Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has proclaimed the week of March 1st through 7th as Severe Weather Awareness Week in Arkansas.
During Severe Weather Awareness Week the National Weather Service is asking people to think about what they would do and where they would go when severe weather threatens.
There will be a particular subject discussed each day.
- Monday- Severe Thunderstorms
- Tuesday- Methods of Receiving Severe Weather Information
- Wednesday- Tornadoes
- Thursday- Lightning
- Friday- Flash Floods
MONDAY–SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
Please take some time to review our emergency procedures for severe weather and see the information below from the National Weather Service Little Rock office.
AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT AROUND THE WORLD…APPROXIMATELY 1800 THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING. ALTHOUGH THUNDERSTORMS ARE RELATIVELY SMALL…WHEN CONSIDERED ON A GLOBAL SCALE OF WEATHER…ALL THUNDERSTORMS ARE DANGEROUS. LIGHTNING…FLASH FLOODS…HAIL…STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS…AND TORNADOES ALL RESULT FROM THUNDERSTORMS.
A THUNDERSTORM IS CONSIDERED SEVERE WHEN IT PRODUCES WINDS OF AT LEAST 58 MPH…OR HAIL AT LEAST 1 INCH IN DIAMETER /THE SIZE OF A QUARTER/.
STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS PRODUCED BY THUNDERSTORMS CAUSED FOUR DEATHS ACROSS THE STATE LAST YEAR. ALTOGETHER…THERE WERE 18 INSTANCES OF THUNDERSTORM GUSTS OF AT LEAST 80 MPH LOCALLY IN 2014.
THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WINDS WERE REPORTED ON OCTOBER 13TH. ON THAT DAY…90 TO 95 MPH GUSTS OCCURRED NEAR ROCKY AND HATFIELD.
LARGE HAIL…ON AVERAGE…CAUSES OVER ONE BILLION DOLLARS IN DAMAGE /PROPERTY AND CROPS/ IN THE UNITED STATES EACH YEAR. SOME INJURIES DUE TO LARGE HAIL OCCUR IN THIS COUNTRY EACH YEAR…BUT DEATHS FROM HAIL ARE RELATIVELY RARE. ANIMALS FARE FAR WORSE THAN HUMANS.
THE LARGEST HAILSTONES REPORTED IN ARKANSAS DURING 2014 OCCURED ON APRIL 3RD. ON THAT DAY…THREE INCH DIAMETER HAIL WAS REPORTED NEAR LANDIS IN SEARCY COUNTY…WITH TWO AND A HALF INCH DIAMETER HAIL AROUND BIG FLAT AND HENDERSON…WHICH ARE BOTH IN BAXTER COUNTY…AND WIDEMAN IN IZARD COUNTY.
LIGHTNING IS A HAZARD IN ALL THUNDERSTORMS…WHETHER THEY ARE SEVERE OR NOT. WHENEVER THUNDER IS HEARD…THERE IS LIGHTNING NEARBY. LIGHTNING IS DEADLY…WITH 2 ARKANSANS KILLED AND 10 INJURED IN 2014.
FLASH FLOODS ARE ANOTHER THUNDERSTORM HAZARD. VEHICLES DRIVEN INTO FLOODED AREAS RESULT IN THE GREATEST NUMBER OF FLASH FLOOD DEATHS. FORTUNATELY…THERE WERE NO FLASH FLOOD FATALITIES IN ARKANSAS LAST YEAR.
OCCASIONALLY…THUNDERSTORMS SPAWN TORNADOES. MOST OF THESE ARE PRODUCED IN THE SPRING AND FALL DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THERE ARE 33 TORNADOES IN A TYPICAL YEAR. THERE WERE 20 TORNADOES LOCALLY IN 2014…AND THESE RESULTED IN 17 FATALITIES.
ACROSS THE COUNTRY…THE TOP THREE DEADLIEST THUNDERSTORM HAZARDS IN THE LAST 30 YEARS YEARS WERE FLASH FLOODS…TORNADOES AND LIGHTNING /IN THAT ORDER/.
SOME THUNDERSTORM SAFETY RULES…
KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WATCH AND A WARNING. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES WATCHES WHEN CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE WEATHER. WARNINGS ARE RESERVED FOR CASES WHERE SEVERE WEATHER IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.
MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE A SOURCE TO RECEIVE THE LATEST INFORMATION…SUCH AS NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS… COMMERCIAL RADIO…TV STATIONS OR CABLE TV. OTHER SOURCES OF WARNING INFORMATION CAN INCLUDE TELEPHONE NOTIFICATION SERVICES TO WHICH PEOPLE SUBSCRIBE.
REMEMBER…IF YOU CAN HEAR THUNDER…YOU ARE IN DANGER FROM LIGHTNING. GO INDOORS IMMEDIATELY. IF YOU ARE IN THE WATER…GET OUT IMMEDIATELY. BOATERS SHOULD HEAD INLAND.
TELEPHONE LINES AND METAL PIPES CAN CONDUCT ELECTRICITY. DO NOT USE ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES DURING A THUNDERSTORM. DO NOT USE CORDED PHONES…EXCEPT IN EMERGENCIES.
STAY OUT OF THE BATHTUB OR SHOWER. GET OFF THE GOLF COURSE. STAY AWAY FROM METAL FENCES AND POLES.
Information for the page provided by the National Weather Service.