Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Arkansas, January 21 to 22, 2016

Name: Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Arkansas, January 21 to 22, 2016
Start: 2016-01-21T20:00
End: 2016-01-22T12:00
Location: Arkansas

January 21 to 22, 2016 · NWS MEG · 12 events in 12 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 12 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: 12

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 MEG wrote it up.

An upper level low pressure system moved into the Mid-South late in the evening on January 21st, 2016. Precipitation began in the form of freezing rain and changed over to snow during the early morning hours of January 22nd, 2016. The snow tapered off to flurries during the afternoon hours. Total snow accumulations ranged from two to six inches across areas north and west of Paragould, Arkansas. Meanwhile, a narrow corridor of one to three inches fell from near Wynne to a line stretching from West Memphis to Blytheville. The rest of East Arkansas received less than an inch accumulation.

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 Memphis, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 21, 5:52 PM CST, 2 hours 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 21, 5:52 PM CST, 2 hours 8 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 21, 3:51 PM CST, 4 hours 9 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
351 PM CST THU JAN 21 2016

ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115-
MSZ001>017-020>024-TNZ001>004-019>022-048>055-088>092-230000-
ALCORN-BENTON MS-BENTON TN-CALHOUN-CARROLL-CHESTER-CHICKASAW-CLAY-
COAHOMA-CRAIGHEAD-CRITTENDEN-CROCKETT-CROSS-DESOTO-DECATUR-
DUNKLIN-DYER-FAYETTE-GIBSON-GREENE-HARDEMAN-HARDIN-HAYWOOD-
HENDERSON-HENRY-ITAWAMBA-LAFAYETTE-LAKE-LAUDERDALE-LAWRENCE-
LEE AR-LEE MS-MADISON-MARSHALL-MCNAIRY-MISSISSIPPI-MONROE-OBION-
PANOLA-PEMISCOT-PHILLIPS-POINSETT-PONTOTOC-PRENTISS-QUITMAN-
RANDOLPH-SHELBY-ST. FRANCIS-TALLAHATCHIE-TATE-TIPPAH-TIPTON-
TISHOMINGO-TUNICA-UNION-WEAKLEY-YALOBUSHA-
351 PM CST THU JAN 21 2016

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS...
THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...AND WEST TENNESSEE.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF EASTERN
ARKANSAS...THE ENTIRE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...AND PORTIONS OF WEST
TENNESSEE THIS EVENING. LIGHT ICING WILL BE THE MAIN CONCERN
BEFORE MIDNIGHT...BEFORE ALL WINTRY PRECIPITATION SWITCHES OVER TO
ACCUMULATING SLEET AND SNOW.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

A WINTER STORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE
MIDSOUTH WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI
WHERE A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED DUE TO LOWER SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS. CONFIDENCE IS HIGH THAT A SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM
WILL BRING HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS TO THE MID-SOUTH WITH NEAR
BLIZZARD CONDITIONS POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE DELTA REGIONS
OF EAST ARKANSAS...NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI...WEST TENNESSEE AND THE
MISSOURI BOOTHEEL. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES ARE
POSSIBLE WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS. NORTH WINDS WILL INCREASE TO
BETWEEN 20 AND 30 MPH WITH GUSTS EXCEEDING 40 MPH. THIS WILL
COMBINE WITH FALLING SNOWFALL TO PRODUCE PERIODIC WHITEOUT
CONDITIONS ACROSS THE WARNING AREA. SNOWFALL WILL COME TO AN END
LATE FRIDAY EVENING ACROSS THE REGION.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO SEND IN REPORTS OF ALL TYPES OF WINTRY
PRECIPITATION.

AC3

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 winter storm, 6 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Randolph

When: January 21, 8:00 PM CST to January 22, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Randolph forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 36.342, -91.028 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Four to six inches of snow fell.

Winter Storm, Lawrence

When: January 21, 8:00 PM CST to January 22, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Lawrence forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 36.041, -91.107 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Four to six inches of snow fell.

Winter Weather, Clay

When: January 21, 8:00 PM CST to January 22, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 36.368, -90.417 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One to three inches fell of snow fell across the area.

Winter Weather, Greene

When: January 21, 8:00 PM CST to January 22, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Greene forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 36.118, -90.559 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One to three inches fell of snow fell across the area.

Winter Storm, Poinsett

When: January 21, 8:00 PM CST to January 22, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Poinsett forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 35.574, -90.663 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Around three inches of snow fell.

Winter Storm, Cross

When: January 21, 8:00 PM CST to January 22, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Cross forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 35.296, -90.771 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Around three inches of snow fell.

Winter Storm, Crittenden

When: January 21, 8:00 PM CST to January 22, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Crittenden forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 35.208, -90.309 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Around three inches of snow fell.

Winter Storm, Mississippi

When: January 21, 8:00 PM CST to January 22, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Mississippi forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 35.764, -90.054 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Around three inches of snow fell.

Winter Weather, Craighead

When: January 21, 8:00 PM CST to January 22, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Craighead forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 35.831, -90.633 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Up to an inch of snow fell.

Winter Weather, St. Francis

When: January 21, 8:00 PM CST to January 22, 12:00 PM CST
Where: St. Francis forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 35.022, -90.748 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Up to an inch of snow fell.

Winter Weather, Lee

When: January 21, 8:00 PM CST to January 22, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 34.781, -90.782 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Up to an inch of snow fell.

Winter Weather, Phillips

When: January 21, 8:00 PM CST to January 22, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Phillips forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 34.428, -90.848 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Up to an inch of snow fell.

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arkansas in 2016 Every state in 2016 This day in weather history Warnings in Arkansas, January 2016

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: 617586, 617587, 617589, 617590, 617591, 617592, 617593, 617594, 617653, 617654, 617655, 617656.