Thunderstorm Wind in Howard County, Arkansas

A large tree fell on a home along Highway 84 in the Athens community, and hail was also reported with the size unknown.

Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms developed near a surface frontal boundary and a decaying MCV across central and western Arkansas in the early afternoon on August 19th. Farther southwest, convection was slower to develop but increased in coverage through the afternoon. Shear was quite weak as were mid-level lapse rates. However, a very moist air mass fueled 2000-3000 J/kg MLCAPE. With surface temperatures in the upper 90s to near 100 degrees, steep low-level lapse rates allowed for efficient microburst production with the stronger storm cores. As a result, an isolated severe thunderstorm produced damaging wind gusts and small hail in northern Howard County.