Wild weather puts 2011 on roller coaster

Westside Eagle Observer readers joined the world in experiencing roller-coaster weather during 2011.

Although local events were not comparable to the tragedies and extremes caused by earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, hurricanes, drought and heat elsewhere, 2011 saw several local records broken or equaled. Copious amounts of rain fell, only to be matched by drought and sizzling temperatures. A hundred-year snowfall broke local records.

Information for this recap comesfrom the Gravette NOAA station which has been collecting data since the early 1900s.

then at least seven people compiled the local records, the being the author of this report began recording data in 1979.

It must be noted that observations can vary markedly sometimes showing big differences even within a one-mile area.

is especially true of precipitation amounts, tornados, storms and, lesser degree, temperature fluctua tions. As an example, the ice storm which hit north and Benton County in 2007 didn’t Bentonville or eastern parts ofcounty. Just two years later an ice storm crippled eastern Benton County and Washington County much more severely than west-side communities.

But what of the year just ended?

January temperatures were seasonal but a skimpy one-quarter inch of moisture was all that was recorded, that from two small snowfalls of slightly over two inches each.

The biggest weather maker of the year occurred in February when record-breaking snowfall blanketed the region. It began on the first day of the month when 7 inches was recorded and ended on Feb. 9 when more than 17 additional inches fell.At one time the ground was covered by more than two feet of snow. The temperature dropped to a modern day low of 15 degrees below zero on Feb. 10. And within a few days the thermometer climbed into the 60s and the huge snow was melted to just patchy spots of white ice by Feb. 15.

The coldest temperature ever recorded in Arkansas was a frigid 29 degrees below zero on Feb. 13, 2006, at the Gravette station. It was almost that cold when it dipped to 24 below on at least two occasions during the 1930s.

Several earth tremors occurred in Benton County, centered near Centerton and Bentonville. The first occurred Feb. 27.

March was uneventful, though drier than normal. It wasn’t until the last week in April that an almost weeklong storm dumped a total of 14.41 inches of rain in parts of the area during a five-day period ending April 26 when 5.62 inches was recorded. Several streams were out of their banks and roads suffered damage. The record rainfall in the month of April occurred in 1911 when 15.15 inches was recorded.

May was another wet month with more than 10 inches recorded. Several tornado warnings were issued in the region. No major damage was reported.

June was hot and dry. The first 100 degree day of the year occurred the last day of June which led into July, a sizzling month. On 24 days during July the temperature met or exceeded 100 degrees. Vegetation suffered and air conditioners ran overtime. The just over an inch of rain during the month did little to save gardens and lawns.

August came in with a sizzling 109 degrees on the first day. The heat continued all month ending with 101 degrees on August 31. Sandwiched between those dates was the hottest day of the year- 114 degrees on August 3. It matched the 114 degree temperature that occurred July 19, 1936, the hottest day ever recorded locally. Fourteen August days saw century-mark readings.

The last four months of the year have appeared to be seasonal in temperatures after 100 degrees were recorded on the first two daysof September. That month saw more than 4 inches of rainfall which helped revive vegetation and led to a colorful fall foliage display.

The first frost occurred October 19, though ice crystals were probably visible in low-lying areas earlier in the month. The low for the month was 27 degrees on Oct. 20. October was a dry month but November saw above normal rainfall.

Eagle Observer residents were jolted at least twice during November by two earthquakes that were centered in the Oklahoma City area.

As the year comes to a close the area still suffers for adequate moisture even though the year ended with 55.72 inches recorded. More than 25 of those inches fell during April and May with more than half of the months below the normal monthly averages. The normal average annual moisture is 44.87 inches.

News, Pages 1 on 01/04/2012