It was ridiculously wet across western Arkansas in August, 2020. Ten to more than twenty inches of rain fell from around Fort Smith (Sebastian County) southward through the Ouachita Mountains and on toward Texarkana (Miller County).

Interestingly, while parts of the west got over four times the normal monthly rainfall, it was dry in the northwest. At Fayetteville (Washington County), there was only 1.14 inches of precipitation (2.10 inches below average).   

It was the wettest August on record at almost a dozen sites in the west. This included Ashdown (Little River County), De Queen (Sevier County), Dierks (Howard County), Mena (Polk County), Nashville (Howard County), Texarkana (Miller County), and Waldron (Scott County). A state record for August was set at Big Fork (Polk County), with an unprecedented 19.70 inches of precipitation!

Way too much rain led to life threatening flooding, and this continued into early September. Rivers were on the rise, with a Top 10 highest crest and major flooding along the Petit Jean River at Danville (Yell County) by September 2nd.

One of the more serious rain episodes unfolded late on the 11th/early on the 12th. A large cluster of thunderstorms blew up in west central and southwest sections of the state, and turned into a bonafide gullywasher. There was over ten inches of precipitation in places.

Mena (Polk County) had 11.47 inches of rain, with 9.07 inches at Dierks (Howard County), and 7.43 inches at Texarkana (Miller County). Much of this happened from 100 am CDT to 100 pm CDT on the 12th. August one day rainfall records were broken at all three sites.

Amounts exceeded seven inches at Ben Lomond (Sevier County), five inches at Ashdown (Little River County), Big Fork (Polk County), Lewisville (Lafayette County), Nashville (Howard County), and Ogden (Little River County), and were between four and five inches at Camden (Ouachita County) and Fordyce (Dallas County).

On the 26th, the tropics came calling for the second time in 2020 (the first time was Cristobal in early June). Hurricane Laura rapidly strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico, and reached southwest Louisiana early on the 27th with 150 mph sustained winds!

Laura remained a hurricane well inland as the system ventured to the north at around 15 mph. A swath of heavy rain (two to more than five inches) spread into southern, central, and northeast Arkansas in the twenty four hour period ending at 700 am CDT on the 28th. Fordyce (Dallas County) received 5.25 inches of precipitation, with 4.48 inches at Cabot (Lonoke County), 4.39 inches at Marche (Pulaski County), 4.37 inches at North Little Rock (Pulaski County), 4.17 inches at Keo (Lonoke County), 3.85 inches at Calamine (Sharp County), 3.60 inches at Stuttgart (Arkansas County), 3.55 inches at Batesville (Independence County) and El Dorado (Union County), 3.53 inches at Sheridan (Grant County), and 3.50 inches at Alicia (Lawrence County).

The atmosphere was loaded with moisture, and this created high rainfall rates. Water came down faster than it could be carried away, and roads flooded at Benton (Saline County), North Little Rock and Sherwood (both in Pulaski County), Walnut Ridge and near Ravenden (both in Lawrence County), and a few miles east of Mena (Polk County).  

Before Laura, it was dry from Little Rock (Pulaski County) to the northeast. Through the 26th, the dust was settled by only 0.35 inch of rain at North Little Rock (Pulaski County), 0.47 inch at Beedeville (Jackson County), 0.84 inch at Blytheville (Mississippi County), 0.91 inch at Des Arc (Prairie County), and 0.93 inch at Batesville (Independence County). A drought was ongoing in Mississippi County.

As the remnants of Laura tracked into the state, winds kicked up and lasted for several hours. Gusts peaked at 40 to more than 50 mph in many of the same locales where rain was heavy to excessive. A 57 mph gust was measured at El Dorado (Union County), with a 53 mph gust at Conway (Faulkner County), a 52 mph gust at Benton (Saline County), the Little Rock Air Force Base (Pulaski County), and Pine Bluff (Jefferson County), a 49 mph gust at Monticello (Drew County), a 47 mph gust at Little Rock (Pulaski County), and a 46 mph gust at Arkadelphia (Clark County) and West Memphis (Crittenden County).

So much wind resulted in many downed trees and power lines, with some trees on houses. Minor structural damage was reported. There were also at least 50,000 power outages. 

Inland tropical systems commonly produce tornadoes, and Laura was no exception. Rotation with storms was found mainly in rain bands north and east of the center of circulation. Tornado Warnings were concentrated in northeast Arkansas.

At least seven weak tornadoes (rated EF0/EF1) were counted (three in Craighead County, and one in Cross, Poinsett, St. Francis, and Woodruff Counties). One tornado ripped up a church just west of Lake City (Craighead County), with another tornado crossing Highway 70 southwest of Forrest City (St. Francis County). An eighth stronger tornado (rated EF2) was confirmed from south of Biggers to west of Maynard (both in Randolph County) during the late evening of the 27th. Outbuildings and barns were destroyed, and large sections of roof were removed from a house allowing the walls to fall inward. Fortunately, nobody was home. This was the largest August outbreak of tornadoes in recorded history across the state.

It appears one storm lasted over an hour (travelling 65 miles from southeast to northwest) and was responsible for at least four tornadoes from 855 pm to 1023 pm CDT. The tornadoes were found three miles west of Lepanto (Poinsett County), two to three miles west of Lake City (Craighead County), four miles north of Brookland (Craighead County), and from two miles south of Biggers to seven miles west of Maynard (both in Randolph County).Track the storm using the WSR-88D (Doppler Weather Radar) Correlation Coefficient (CC) product by clicking here.

August low pressure records were set at multiple cities, including Harrison (Boone County), Little Rock (Pulaski County), North Little Rock (Pulaski County), and Pine Bluff (Jefferson County). The pressure readings were 29.63 inches, 29.46 inches, 29.48 inches, and 29.46 inches respectively.

Downpours did not stop heading into September. On the 1st, several inches of rain dumped from Mena (Polk County) and Waldron (Scott County) to Russellville (Pope County), Mountain View (Stone County), and Paragould (Greene County).

At Waldron (Scott County), numerous roads were under water (including Highways 28 and 71), and this was spilling into homes and businesses. Local residents had to be rescued.

Farther north/east, vehicles stalled in high water at Fort Smith (Sebastian County), and this stranded motorists. County roads were flooded near the Petit Jean River at Booneville (Logan County). More county roads were inundated with water at Dardanelle (Yell County), and parts of Highways 27 and 28 were affected. An overflowing creek closed Highway 28 around Bluffton (Yell County). County roads were washed out near Hanover (Stone County). Highway 115 was flooded and shut down near Jessup (Lawrence County).

On top of too much rain, there was some severe weather on the 1st. One storm produced three tornadoes from central into northeast sections of the state (Conway, Faulkner, and Cleburne Counties). The strongest of the tornadoes (rated EF2) cut a 5.3 mile swath through areas just south and southeast of Heber Springs (Cleburne County) between 300 pm and 330 pm CDT on the 1st. Tree damage was extensive, with numerous trees snapped four to five miles southeast of town. Some trees were on a home, and a few outbuildings were damaged.

The other two tornadoes (rated EF0/EF1) tracked just north of Plumerville and Menifee (both in Conway County), and northwest of Wooster and Greenbrier (both in Faulkner County). More trees were uprooted, and there was some minor structural damage.