NWS Little Rock, AR - Drought in Arkansas

Across the country, moderate to extreme drought (D1 to D3) conditions continued mainly from western Kansas and the Texas panhandle westward to portions of the central and southern Rockies and the Pacific Coast.

Drought was not an issue in Arkansas because of widespread and prolonged wet weather. In May, five to more than ten inches of rain was common across much of the state. At Waldron (Scott County), there was a staggering 16.18 inches of precipitation (just under the record of 17.75 inches in 2015). Mountain Home (Baxter County) had 14.95 inches (shattering the record of 11.87 inches in 1946), 13.32 inches was observed south of Mount Ida (Montgomery County), and Booneville (Logan County) got 13.20 inches. This was three to four months of liquid in four weeks. Along the Mississippi River, May totals were actually below average by one to three inches. In the far southeast, less than two inches of rain fell at Eudora (Chicot County), Portland (Ashley County), and Rohwer (Desha County).

For the year so far (through May, 2020), amounts were five to more than ten inches more than usual at many locations. Surpluses of liquid were highest in west central Arkansas (the Ouachita Mountains).

From the fall into the winter of 2019, there was a moderate to severe drought (D1/D2) briefly in southwest Arkansas following a very dry (and hot) September and an even drier December.

However, drought really never had a chance to gain momentum in 2019 because the sky opened way too much. There was a surplus of precipitation by more than a foot at Fayetteville (Washington County), Fort Smith (Sebastian County), Harrison (Boone County), Jonesboro (Craighead County), Pine Bluff (Jefferson County), and West Memphis (Crittenden County).

Looking ahead, the forecast calls for more of the same. From June through August, an active pattern is expected (more than the typical isolated to scattered summer thunderstorms). It looks wet from the upper Midwest to the southeast United States (including Arkansas).

Data is showing big slugs of moisture and significant rainfall at times. Tropical systems could also be a factor, and may add to an already wet outlook. Given this, there are concerns about flash flooding, overflowing rivers, muddy fields, and struggles for those with agricultural interests. While drought will likely remain an issue west of the region, it should not be much of a concern around here.

In recent years, when the rain stopped coming and very dry conditions developed, it was a short term worry. Drought breakers such as a deluge from mid-November to mid-December, 2011 took care of the problem.

Hurricane Isaac brought much needed rain to drought stricken areas of the south and east in late August, 2012. Pine Bluff (Jefferson County) had 8.39 inches in the forty eight hour period ending at 700 am CDT on September 1st.

In September, 2013, areas from Little Rock (Pulaski County) southward got two to four inches of rain, with locally over six inches on the 19th/20th. Some of these amounts exceeded what would normally be expected during the entire month. This busted a short term extreme (D3) drought that peaked just a few days prior to the rain.

The southern half of Arkansas dealt with a moderate to extreme drought (D2 to D4) in October, 2015. Very dry air and heat in the middle of the month made conditions worse. On the 15th, Little Rock experienced the hottest October day on record when the thermometer showed 98 degrees. Fast forward to the wettest November in recorded state history, and the drought was erased.