NWS Little Rock, AR - October, 2023 Monthly Summary

Storm Reports

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

	October, 2023 Monthly Summary

Monthly Statistics

	Temperatures							Precipitation
Site	Max	Min	Avg	Norm	Dep	Hi	Lo	Sum	Norm	Dep
Fayetteville (NW AR)	73.1	48.5	60.8	58.0	+2.8	89	23	3.47	4.48	-1.01
Harrison (NC AR)	70.9	49.4	60.2	59.4	+0.8	86	25	3.00	3.81	-0.81
Jonesboro (NE AR)	75.9	53.4	64.6	62.2	+2.4	92	29	4.73	3.81	+0.92
Fort Smith (WC AR)	77.6	53.5	65.5	63.5	+2.0	92	29	5.85	4.42	+1.43
Little Rock (C AR)	78.2	56.6	67.4	62.6	+4.8	95	34	5.24	4.47	+0.77
Texarkana (SW AR)	76.1	56.1	66.1	64.9	+1.2	90	34	11.11	4.51	+6.60
El Dorado (SC AR)	77.6	53.6	65.6	64.6	+1.0	90	33	2.51	4.58	-2.07
Pine Bluff (SE AR)	78.8	56.4	67.6	63.7	+3.9	97	35	4.28	4.58	-0.30

Temperatures across the state during October were well above average. Monthly precipitation totals varied widely across the area.

Record Temperatures

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

Site	Record High (Date of Occurrence)
Pine Bluff	97 (10/1)
Little Rock	95 (10/1)
North Little Rock	92T (10/1)

Quick Event Summary


Hot and dry conditions were seen across much of the state during the month of October. There were a few periods of rain and thunderstorms which brought cooler temperatures a few times during the month. Drought conditions continued to worsen along with wildfire danger until the end of the month when a major cooldown was observed along with widespread beneficial rain.

In the picture: 24 hour precipitation totals ending 7 PM, October 4th.

Hot and dry conditions carried over through the beginning of the month with well above normal temperatures and no rain. Changes came on October 4th as a storm system to the west approached the state and brought rain and cooler temperatures. Rainfall wasn’t uniform on the 4th with northern and southern AR seeing decent amounts while areas along the AR River Valley through central AR missed out. Portions of SW Arkansas picked up over 6 inches of rain through midnight. More rain moved into the state during the late evening hours of the 4th, continuing through the 5th.

After the rain, dry conditions returned to the state with warming temperatures in many areas. While overnight lows were cool (40s/50s to 60s) daytime highs warmed into the 70s/80s each day.

Link of Interest

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A strong front moved across the state on the 13th. The front brought little to no rainfall for the state but did usher in breezy and cooler conditions. Dry and windy conditions were seen on the 14th when the 2023 Annular Eclipse occurred. Clouds were in place across portions of northern and western Arkansas but clear skies aided viewing across central and southern Arkansas. Clouds persisted across the state on the 15th with scattered showers noted while a weak system moved northeast of the state. Temperatures remained quite cool with highs lingering in the 50s and 60s. Cooler overnight temperatures were seen through the 17th with some localized frost observed on the morning of the 17th.

A weak front moved across the state from late on the 18th into the 19th. Only some very light rain was observed. Cooler temperatures had been noted through the 18th but temperatures climbed to well above normal values from the 19th through the 21st. Highs during this period climbed into the 80s to near 90 for much of the state.

A brief cooldown was noted on the 22nd, but temperatures remained above normal. Dry weather lasted into the 24th before rain moved into western Arkansas by the 25th.

Above normal temperatures remained in place ahead of a strong cold front that moved into the state on the 27th. Rainfall amounts from the 25th through 27th weren’t very high with much higher totals observed from Oct 28-29. The cold front marched across the state from Sunday into Monday with much colder air spilling in behind it. This led to a cool Halloween evening for trick or treaters across the state with below freezing temperatures observed into early November.