A significant winter weather event impacted the Mid-South from January 23rd through January 25th, 2026, driven by a classic southern-stream cyclone interacting with entrenched Arctic air across the region. A broad, positively tilted trough extending from the Central Plains into the Desert Southwest emerged on January 23rd.
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.
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 MEG wrote it up.
A significant winter weather event impacted the Mid-South from January 23rd through January 25th, 2026, driven by a classic southern-stream cyclone interacting with entrenched Arctic air across the region. A broad, positively tilted trough extending from the Central Plains into the Desert Southwest emerged on January 23rd. Downstream, strong surface high pressure was centered over the Midwest and Ohio Valley, promoting persistent cold air advection into the Lower Mississippi Valley and reinforcing a shallow subfreezing airmass.
Isentropic ascent intensified across the Mid-South beginning late January 23rd, as warm, moist air overran the shallow Arctic dome. This resulted in widespread precipitation developing from southwest to northeast across eastern Arkansas.
Thermal profiles across eastern Arkansas favored predominantly snow north of Interstate 40, however, with the development of the surface low, a shallow warm nose aloft overspread the area, causing a changeover to sleet. Poor road conditions continued for nearly two weeks after the storm, causing difficult travel and widespread school cancellations.
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 23, 5:49 PM CST, 2 hours 11 minutes earlier.
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
10 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Sleet and snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches.
Sleet and snow accumulations of 5 to 6 inches.
Sleet and snow accumulations of 5 to 6 inches.
Sleet and snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches.
Snow and sleet accumulations of 5 to 7 inches.
Snow and sleet accumulations of 5 to 7 inches.
Snow and sleet accumulations of 6 to 7 inches.
Snow and sleet accumulations of 6 to 8 inches.
Snow and sleet accumulations of 6 to 8 inches.
Snow and sleet accumulations of 6 to 8 inches.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, January 2026
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1314653, 1314654, 1314655, 1314656, 1314657, 1314658, 1314659, 1314660, 1314662, 1314663.