Before you blinked, along came system number two. Snow spread across the north/west from the late evening of the 16th into the predawn hours of the 17th.
Every event with a place to put it; 37 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.
Before you blinked, along came system number two. Snow spread across the north/west from the late evening of the 16th into the predawn hours of the 17th. For the remainder of the 17th, central/southern Arkansas got in on the action, and it went nuts from Little Rock (Pulaski County) southward.
Incredibly, about fifteen inches of snow was unleashed near Sheridan (Grant County), with thirteen inches at Malvern (Hot Spring County) and Sulphur Springs (Jefferson County), and about a foot at Gurdon (Clark County), Hope (Hempstead County), and Prescott (Nevada County). Through social media, quite a few pictures were posted of tape measures and rulers penetrating through at least twenty inches of snow (the result of two storms) in yards across the south.
At 230 pm CST...This is not good. Interstate 40 (westbound) is backed up at Exit 202/Biscoe (Prairie Co), and vehicles are not moving at all. This is according to a @myARDOT traffic camera.#arwx pic.twitter.com/L2dJKvQIkd| NWS Little Rock (@NWSLittleRock) February 17, 2021
There was way too much snow along Interstate 40 near Biscoe (Prairie County). Multiple accidents led to a line of traffic miles long in the westbound lanes that sat for sixteen hours. People were forced to spend the night on the road.
This time around, Little Rock (Pulaski County) was buried with 11.8 inches of snow. At least forty flights into the airport were cancelled on the 17th, and the facility closed during the evening.
Historically, the 17th was the second snowiest day on record at Little Rock (Pulaski County) going back to the late 1800s (in the top spot was 12.0 inches on March 6, 1875). The February tally of 20.3 inches was more than any other month (topping 20.0 inches in January, 1918), and made 2020 the third snowiest year (a foot less than the 32.6 inch record in 1960). The snow depth on the morning of the 18th was 15 inches, which was tied for first place in the record book (with January 21, 1918).
There was enough water to worry about the weight of the snow stressing the roofs of some structures. On the 18th, part of the roof of a volunteer fire department caved in just northeast of Rison (Cleveland County). At Crossett (Ashley County), a bowling alley roof collapsed, and roofs were compromised at a packaging plant and a church. Some of this was attributed to a lot of sleet. Frozen pipes are a common concern in winter, and this became a huge problem in Mayflower (Faulkner County). Supply lines burst, and the city ran out of water. As a safeguard, many folks in central Arkansas were asked to conserve water as pipes thawed out and were subject to pressure breaks. Residents in cities such as Benton (Saline County), Hot Springs (Garland County), and Pine Bluff (Jefferson County) were urged to cut down on water usage due to a critically low supply. During the evening of the 18th, accidents along Interstate 30 led to tie ups between Benton (Saline County) and Malvern (Hot Spring County).
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 Feb 16, 5:42 PM CST, 8 hours 6 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Little Rock AR 542 PM CST Tue Feb 16 2021 .AVIATION...Updated w/ a discussion for the 17/00Z TAFs Expecting widespread -SN and IFR condns through PD...IFR CIGs and -SN will enter the state Tues night, beginning w/ Wrn and N/Wrn AR after 17/00Z, and building Ewrd through the overnight hours into Wed morning. -SN and IFR VIS of 1SM will lkly impact all terminals as precip approaches. Additionally, CIGs will deteriorate to IFR levels as cloud cover and -SN moves into the region. To the S/E, PBF and LLQ may see -SNPL mix at first, and transition to complete -SN late in the PD. && .PREV DISCUSSION...(ISSUED 314 PM CST Tue Feb 16 2021) SHORT TERM...Tonight Through Thursday A strong upper low pressure system continues in southern Canada with a short wave in the Rockies. This trough will strengthen through Thursday as it slowly moves east. The trough will move through Arkansas Thursday. At the surface, high pressure is over Arkansas and brought clear skies to much of the state. However, satellite images indicate clouds returning this afternoon. Moisture will override the cold air tonight with southwest winds aloft. Snow will begin this evening in the west part of the state and spread eastward, and continue into Thursday morning. Expect a 6-8 inch swath from Arkadelphia to Little Rock and lesser amounts northwest and southeast. Lesser amounts in the southeast will be due to mixing with or changing to sleet as a mid level warm layer moves into that area. Cold temperatures will continue with lows in the teens tonight and in the teens and 20s Wednesday night. Highs will be in the 20s Wednesday and in the mid 20s to mid 30s Thursday. LONG TERM...Thursday Night Through Tuesday By late Thursday, an upper trough will be moving across the state to the east, with NW flow and a weak upper ridge to follow. Surface high pressure will expand across the region, with dry conditions expected through early Sunday. The next upper trough will move into the Plains region late Saturday to early Sunday, with a storm system developing and moving across KS/OK, approaching the state Sun morning with a cold front, which looks to move across AR from west to east late Sun and during the overnight hours early Monday. As the precipitation moves into the state early Sunday, a few hours of a mix of rain and snow will be possible over parts of central to northern AR, where temperatures will be near or just below freezing. By mid morning, temperatures should rise to above freezing to allow all liquid precipitation across the state. Precipitation will continue through Monday morning, with lows expected to fall to the upper 20s to lower 30s across the northern quarter of the state, allowing some wintry mix of precipitation to occur. Winter precipitation with this event appears to be brief, occurring during the coldest part of the day Sunday and Monday morning, followed by warming to above freezing temperatures both days. Therefore, at this time, no significant impacts, due to winter precipitation, are expected next week. NW upper flow and surface high pressure will once again follow. We expect temperatures to continue to show a warming trend in the long term. Highs Fri will be in the mid to upper 30s across the CWA. By early next week, highs will be in the upper 50s to lower 60s. Low temperatures Friday morning will be in the single digits in northern AR, in the lower teens elsewhere in the state. By Sunday morning lows will be in the upper 20s to lower 30s. And by the middle of next week low temperatures will be in the lower to mid 30s. && .LZK Watches/Warnings/Advisories... Winter Storm Warning until noon CST Thursday FOR Arkansas-Baxter- Boone-Bradley-Calhoun-Clark-Cleburne-Cleveland-Conway-Dallas- Desha-Drew-Faulkner-Fulton-Garland-Grant-Hot Spring-Independence- Izard-Jackson-Jefferson-Johnson-Lawrence-Lincoln-Logan-Lonoke- Marion-Monroe-Montgomery-Newton-Ouachita-Perry-Pike-Polk-Pope- Prairie-Pulaski-Randolph-Saline-Scott-Searcy-Sharp-Stone-Van Buren-White-Woodruff-Yell. && Aviation...GREEN
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service Little Rock AR 830 PM CST Tue Feb 16 2021 ARZ003>008-012>017-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-171100- 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- 830 PM CST Tue Feb 16 2021 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for a Large Part of Arkansas. .DAY ONE...Tonight Dangerous cold will continue tonight with low temperatures in the teens and wind chill index values in the single digits. Light snow will build into Arkansas from Oklahoma and Texas, mainly after midnight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday Through Monday Areas of mainly light snow will increase on Wednesday. Snow intensities will likely pick up during the afternoon and evening, especially in central and southern sections of the state. In the far southeast, while there will be some snow, a period of sleet and freezing rain is expected. Wintry precipitation will continue into Wednesday night and early Thursday before tapering off. By the time the event is over, the forecast calls for two to four inches of additional snow in parts of the northwest, including much of the Ozark Mountains, and also the southeast. Elsewhere, four to eight inch accumulations are expected. As with the snow on the 14th and 15th, roads across much of the region will remain or become snow covered and hazardous. Given two heavy snowstorms in a span of a few days, there may be enough snow to compromise roofs on structures, including some homes and businesses, sheds, and chicken houses. In the extreme southeast, ice accruals may exceed a quarter inch on exposed objects such as trees and power lines. This could cause tree damage and power outages. After the snow and ice have ended, it looks relatively quiet with a warming trend. Temperatures will remain well below average through at least the first part of the weekend, but will return to seasonal levels early next week. .Spotter Information Statement... Spotter activation will not be needed. && Visit NWS Little Rock on the web. Go to https://weather.gov/lzk. 51/46
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
138 AM CST WED FEB 17 2021
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0100 AM SNOW 2 NW CONWAY 35.11N 92.48W
02/17/2021 M0.5 INCH FAULKNER AR PUBLIC
NEW SNOW OF 0.5 INCH SNOW FAR.
&&
EVENT NUMBER LZK2100410
62The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
48 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
A COOP observer measured 8.1 inches of snow at 34.03N, -93.51W.
A COOP observer measured 2.7 near Mena at 34.48N, -93.98W.
A COOP observer measured 5.0 inches of snow at 35.05N, -93.39W.
A CoCoRaHS observer measured 5.0 inches of snow at 34.54N, -93.45W.
Received a social media measurement of 21.0 inches of snow at 34.12N, -93.07W.
A COOP observer measured 3.0 inches of snow at 35.06N, -94.18W.
Received a social media measurement of 18.0 inches of snow at 34.37N, -92.82W.
Received an estimated snowfall total of 6.5 inches at 34.49N, -93.05W.
A CoCoRaHS observer measured 5.1 inches of snow at 35.03N, -92.69W.
A COOP observer measured 2.0 inches of snow at 35.13N, -93.92W.
There was a public report of a measurement of 3.0 inches of snow near the Harrison airport at 36.24N, -93.12W.
A CoCoRaHS observer measured 4.0 inches of snow near the Russellville airport at 35.27N, -93.14W.
A CoCoRaHS observer measured 5.0 inches of snow near the Conway airport at 35.09N, -92.45W.
Received a social media measurement of 14.0 inches of snow at 34.61N, -92.49W.
A COOP observer measured 5.0 inches of snow at 35.66N, -92.66W.
A CoCoRaHS observer measured 4.5 inches of snow at 35.18N, -92.64W.
A COOP observer measured 3.1 inches of snow at 35.46N, -93.47W.
Received a social media report of a measurement of 11.0 inches of snow near the Batesville airport at 35.77N, -91.62W.
An estimated 4.0 inches of snow fell at 35.26N, -91.22W.
A CoCoRaHS observer measured 11.0 inches of snow near the Mountain Home airport at 36.34N, -92.38W.
A CoCoRaHS observer measured 11.0 inches of snow near the Mountain Home airport at 36.34N, -92.38W.
The National Weather Service in North Little Rock measured 11.8 inches of snow at the office at 34.73N, -92.24W.
A CoCoRaHS observer measured 11.9 inches of snow at 34.60, -91.97W.
Received a reported of an estimated snowfall total of 7.0 inches at 34.87N, -91.19W.
A COOP observer measured 6.0 inches of snow at 36.01N, -93.14W.
A CoCoRaHS observer measured 4.5 inches of snow near the Flippin airport at 36.14N, -92.74W.
A COOP observer measured 4.3 inches of snow at 35.91N, -92.63W.
A COOP observer measured 4.0 inches of snow at 35.52N, -91.99W.
Received a social media report of a measurement of 11.0 inches of snow at 35.24N, -91.73W.
A CoCoRaHS observer measured 25.0 inches of snow, but this was probably a 2 storm snowfall total. A nearby COOP observer measured 5.0 inches of snow with the first snowstorm, so the amount of snow that fell with the second snow storm is likely 20.0 inches of snowfall.
There was a social media estimate of 9.0 inches of snow at 33.54N, -92.47W.
Received a social media report of a measurement of 8.0 inches of snow near Camden at 33.57N, -92.85W.
An estimated snowfall total of 7.0 inches was reported at 33.77N, -92.50W.
A COOP observer measured 3.5 inches of snow at 35.56N, -91.11W.
The Stuttgart airport AWOS measured 11.0 inches of snow at 34.98N, -91.51W.
A CoCoRaHS observer measured 9.0 inches of snow at 36.03N, -91.96W.
A COOP observer measured 4.5 inches of snow at 35.86N, -92.11W.
A COOP observer measured 8.0 inches of snow.
Local broadcast media reported an estimate of 6.0 inches of snow at 33.75N, -92.00W.
A COOP observer measured 5.0 inches of snow at 33.94N, -91.84W.
A CoCoRaHS observer measured 8.1 inches of snow near the Monticello airport at 33.68N, -91.81W.
Receive a report of a measurement of 8.0 inches of snow via social media at 36.30N, -91.57W.
A trained storm spotter measured 15.0 inches of snow at 34.31N, -91.62W.
A COOP observer measured 5.5 inches of snow at 33.89N, -91.26W.
A COOP observer measured 4.4 inches of snow near the Walnut Ridge airport at 36.22N, -91.27W.
A COOP observer measured 8.0 inches of snow at 34.03N, -91.37W.
A COOP observer measured 2.2 inches of snow at 36.26N, -90.99W.
Received a public report of a measurement of 13.0 inches of snow near the Pine Bluff airport at 34.18N, -92.12W.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, February 2021
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: 946487, 946543, 946540, 946544, 946563, 946542, 946564, 946549, 946539, 946541, 946557, 946554, 946550, 946562, 946528, 946538, 946561, 946566, 946537, 946551, 946552, 946556, 946545, 946567, 946553, 946493, 946523, 946533, 946546, 946569, 946488, 946558, 946571, 946536, 946547, 946512, 946517, 946367, 946560, 946559, and more.