NWS Little Rock, AR - Arkansas Yearly Climate Summary (2024)/Pg2

May was already very active, but there was more to come as the month ended. A storm system over southwest Missouri triggered a heavy rain event over central Arkansas during the evening of the 31st.

Thunderstorms kept developing over the same areas, and dumped three to more than six inches of precipitation in places. Little Rock (Pulaski County) racked up 5.41 inches of rain, making it the wettest day in May since 1955, and the fourth wettest day in May on record (data available since 1874). North Little Rock (Pulaski County) received 4.95 inches of liquid. It had never been so wet at the site during the month (data available since 1975).

The tropics got involved in July. Before dawn on the 8th, Hurricane Beryl made landfall near Matagorda, TX with 80 mph sustained winds. As Beryl moved inland and gradually weakened, the outer bands of the system headed in our direction.

At one time, Beryl was a Category 5 hurricane (top of the scale/maximum sustained winds close to 165 mph) in the eastern Caribbean Sea late on July 1st/early on the 2nd. Beryl maintained Category 4 status (140 mph sustained winds) as the system brushed the southern coast of Jamaica on the 3rd. Two days later, Beryl hit the Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 2 hurricane (110 mph winds) before weakening into a Tropical Storm and eventually emerging into the Gulf of Mexico.

During the afternoon and evening, scattered thunderstorms across the central and southern counties exhibited strong rotation at times. Tornado Warnings were issued in places, and ten tornadoes were spawned.

There were ten tornadoes tallied in Arkansas on July 8th (associated with the remnants of Beryl). This was the largest July tornado outbreak in the state (previous record was five tornadoes on the 9th in 1964), and the most tornadoes in the month of July (topping the eight tornadoes in 2009).

Five of the tornadoes were tallied in the Little Rock County Warning Area. They were generally brief and weak (rated EF0/EF1), and affected Dallas, Jefferson, and Ouachita Counties (with the latter tornado nudging into eastern Nevada County before dissipating). Mostly tree damage was observed, but there was also spotty minor structural damage. In the southwest, five additional weak tornadoes skipped through Columbia, Lafayette, and Miller Counties.

If that wasn't enough, areas of heavy rain followed. Tropical moisture led to a deluge, with rainfall rates topping five inches per hour! Roughly six tenths of an inch of rain dumped at the North Little Rock Airport (Pulaski County) in five minutes (a rate of 7.20 inches an hour).

In the twenty four hour period ending at 700 am CDT on the 9th, multiple locations got more than five inches of rain. Morrilton (Conway County) had 6.54 inches (the second highest one day total since records began in 1919), with 6.03 inches at Millwood Dam (Little River County), 5.90 inches at Center Ridge (Conway County), 5.30 inches at Crystal Valley (Pulaski County), and 5.09 inches at Mountain View (Stone County). Interestingly, parts of southeast Arkansas received amounts less than a quarter inch.

Checking the CoCoRaHs (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow) network, a gauge about five miles south of Texarkana (Miller County) collected 7.27 inches of liquid, with 6.85 inches three miles west of Greenbrier (Faulkner County), 6.84 inches two to three miles west of Conway (Faulkner County), and 6.70 inches two miles northeast of Bigelow (Perry County).

On the 9th (after 700 am CDT), showers and a few rumbles of thunder lingered before the remnants of Beryl exited to the northeast. An inch or more of water was measured at a few locales, including Mountain Home (Baxter County) with 1.51 inches.

On the heels of the remnants of Hurricane Beryl, another heavy rain event appeared imminent a week later (late on July 16th into the 17th). A slow moving cold front was set to encounter a very moist environment, and trigger thunderstorms loaded with water. On top of that, the steering flow (to push/guide storms) was weak, resulting in prolonged downpours. This was also going to happen at night while people were asleep. It was a recipe for significant and life threatening flash flooding.

Before the sky opened, the heat was miserable on the 16th. Most afternoon heat index values were in the triple digits, and a few heat indices were at/above 115 degrees. A persistent ridge of high pressure not only provided the heat, it was responsible for the aforementioned weak steering flow.

Scattered storms started developing toward the Missouri border between 400 pm and 500 pm CDT on the 16th. Cloudbursts generated several inches of rain in short order from Imboden to Smithville (both in Lawrence County). It was a precursor of more serious issues to come. As the evening wore on, a large area of showers and thunderstorms approached from Oklahoma, and everything went haywire.

Precipitation became more widespread and intense after midnight CDT, and continued into the morning of the 17th. Flippin (Marion County) picked up a whopping 5.76 inches of rain between 200 am and 500 am CDT.

At Yellville (Marion County), a nursing home had to be evacuated (at least eighty residents and patients) as water levels became dangerously elevated along Shawnee Town Branch. The local Marion County Courthouse flooded. Thirty to forty people in Flippin (Marion County) had to leave their homes and find shelter, as did up to a dozen guests at a motel. A swollen Fallen Ash Creek pushed a home off its foundation and entered a nearby church. Northwest of town, a bridge along a county road was taken out by strong currents on Moccasin Creek.

In addition to chaos in Marion County, much of a campground was submerged along South Sylamore Creek near Allison (Stone County), and campers were forced to exit. Highway 62 near Cotter (Baxter County) was under water, and a recreational vehicle became stranded. There was also a mudslide nearby. Highway 74 east of Marshall (Searcy County) was flooded, and many roads in the northeast part of the county were washed out. It was the same story in parts of Cleburne and Stone Counties (numerous roads damaged). At Heber Springs (Cleburne County), a few modular homes had water in them, and streets looked like lakes.

Farther south, an apartment complex in Greenbrier (Faulkner County) was swamped, as were multiple houses in Conway (Faulkner County). Numerous thoroughfares were impassible (and littered with stalled/stranded vehicles) including Highway 287 between Morrilton and Plumerville (both in Conway County).

While so much bad happened during this event, and it had all the markings of something deadly, the miracle that will be remembered most is there were no fatalities.

Once everything calmed down, a number of locations in the northern half of Arkansas were pounded with over six inches of rain. Forty eight hour totals through 700 am CDT on the 18th included 8.64 inches at Blanchard Springs (Stone County), 7.16 inches at Flippin (Marion County), 7.13 inches at Yellville (Marion County), 6.82 inches at Mountain View (Stone County), 6.61 inches at Greers Ferry Dam (Cleburne County), 6.50 inches at Heber Springs (Cleburne County), and 6.15 inches at Lead Hill (Boone County).

At Lead Hill (Boone County), there was a 5.70 inch amount on the 17th, which was the highest in one day since data collection began in 1927.

The drought came to fruition due to a very dry period from the beginning of August into late October. Six to eight inch rainfall deficits were common. At one time, burn bans were posted in 66 (of 75) counties, and all of these counties had a high to extreme wildfire danger (according to the Arkansas Forestry Division). Agricultural disasters were declared in multiple counties.

In early November, ten to fifteen inches of rain put a dent in the drought across the north/west. This included portions of the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, and in the Arkansas River Valley west of Russellville (Pope County). At Harrison (Boone County), 12.37 inches of liquid was measured from the 3rd to the 5th, making this the wettest three day period on record locally. This followed a record dry ninety one day stretch from August 1st through October 30th (2.55 inches).

Tributaries responded with marked rises. Streamflow was well below average during the drought, but that changed with minor to moderate flooding along the Black, Buffalo, Eleven Point, Petit Jean, Spring, and White Rivers.

The Mulberry River went from a trickle to turning roads into lakes, threatening to overtop bridges, and surrounding several properties with dangerous currents. The river engulfed Highway 23 near Cass (Franklin County), and the road was barricaded. Elsewhere, a bridge was washed out near the Watalula (Franklin County) community. Four residences were cut off from the rest of the world. High water rescues were necessary at Huntsville, Kingston, and Witter (all in Madison County). Roads became impassible in Harrison (Boone County), and water rushed into buildings.

In early November, a half dozen tornadoes were tallied in western Arkansas. The strongest of these (rated EF2) affected Little Flock (Benton County) on the 4th, and tore up homes, a business, and some outbuildings.