A line of strong to severe storms developed ahead of the front, with the most robust storms closest to the Missouri border after 500 pm CST. One storm in particular went from southeast Boone County into southern Marion County and northwest Baxter County.
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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.
A line of strong to severe storms developed ahead of the front, with the most robust storms closest to the Missouri border after 500 pm CST. One storm in particular went from southeast Boone County into southern Marion County and northwest Baxter County. The storm had strong rotation at times and it headed quickly to the northeast at 40 to 50 mph. There was plenty of chaos in the path of the storm, and no doubt that one or more tornadoes were in play.
A house was damaged east of Everton (Boone County), and power lines were downed. Between Pyatt and Bruno (both in Marion County), several homes were damaged or destroyed with an injury reported. A school was also affected. A tree fell through a house west of Mountain Home (Baxter County).
In the end, two tornadoes (rated EF1/EF2) were spawned in a three county area. Three more weak tornadoes (all rated EF1) were confirmed with separate storms from five miles north of Hector (Pope County) to six miles west-southwest of Rupert (Van Buren County), and from four miles northeast of Evening Shade to four miles north of Poughkeepsie (both in Sharp County). These tornadoes toppled trees and hit a couple of barns and outbuildings.
This event did not feature a lot of rain, and there was only 0.01 inch measured at Little Rock (Pulaski County) on the 19th. But, this was enough to make it eleven consecutive days with measurable precipitation. It was one day away from tying the all-time record of twelve days in a row. A trace of rain on the 20th ended the streak.
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 Mar 19, 5:41 PM CST, 9 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Little Rock AR 641 PM CDT Thu Mar 19 2020 .AVIATION... Showers/storms will move through the area tonight, with conditions restricted locally to mvfr or ifr within areas of precipitation. After precip diminishes later tonight, expect low clouds to fill back in. Conditions will improve toward the end of the period. && .PREV DISCUSSION...(ISSUED 213 PM CDT Thu Mar 19 2020) SHORT TERM...Today Through Saturday Night Showers will continue moving through the state this afternoon, becoming more defined along a line of convection later this evening. A 500mb wave with strong vorticity advection will move northeast through Kansas and Missouri this evening, bringing colder air aloft to the southern Plains. Strong surface winds out of the S/SW have been carrying warm, moist air into the state, increasing surface temperatures into the 70s and dewpoints into the 60s and lower 70s. Winds have been observed up to 30mph today in parts of the state. A low level jet will continue to bring increased windspeeds through this evening. Surface heating has been slow, due to widespread cloud cover, however, we're starting to see some breaks in the clouds over western Arkansas. If this trend continues, surface temperatures will warm to the mid 70s to lower 80s, enhancing surface-based CAPE. If cloud cover persists, highs will be just a little lower, in the low/mid 70s to lower 80s. A line of convection will move through the state today and could become severe through this evening. Forecast soundings show SBCAPE >1000-2000 J/kg, with moderate shear values favoring supercells and bowing thunderstorms. Therefore, damaging winds will be the main threat, though isolated large hail and tornadoes will also be possible. Flash flooding will also be a concern today as these storms move through the area. Flooding is more due to the saturated ground from recent rainfall than it is from total forecast accumulation from the storms tonight, which will range from 1/4" to 1 1/2" with higher amounts possible in severe storms. The cold front associated with this system will lower temperatures tonight through Saturday morning, with lows Friday morning in the mid 40s in NW AR, mid to upper 60s in central and southern AR. High pressure will build into the region following this system and winds will shift to a more Nerly direction. Temperatures will only increase to the lower 50s to lower 70s Friday afternoon. Saturday morning lows will drop to the lower 30s (subfreezing) in Nern AR, dropping to the 40s elsewhere in the state. Highs Sat in the lower 50s to lower 60s. LONG TERM...Saturday Night Through Thursday The extended period will remain largely unsettled as several shortwave troughs and weak surface boundaries sweep through the region. Westerly flow aloft will be in place Saturday night, becoming slightly more southerly through Sunday as a weak wave moves over the state. This, coupled with another shortwave trough moving through the central plains on Tuesday, will bring rain chances back to the forecast through early portions of next week. Southerly surface winds will return to the state late Monday, which will help advect warmer and more moist air into the region. This will result in rather high PWAT values across Arkansas, and could bring additional heavy rain to already saturated soils on Tuesday. Therefore, we will continue to monitor for the risk of flash flooding as well as any impacts to already flooded rivers. Temperatures will show quite the warming trend as lows on Saturday in the 30s and 40s and highs in the lower 50s and 60s warm nearly 20 degrees through the end of next week. && .LZK Watches/Warnings/Advisories... Flash Flood Watch until midnight CDT tonight FOR Baxter-Boone- Fulton-Johnson-Logan-Marion-Montgomery-Newton-Polk-Pope-Scott- Searcy-Yell. && Aviation...57
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service Little Rock AR 230 PM CDT Thu Mar 19 2020 ARZ003>008-012>017-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-201000- Boone-Marion-Baxter-Fulton-Sharp-Randolph-Newton-Searcy-Stone- Izard-Independence-Lawrence-Johnson-Pope-Van Buren-Cleburne- Jackson-Logan-Conway-Faulkner-White-Woodruff-Scott-Yell-Perry- Polk-Montgomery-Garland-Saline-Pulaski-Lonoke-Prairie-Monroe-Pike- Clark-Hot Spring-Grant-Jefferson-Arkansas-Dallas-Cleveland- Lincoln-Desha-Ouachita-Calhoun-Bradley-Drew- 230 PM CDT Thu Mar 19 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for a Large Part of Arkansas. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and Tonight Thunderstorms are expected across the area this afternoon through late this evening. Some storms could become strong to severe with damaging winds and tornadoes the main concerns. Locally heavy rainfall will also be possible across mainly western and northern locations, and some localized flash flooding could occur. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday Through Wednesday Rain will continue over southern Arkansas on Friday before exiting toward the Gulf Coast. It will turn much cooler, with a freeze likely in parts of the Ozark Mountains Saturday morning. Unsettled weather is in the forecast Sunday through Wednesday, with scattered showers and a few rumbles of thunder at times. Even so, impacts will be minor. No severe weather is expected, and any flash flooding will be localized. Rivers in southern and eastern sections of the state will remain elevated. .Spotter Information Statement... Spotter Activation May Be Needed Thursday Evening. && Visit NWS Little Rock on the web. Go to http://weather.gov/lzk.
The Springfield radar (KSGF), 127 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:47 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
A house was damaged and power lines were downed east of Valley Springs.
The tornado began along Highway 206 East near Marshall Creek Road, where power poles were broken and there was some damage to a residence. Through southeast Boone County, the tornado uprooted and snapped trees, then moved across the southeast portion of Everton. There, the roof of a house was torn off and several trees were snapped at mid-trunk level.
The tornado then tracked into Marion County where it uprooted trees. Near the intersection of County Roads 4019 and 4023, it destroyed a hay barn. Several large trees were uprooted and the porch was ripped off of a home. Several trees and power poles were downed and snapped. Before crossing Meadowcrest Lane and County Road 4019, it uprooted and snapped power poles and trees, caused extensive damage to a house, and destroyed an outbuilding. The tornado crossed Arkansas Highway 125 south near Eros and damaged the Bruno-Pyatt School. East of Eros, the tornado caused severe damage to a residence and destroyed its garage. Near the intersection of County Roads 4018 and 4010, several houses had severe damage. One person had a minor injury but was reportedly in good condition. The final damage points were WSW of Yellville, where several large trees were uprooted, power poles were broken, and a residence sustained roof damage.
A home was damaged in Everton.
Damage was reported at the Bruno-Pyatt school.
This wind speed was estimated by a trained spotter.
The tornado uprooted or snapped several large trees and damaged outbuildings. A large tree was uprooted and fell through the bedroom of a residence. A large portion of the roof of a house was torn off and blown into nearby trees.
This tornado began near the Highway 27 bridge over the Middle Fork of Illinois Bayou. It uprooted and snapped several trees.
The tornado first hit on a ridgeline around 1500 feet near Napier Hollow where it downed a few trees. The tornado crossed Napier Hollow and moved back up a ridge to Dabney Road, a tree was blown onto a barn, and another smaller tree was blown onto a travel trailer. The tornado crossed Dabney Road and moved through a field and down the ridge. On Darrell Road, a storage shed was destroyed, and the roof was blown into some trees which were subsequently uprooted. The roof of a storage barn was damaged.
One inch diameter hail was reported near the Clinton Airport.
Numerous downed trees in Sharp County caused widespread power outages.
For the majority of the tornado's path, large trees and power poles and power lines were the most common damage indicators. The majority of the structural damage caused by the tornado was observed at the Mashburn farm where there was substantial damage to outbuildings, including one outbuilding that slid off of its foundation. There was minor damage to a residence on the farm as well, and extensive tree damage throughout the property.
Several large trees were reported uprooted near Highway 354.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Arkansas, 2020Warnings in Arkansas, March 2020
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: 881911, 881951, 881912, 881914, 881916, 881958, 881946, 881947, 881917, 881922, 881945, 881925.