National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce
Monthly Storm Reports and Storm Data
Storm Reports
Are you interested in what happened during a recent event? Check out the report below.
 
Arkansas Yearly Climate Summary (2019)/Pg1
 
Links of Interest
Storms of 2019 in Arkansas (in PDF)
Note: This is a file with lists of significant events (tornadoes, damaging winds, hail, etc) during the year in Arkansas.
Significant Events in 2019 Across Arkansas (html)
Significant Events in 2019 Across the U.S. (html)
U.S. Billion Dollar Weather Events in 2019 (html)
Year 2019 (Arkansas) (text)
Year 2019 (Little Rock) (text) Year 2019 (North Little Rock) (text)
Year 2019 (Harrison) (text) Year 2019 (Pine Bluff) (text)

 

Some Quick Stats for Arkansas
 
2019 Statistics
Month Tornadoes Tornado Deaths Wind (Tstm and Non-Tstm) Deaths Flood/Flash Flood Deaths Lightning Deaths
Jan 0 0 0 0 0
Feb 1 (1, EF1: 1) 0 0 1 0
Mar 3 (EF1: 3) 0 0 0 0
Apr 2 (EF1: 1, EF2: 1) 0 0 0 0
May 19 (EF0: 11, EF1: 8) 0 0 1 0
Jun 2 (EF0: 2) 0 0 1 0
Jul 0 0 0 0 0
Aug 1 (EF0: 1) 0 0 1 0
Sep 0 0 0 0 0
Oct 5 (EF0: 1, EF1: 3, EF2: 1) 0 1 0 0
Nov 0 0 0 2 0
Dec 0 0 0 0 0
Total 33 0 1 4 0
Note: The latest tornado (rated EF0) affected areas east of Wilson (Mississippi County) near the Mississippi River on October 21st. The strongest tornado (rated EF2/maximum winds around 120 mph) tracked just over 31 miles from near Siloam Springs to Beaver Lake east of Rogers (Benton County) on October 21st. This tornado had a width of 1.5 miles, which is second highest in Arkansas since 1950. The widest tornado (1.65 miles/rated EF2) hit Vilonia (Faulkner County) on April 25, 2011.

 

In 2019, above normal temperatures (in red) occurred in seven of twelve months, and above average precipitation (in green) was noted in nine months. Overall, it was a little warmer and a lot wetter than normal. 
In the picture: In 2019, above normal temperatures (in red) occurred in seven of twelve months, and above average precipitation (in green) was noted in nine months. Overall, it was a little warmer and a lot wetter than normal. 
 

Looking statewide, temperatures and precipitation were largely above average. It was very wet through the first six months of the year (thirteen inches of liquid more than usual). In fact, it was a Top 5 wettest January through June dating back to 1895, and the wettest such time frame since 1990. It was not a hot summer overall, with prolonged heat and dryness waiting until September to appear. It was tied (with 1925) for the hottest September on record. Drought conditions developed in the southwest. Rain returned in October and November, and it turned colder. Freezes were early by a week or two in many areas. The year ended with mild conditions and not much falling from the sky in December. It was the driest month of 2019.

 

2019 Extremes
Type of Extreme Extreme Reached/Date of Extreme
Hottest Temperature 106° at Crossett 2 SSE (Ashley Co.) - Sep 9
Coldest Temperature 2° at Kingston 2 S (Madison Co.) - Mar 5
Most Rain (Year) 85.75" at Portland (Ashley Co.)
Most Rain (Month) 19.19" at Decatur 2.6 ESE (Benton Co.) - Oct
Most Rain (Day) 16.17" at Dierks (Howard Co.) - Jul 16
Least Rain (Year) 49.57" at Omaha 2 S (Boone Co.)
Least Rain (Month) 0.00" at Arkadelphia 2 N (Clark Co.) - Sep
Most Snow (Year) 5.1" at Compton (Newton Co.)
Most Snow (Month) 4.8" at Charleston 1.7 E (Franklin Co.) - Jan
Most Snow (Day) 4.8" at Charleston 1.7 E (Franklin Co.) - Jan 20
Highest Snow Depth 5" at Charleston 1.7 E (Franklin Co.) - Jan 20

 

It was wet to very wet across much of Arkansas in 2019.
Precipitation  |  Departure From Normal  |  Percent of Normal
Alternate Precipitation Based on Observer Reports
In the pictures: It was wet to very wet across much of Arkansas in 2019.
 

Given a lot of rain early in the year, and extensive river flooding (including the historic Arkansas River flood), many fields were muddy or under water. It was far too wet for any planting during the beginning of the growing season. In August, The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a report stating that Arkansas had 1.3 million unplanted (or prevented) acres. This was 5th highest in the nation. Eventually, 44 counties were declared primary natural disaster areas, and 24 neighboring counties were designated as contiguous disaster areas.

 

Precipitation in 2019
Site Amount Normal +/- % of Normal
Fayetteville (NW AR) 65.26 48.51 +16.75 135%
Harrison (NC AR) 56.98 44.14 +12.84 129%
Jonesboro (NE AR) 65.89 48.10 +17.79 137%
Fort Smith (WC AR) 67.50 45.46 +22.04 148%
Little Rock (C AR) 60.46 49.75 +10.71 122%
West Memphis (EC AR) 73.86 52.23 +20.63 141%
Texarkana (SW AR) 51.53 49.65 +1.88 104%
El Dorado (SC AR) 60.64 52.92 +7.72 115%
Pine Bluff (SE AR) 63.96 51.15 +12.81 125%
Note: The statewide average precipitation was 65.49 inches, or 15.88 inches above average. This was the 7th wettest year on record.

 

Average Temperatures in 2019
Site Avg Temp +/-
Fayetteville (NW AR) 57.9° +0.9°
Harrison (NC AR) 58.4° +0.5°
Jonesboro (NE AR) 61.3° +1.3°
Fort Smith (WC AR) 62.6° +0.9°
Little Rock (C AR) 62.4° -0.3°
West Memphis (EC AR) 63.1° +2.1°
Texarkana (SW AR) 64.6° +0.7°
El Dorado (SC AR) 64.4° +0.9°
Pine Bluff (SE AR) 63.1° +0.2°
Note: The statewide average temperature was 61.2 degrees, or 0.8 degree above average. This was the 32nd warmest year on record.

 

There's More to the Story...
 
Now it's time to check out significant events in 2019 across Arkansas. To check out the rest of the story, click here.