NWS Little Rock, AR - January, 2024 Monthly Summary

Storm Reports

Are you interested in what happened during a recent event? Check out the report below.

	January, 2024 Monthly Summary

Monthly Statistics

	Temperatures							Precipitation
Site	Max	Min	Avg	Norm	Dep	Hi	Lo	Sum	Norm	Dep
Fayetteville (NW AR)	44.7	22.4	33.6	36.4	-2.8	69	-10	2.97	2.75	+0.22
Harrison (NC AR)	41.5	23.1	32.3	37.0	-4.7	65	-4	4.92	2.67	+2.25
Jonesboro (NE AR)	41.5	27.2	34.4	38.7	-4.3	64	4	7.91	3.52	+4.39
Fort Smith (WC AR)	46.4	26.9	36.7	40.4	-3.7	69	3	3.92	2.91	+1.01
Little Rock (C AR)	48.3	29.7	39.0	40.7	-1.7	74	1	9.13	3.50	+5.63
Texarkana (SW AR)	50.5	31.5	41.0	44.6	-3.6	73	11	7.88	3.64	+4.24
El Dorado (SC AR)	51.8	29.6	40.7	44.7	-4.0	75	7	8.87	4.39	+4.48
Pine Bluff (SE AR)	48.5	30.6	39.6	42.8	-3.2	74	9	7.33	3.82	+3.51

Temperatures across the state during January were well below normal with precipitation amounts generally well above normal.

Record Temperatures

Temperature records broken in January. Check out the records below.

Site	Record Low (Date of Occurrence)
Batesville	3 (1/16)
Hot Springs	6 (1/16), 5T (1/17)
Jacksonville/LRAFB	-1 (1/16), -3 (1/17)
Little Rock	1 (1/17)
Monticello	9 (1/16)
Mount Ida	5 (1/16)
North Little Rock	5T (1/16)
Russellville	2 (1/16), 0 (1/17)
Stuttgart	8 (1/16)

Note: "T" means record was tied.

Quick Event Summary

January was a busy weather month across Arkansas and surrounding areas as a few rounds of winter weather along with some severe weather impacted the state and region. While winter weather was impactful at times, what was likely the biggest takeaway was the prolonged cold. Several locations recorded temperatures below zero with Little Rock seeing a low temperature of 1° on the 16th. At Little Rock this was the first month with below normal temperatures since November 2022. In addition to the cold temperatures, the recent dry conditions came to an end as an abundance of precipitation occurred during the month. This led to drought improvement across southern and eastern parts of the state.

Link of Interest

Light Snow on January 5, 2024

Below normal temperatures and dry conditions were seen for the first few days of the new year.

Precipitation moved across the state on the 5th, starting across the west during the early morning hours. Snow was observed across the west and northwest before making its way into central Arkansas. Travel impacts were observed initially and through the mid-morning hours before precipitation ended or transitioned to rain with warming temperatures through the afternoon hours.

Link of Interest

Severe Storms/Turning Colder January 11-12, 2024

A new storm system approached the region which would bring cold air with it but before that happened, there was some potential for severe weather. Severe storms moved across parts of the state from the evening of the 11th through the morning of the 12th before much colder air spilled into the state.

Severe weather reports weren't extremely widespread, but a few individual storms on the evening of the 11th produced damaging wind gusts. Through the overnight hours and continuing through daybreak on the 12th a line of storms moved across the southern half of the state toward eastern Arkansas. This line of storms produced wind damage along parts of its path.

Link of Interest

Wintry Precipitation/Bitterly Cold January 14-17, 2024

Cold air and winter weather overspread the state from the 14th through 15th with lingering snow and cold through the 17th. Snowfall totals across portions of northern Arkansas exceeded 6-8 inches in some locations. Elsewhere, snow and sleet totals exceeded 1-2 inches across much of the rest of the state.

The coldest days occurred from the 15th through the 17th across central/eastern Arkansas. Lows at times dipped below zero and daytime highs remained below freezing for 3-4 days. This period if winter weather and cold caused major travel issues across the state along with several communities experiencing water supply issues.

Some light drizzle developed across portions of southern, central and eastern Arkansas during the morning hours of the 18th which led to a few slick spots on area roadways. On the night of the 18th some freezing fog developed across similar areas.

Link of Interest

Freezing Rain to Heavy Rain/Flooding January 22-29, 2024

Another strong cold front progressed southeastward across the state from the late evening of the 18th through the early morning hours of the 19th. This brought very cold temperatures to the state with overnight lows dipping down into the single digits across N/NE Arkansas during the morning hours of the 20th-21st. Highs struggled to climb above freezing those days as well.

Before the cold air could depart the region, a new storm system approached from the west. While surface temperatures remained at or below freezing, temperatures a few thousand feet above the surface were much warmer. This led to the main form of precipitation being freezing rain which led to slick roads and ice accretion from southern Oklahoma into western and northern Arkansas from the afternoon through late evening hours of the 21st.

Then it began to rain and temperatures warmed up significantly, highs ended up in the 50s and 60s from the 23rd through the 26th. Heavy rain fell on the 22nd and 23rd which led to river flooding and some areal flooding across parts of the state. Rainfall amounts exceeded 3 inches in many areas. Another item of interest noted by many across the state and region was persistent fog. After the cold air and winter weather events, warm air and rain led to widespread fog for a few consecutive days.

Cooler temperatures returned by the 27th but yet another round of rain was noted that day. Dry conditions and above normal temperatures ended the month.

Temperature and Precipitation Trends

In the picture: Temperatures at Little Rock (Pulaski County). Click to enlarge.

In the picture: Precipitation at Little Rock (Pulaski County). Click to enlarge.

In the picture: Precipitation across Arkansas.

Link of Interest

Detailed Monthly Statistics

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https://www.weather.gov/lzk/jan2024.htm