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| Storm Reports |
| Are you interested in what happened during a recent event? Check out the
report below. |
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Strong Winds on January 29, 2008 |
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A strong cold front approached from the Plains during the
morning of January 29th. The front arrived during the early afternoon
hours, and winds shifted to the northwest. Wind speeds of 30 to 40 mph
were common, with gusts over 50 mph. |
| In the picture:
The pattern at 2 pm CST on 01/29/2008...with a strong cold front
pushing through Arkansas with a chance of severe weather in the east and
a lot of wind to follow. |
| Trees and power lines were downed across the region, with
some structural damage noted (parts of roofs removed from
homes/businesses). Over 40,000 power outages were reported. |
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| In the picture:
Three hour pressure changes from 8 am CST to 2 pm CST on 01/29/2008.
Initially, there were pressure falls in Arkansas...with upward motion to
create clouds and a chance of
thunderstorms. Strong pressure rises (over 10 millibars/3 hours)
followed from the Plains, with sinking motion and much colder/more stable air.
Between falls and rises, there was an extreme isallobaric (pressure
tendency) gradient...leading to a lot of wind across the
region. |
| There were two deaths reported. One person was killed
near Wooster (Faulkner County) when a tree fell on her car (while she
drove on Arkansas Highway 225). At Lonoke (Lonoke County), a woman lost
her life when a tree fell on her home. |
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In some cases, downed power lines triggered grass fires
which spread quickly due to the winds. In addition to High Wind Warnings
and Wind Advisories, the National Weather Service issued Fire Danger
Statements to advise people to be careful with fire. |
| In the picture:
A fire started at Fort Chaffee near Fort Smith (Sebastian County) as
noted by the smoke plume between 1144 am CST and 1201 pm CST on
01/29/2008. The plume was captured by the Fort Smith (SRX) WSR-88D
(Doppler Weather Radar). Note the orientation of the plume changed as a
cold front went through and winds shifted from southwest to northwest. |
| Temperatures fell quickly behind the front. As of 3 pm
CST, readings were already in the 20s across northwest Arkansas (with
northwest winds). Meanwhile, readings were still in the 70s in eastern
sections of the state (with south/southwest winds). |
| Conditions
as of 3 pm CST on 01/29/2008 |
| Site |
Temperature |
Winds |
| Fayetteville (NW AR) |
29° |
W22G29 MPH |
| Harrison (NC AR) |
29° |
W25G37 MPH |
| Jonesboro (NE AR) |
67° |
SW29G35 MPH |
| Fort Smith (WC AR) |
39° |
NW29G36 MPH |
| Little Rock (C AR) |
64° |
NW32G43 MPH |
| North Little Rock (C
AR) |
57° |
W21G44 MPH |
| West Memphis (EC
AR) |
66° |
S20G25 MPH |
| Texarkana (SW AR) |
58° |
NW39G49 MPH |
| El Dorado (SC AR) |
71° |
W25G47 MPH |
| Monticello (SE AR) |
71° |
W29G43 MPH |
| Very strong winds downed trees and power lines and caused
structural damage in portions of northern and central Arkansas on
January 29, 2008. For a look at some reports,
click here. |
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| In the picture:
Preliminary reports of non-thunderstorm wind damage in the Little
Rock County Warning Area on January 29, 2008 (in red). |
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www.weather.gov
