Hail — Pulaski, Arkansas

2009-06-30 · near Oak Grove, Pulaski, Arkansas

Event narrative

A devastating hailstorm, several miles wide, affected northern portions of North Little Rock and continued eastward through Sherwood and on into the area between Jacksonville and Galloway. In North Little Rock, hail up to 1 inch in diameter pelted the National Weather Service office at the North Little Rock airport for 6 minutes, from 5:11 to 5:17 PM CDT. The hail became larger as it progressed farther to the east. The Indian Hills and Windsor Valley subdivisions in North Little Rock were particularly hard-hit, as some of the hail increased to golf ball size (1.75 inches). Roofs were ruined and cars were dented.

In Sherwood, much of the hail was golf ball size, and some of it was even larger. The hailstones poked holes in vinyl siding, ruined roofs, dented cars, and smashed car windshields. City officials indicated that thousands of roofs would have to be replaced. Automobile dealerships along U.S. Highway 67/167 were very hard-hit. One dealer said it was the first time in the 40 year history of the dealership that they were going to have to hold a hail sale. The largest hail was baseball size (2.75 inches) and was reported in the southern part of Sherwood.

The hailstorm then continued eastward into Lonoke County.

For the sake of completeness, all hail reports received by the National Weather Service are listed individually.

Wider weather episode

While the atmosphere dried out, it heated up on the 30th. Scattered thunderstorms bubbled up quickly across the north and built into the central counties. A devastating hailstorm struck parts of Pulaski and Lonoke counties late in the afternoon.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.8357, -92.2907)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 184509. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.