92.654 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe drought was occurring over the southeastern corner of Dallas County at the beginning of September. Conditions worsened through the middle of the month, with severe drought spreading over all but the northwestern part of the county. Rain later in the month provided improvement, with severe drought lingering only in the southeastern corner of Dallas County at the end of the month.

Drought, Ouachita

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Ouachita forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 33.593, -92.882 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe drought was occurring over the southeastern two-thirds of Ouachita County at the beginning of September. Conditions worsened through the middle of the month, with severe drought spreading over the entire county. Rain later in the month provided improvement, with severe drought lingering only in the southeastern corner of Ouachita County at the end of the month.

Drought, Calhoun

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Calhoun forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 33.558, -92.503 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe drought was occurring over all of Calhoun County at the beginning of September. By the middle of the month, extreme drought developed over the southeastern part of Calhoun County. At the end of the month, extreme drought continued over the southeastern part of the county, with severe drought over the remainder of the county, except for the northwestern part.

Drought, Cleveland

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Cleveland forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 33.898, -92.185 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe drought was occurring over all of Cleveland County at the beginning of September. Conditions worsened through the middle of the month, with extreme drought spreading across all but the northwestern part of the county. Rain later in the month provided some improvement. By the end of the month, severe drought covered most of Cleveland County, except for the northwestern part.

Drought, Lincoln

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 33.958, -91.733 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe drought was occurring over all of Lincoln County at the beginning of September. Conditions worsened through the middle of the month, with extreme drought spreading across all but the northern tip of the county. Rain later in the month provided some improvement. By the end of the month, severe drought covered all of Lincoln County.

Drought, Bradley

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Bradley forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 33.466, -92.162 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe drought was occurring over all of Bradley County at the beginning of September. Conditions worsened through the middle of the month, with extreme drought spreading across the county. Rain later in the month provided some improvement. By the end of the month, extreme drought was occurring over the southwestern part of Bradley County, with severe drought elsewhere.

Drought, Drew

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Drew forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 33.589, -91.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe drought was occurring over all of Drew County at the beginning of September. Conditions worsened through the middle of the month, with extreme drought spreading across the county. Rain later in the month provided some improvement. By the end of the month, severe drought encompassed all of Drew County.

Drought, Desha

When: September 1, 12:00 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Desha forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 33.833, -91.254 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe drought was occurring over all of Desha County at the beginning of September. Conditions worsened through the middle of the month, with extreme drought developing over the western half of the county. Rain later in the month provided some improvement. By the end of the month, severe drought covered all of Desha County, except for the northern portion where Snow Lake is located.

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arkansas in 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in Arkansas, September 2013

Sources

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: 471765, 471766, 471767, 471771, 471774, 471776, 471780, 471782, 471784, 471788.