NWS Little Rock, AR - Extremes in 2011: Heavy Snow/Severe Storms/Flooding/Heat

Huge snowfall amounts were reported in the northwest. At Siloam Springs (Benton County), 24.5 inches of snow piled up, with 24 inches at Hindsville (Madison County) and Springdale (Washington County).

These were close to the state record, but not quite. The greatest twenty four hour snowfall in Arkansas was 25 inches measured at Corning (Clay County) on January 22, 1918.

This was a dry and powdery snow, with a snow to liquid ratio of 20 or 30 to 1 (0.1 inch of water equals 2.0 to 3.0 inches of snow). A heavy wet snow is closer to a 10 to 1 ratio, and does not accumulate as fast.

Interstate 540 north of Alma (Crawford County) was closed due to the snow and stalled traffic. Interstate 40 was also shut down for a period of time from just east of Little Rock (Pulaski County) to Lonoke (Lonoke County) after numerous tractor-trailers jackknifed. 

There were three traffic fatalities on Interstate 40. A woman was killed along the highway when her vehicle got involved in an accident near Galloway (Pulaski County). Another accident claimed the lives of a woman and her one year old child near Brinkley (Monroe County).

Well below freezing temperatures made it easier for snow to accumulate on roadways. Travel was treacherous, and driving was not recommended to allow crews to treat the pavement.

The low temperature at Highfill (Benton County) was 21 degrees below zero, and 18 below zero at Fayetteville (Washington County). Nowata, OK plummeted to 31 degrees below zero. This broke the all-time state record of 27 below zero set at Vinita, OK on February 13, 1905. That same morning (in 1905), Gravette (Benton County) hit 29 below zero, the all-time Arkansas record. 

Cold conditions spread farther east on the 11th. The day started with a low of 8 degrees at Pine Bluff (Jefferson County), the coldest February temperature since 1949. It was 4 degrees at Mena (Polk County) and 12 degrees at Hot Springs (Garland County), the coldest February readings since 1996 at both locations.

Area rivers and streams jumped, with record flooding on the Black River. As of 1100 am CDT on the 28th, the river at Corning (Clay County) was at 18.12 feet. This topped the 16.92 foot record established on June 13, 1945. The crest at Pocahontas (Randolph County) was 28.47 feet on the same day, which broke the previous high mark set in almost 100 years (27.90 feet on August 4, 1915). Dozen of residents were evacuated from their homes in town due to rising water and a breached levee.

A very high Current River (running out of southern Missouri) helped push the Black River at Pocahontas (Randolph County) to 28.95 feet on May 3, 2017 (a new record).

Twenty four hour rainfall through 700 am CDT on May 1st included 8.70 inches at Morgan (Pulaski County), 7.14 inches at Lake Maumelle (Pulaski County),  6.71 inches near Cabot (Lonoke County) and 5.57 inches at the North Little Rock Airport (Pulaski County). Roads were closed and barricaded, homes flooded, and there were high water rescues.

This deluge and water headed downstream from the Black River guaranteed that historic levels were in store along the White River. On top of that, the river would be slow to drain because it emptied into an overflowing Mississippi River. In the end, record crests were established at Georgetown (White County) and Des Arc (Prairie County).

Travel was also affected. U.S. Highway 67/167 was closed between Sherwood and Jacksonville (Pulaski County) through the 3rd/early on the 4th. Water from the White River was over U.S. Highway 70 at DeValls Bluff (Prairie County), and also over Highway 36 at Georgetown (White County). At the latter location, there was no way out of town, and residents were cut off from the rest of the world.

On the 4th, the White River was high enough to close the westbound lanes of Interstate 40 in eastern Prairie County (at mile marker 202). The eastbound lanes were closed by the evening of the 5th. Traffic was diverted onto surrounding highways to avoid flooding. The detours involved 50 to 100 miles of extra driving.

Unfortunately, this high water episode claimed several lives. One fatality around Mayflower (Faulkner County) was the result of a vehicle overtaken by flood waters on May 1st along Arkansas State Highway 89. Another person disappeared on the 1st near Des Arc (Prairie County), but was found on the 4th (a drowning death). Other victims drove their vehicles into flooded highways in Cross, Greene, Lonoke and Randolph Counties (from May 3 through the 14th).

Before rivers became a problem, there was a massive amount of severe weather. On April 4th, a damaging wind event unfolded in southern Arkansas. Straight-line winds downed numerous trees and power lines, snapped power poles and caused structural damage.

Roads were blocked by trees, and a home was badly damaged at Gurdon (Clark County). Similar reports were received by the National Weather Service from Leola (Grant County), Pine Bluff (Jefferson County), and Star City (Lincoln County). At DeWitt (Arkansas County), a tree was pushed over onto a vehicle.

Of the roughly three dozen reports of hail at least two inches in diameter (hen egg size) in 2011, twenty eight of these were in April and May (especially from April 19th through the 26th). The largest stone was the size of a softball at Van Buren (Crawford County) on April 26th.

There were isolated tornadoes spawned. Winds turned with height, and Tornado Warnings were issued. Ten (10) tornadoes were confirmed (rated EF1/EF2) in the Little Rock County Warning Area.

Across Arkansas, at least 35 people were killed by high water (17 deaths), damaging winds (6 deaths), and tornadoes (12 deaths) in April and May.

One of the strongest of these hit the community of Vilonia (Faulkner County) around 725 pm CDT. The tornado was responsible for major structural damage, and four fatalities (at a mobile home park southwest of town). This tornado (rated EF2) was long-lived, lasting just over 51 miles and ripping through three counties (Pulaski, Faulkner and White).

The Vilonia (Faulkner County) was not only noted for its long track (51 miles), it had a width of  2900 yards or close to 1.65 miles. This is the widest track on record in the state (since 1950).

There were three tornadoes in Garland County alone, with one of the tornadoes claiming the life of an 8 month old boy (who died from his injuries several days after the storm). Another tornado cut through Hot Springs Village (Garland County). As a warning for this particular tornado was issued, a youth service for 60 children was in progress at Fountain Lake (Garland County). Everyone was evacuated from the church when the warning was received on NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards.

There were a whopping 56 tornadoes counted across Arkansas in April and 11 tornadoes in May. The yearly total was 75 tornadoes. This was the fourth most on record in the state (1999: 107 tornadoes, 2008: 81 tornadoes, 1982: 78 tornadoes).

The tornado tore through areas just north of Coal Hill before striking Harmony and Ozone (all in Johnson County). The tornado was on the ground for 46 miles, and was one of only three tornadoes rated this strong across the state since 2000 (through 2020). The tornado claimed four lives (three in Franklin County and one in Johnson County).

Another cranked up around Clarksville (Johnson County) and headed to areas just northwest of Hagarville (Johnson County). This tornado (rated EF3) killed one person in the Strawberry community.

On May 22nd, a catastrophic tornado (rated EF5) knifed its way through the heart of Joplin, MO and killed 158 people. It was the costliest tornado in U.S. history, and a Top 10 deadly tornado nationally. The other nine tornadoes mostly occurred before radar and warnings existed (prior to 1955).

There was a super outbreak of tornadoes on April 27th. More than 200 tornadoes were spawned (including four rated EF5), with the bulk of these in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. It was a record number of tornadoes across the country in a twenty four hour period. Altogether, there were 317 fatalities (249 deaths in Alabama).

The thermometer at Fort Smith (Sebastian County) reached at least 100 degrees an astonishing 48 times from June through August. That was the third most in recorded history locally (53 times in 1934 and 49 times in 1954). During the same time frame, highs were 90 degrees or above and lows were at or above 70 degrees on 84 of 92 days at Little Rock (Pulaski County). While both numbers were surpassed in 2010 (87 times for highs/lows), it did not happen in prior years dating back into the 1870s. 

The heat was extreme in early August. Record high temperatures were noted every day from the 1st through the 8th. The hottest day was the 3rd, with all-time records set at several locations.

This included Fort Smith (Sebastian County) with a high of 115 degrees and Little Rock (Pulaski County) not far behind at 114 degrees. Very dry air/low dewpoints in the afternoon allowed the mercury to soar.