Drought, Benton
- When
- February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 28, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Benton forecast zone
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 36.339, -94.256 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought in Arkansas, February 1 to 28, 2017
Precipitation across much of northwestern Arkansas was below average during the month of February 2017. In fact, a large portion of northwestern Arkansas and parts of west central Arkansas only received between 25 and 50 percent of normal average precipitation for the month.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 7
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 TSA wrote it up.
Precipitation across much of northwestern Arkansas was below average during the month of February 2017. In fact, a large portion of northwestern Arkansas and parts of west central Arkansas only received between 25 and 50 percent of normal average precipitation for the month. These unusually dry conditions followed a period of below normal precipitation that began in early autumn. As a result, Severe Drought (D2) conditions persisted this month across all of west central Arkansas and developed across all of northwestern Arkansas. Extreme Drought (D3) conditions persisted across much of Sebastian, Crawford, and Franklin Counties. Monetary damage estimates resulting from the drought were not available.
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 Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 31, 11:39 PM CST, 21 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 11:39 PM CST, 21 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Tulsa OK 1139 PM CST Tue Jan 31 2017 .AVIATION... CONCERNING TAF SITES KTUL/KRVS/KBVO/KMLC/KXNA/KFYV/KFSM/KROG. Cold front will gradually sag southward overnight with a wind shift at KMLC after 12z. At the other terminals...winds will be light northeast or calm. Winds become stronger after 15z across the northeast OK terminals. Clouds will increase by evening especially across the southeast although VFR conditions are expected through the period. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /Issued 920 PM CST Tue Jan 31 2017/ DISCUSSION... A stalled frontal boundary to the south of the Interstate 44 corridor will start getting a push to the south late tonight and Wednesday. The current forecast for tonight is on track and no update is planned at this time. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... TUL 35 57 30 43 / 0 0 0 10 FSM 42 65 38 46 / 0 0 10 10 MLC 45 65 36 45 / 0 0 10 20 BVO 28 56 25 42 / 0 0 0 0 FYV 36 59 29 43 / 0 0 0 10 BYV 38 56 29 40 / 0 0 0 10 MKO 40 61 33 45 / 0 0 0 10 MIO 34 54 27 41 / 0 0 0 10 F10 40 59 33 42 / 0 0 0 10 HHW 46 67 44 50 / 0 10 10 30 && .TSA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OK...None. AR...None. && CORFIDI LONG TERM....18 AVIATION...06
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 31, 5:07 PM CST, 6 hours 53 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 507 PM CST TUE JAN 31 2017 ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-011100- ADAIR OK-BENTON AR-CARROLL AR-CHEROKEE OK-CHOCTAW OK-CRAIG OK- CRAWFORD AR-CREEK OK-DELAWARE OK-FRANKLIN AR-HASKELL OK-LATIMER OK- LE FLORE OK-MADISON AR-MAYES OK-MCINTOSH OK-MUSKOGEE OK-NOWATA OK- OKFUSKEE OK-OKMULGEE OK-OSAGE OK-OTTAWA OK-PAWNEE OK-PITTSBURG OK- PUSHMATAHA OK-ROGERS OK-SEBASTIAN AR-SEQUOYAH OK-TULSA OK-WAGONER OK- WASHINGTON OK-WASHINGTON AR- 507 PM CST TUE JAN 31 2017 THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS AS WELL AS MUCH OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. SPOTTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION NOT EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. WEDNESDAY...HIGH WIND POTENTIAL. THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...NO HAZARDS. SATURDAY...WINTER WEATHER POTENTIAL. SUNDAY...NO HAZARDS. MONDAY...THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL. EXTENDED DISCUSSION... GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED BEHIND A COLD FRONT ON WEDNESDAY...MAINLY ACROSS NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA. THE STRONG WINDS COMBINED WITH THE ALREADY FAVORABLE AMBIENT CONDITIONS WILL YIELD LIMITED FIRE SPREAD POTENTIAL. A SHALLOW SURGE OF MODIFIED ARCTIC AIR WILL PUSH INTO THE REGION LATER THIS WEEK...AND IS EXPECTED TO EXIT THIS WEEKEND. AS THIS PROCESS OCCURS...LOW LEVEL WARM ADVECTION MAY PRODUCE SOME LIGHT DRIZZLE ACROSS THE REGION. TO THE NORTH OF INTERSTATE 40...SURFACE TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO BE NEAR FREEZING...AND THUS THERE IS SOME POTENTIAL FOR LIGHT FREEZING RAIN OR LIGHT SLEET EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL INCREASE EARLY NEXT WEEK AS ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM APPROACHES THE AREA. WEATHER.GOV/TULSA CONTAINS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
7 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Drought, Carroll
- When
- February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 28, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Carroll forecast zone
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 36.341, -93.538 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Crawford
- When
- February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 28, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Crawford forecast zone
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
Drought, Franklin
- When
- February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 28, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Franklin forecast zone
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
Drought, Madison
- When
- February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 28, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Madison forecast zone
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 36.011, -93.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Sebastian
- When
- February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 28, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Sebastian forecast zone
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
Drought, Washington
- When
- February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 28, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Washington forecast zone
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 35.979, -94.216 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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
- High Wind in Washington, February 1 to 2, 2017
- Lake-Effect Snow in New York, February 1 to 2, 2017
- Drought in Georgia, February 1 to 28, 2017
- Drought in Oklahoma, February 1 to 28, 2017
- Drought in Oklahoma, February 1 to 28, 2017
- Drought and Cold in Alabama, February 1 to 28, 2017
- High Surf in Hawaii, February 1 to 4, 2017
- Winter Storm in Montana, February 1, 2017
- Drought in Massachusetts, February 1 to 28, 2017
- Winter Weather in Colorado, February 1 to 2, 2017
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Wyoming, February 1 to 2, 2017
- Wildfire in Oklahoma, February 1 to 9, 2017
More
Every storm in Arkansas in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, February 2017
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: 678150, 678151, 678152, 678153, 678154, 678155, 678156.