Hail — Lonoke, Arkansas

2009-06-30 · near Kerr, Lonoke, Arkansas

Event narrative

The devastating hailstorm moved eastward out of Pulaski County, and continued east across all of Lonoke County. The hail swath about 10 miles wide. The hail ranged in size from the size of nickels (0.88 inch) to the size of baseballs (2.75 inches). Communities affected included South Bend, Parnell, Furlow, Fairview, Brownsville, Lonoke, and Carlisle.

The largest hail fell a few miles north and northeast of Lonoke, where much of the hail was golf ball size (1.75 inches) to baseball size (2.75 inches). The hailstones ruined roofs, damaged siding on houses, broke windows in houses, broke car windshields, killed birds perched in trees, and destroyed gardens and crops. The worst damage was found in the vicinity of these roads: Plafcan Rd., Fred Koch Rd., Watson Lane, E. Watson Rd., Ferguson Ln., Wesley Kittler Rd., Kittler Rd., E. Schafer Rd., Raymond Schafer Rd., Brownsville Loop, Arkansas Highway 13, Lawson Rd., Lilly Rd., Oakdale Rd., Northcutt Rd., D.K. Bennett Rd., Bud Young Rd., and Arkansas Highway 31.

The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service indicated that between 22 and 27 farmers lost 60% to 100% of their crops. Altogether, about 26,000 acres of crops were lost, including 16,260 acres of soybeans, 8,130 acres of rice, and 1,600 acres of corn. Corn stalks that were 8 feet tall were cut in half and soybeans were beaten to the ground.

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 → (34.8296, -92.0541)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 184531. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.