ARKANSAS — Widespread storms are tracking southeast across Arkansas this Friday morning as of 7:30 AM, with radar showing an active and noisy storm band stretching from Fayetteville and Fort Smith southeastward through Clinton, Conway, and toward Little Rock and Jonesboro.
The storms are delivering much-needed rainfall across the drought-stricken state while continuing southeast through the late morning and early afternoon hours. A brief clearing is possible midday before additional storm development returns during the afternoon and evening with a severe weather risk attached to that second round.
Active Storm Band Covers Northwest and Central Arkansas at 7:30 AM
The Arkansas Weather Network radar at 7:30 AM shows a broad and intense storm band with heavy orange and red radar returns concentrated across the Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Clinton, and Conway corridor, with the most active lightning activity visible across the northern and central portions of the state. The storm band is tracking southeast with arrows indicating the direction of movement toward Jonesboro, Memphis, and beyond.
The storms have generally behaved in a noisy but non-severe manner through the early morning, producing heavy rainfall and frequent lightning without the organized severe weather that was possible with this system. Both southern Arkansas near Mena and Texarkana and the northeast corner near Jonesboro are also seeing storm activity as the broader system sweeps through.
Much Needed Rainfall Accompanying the Morning Storms
A welcome silver lining with Friday morning’s storm activity is the meaningful rainfall being delivered across drought-stricken Arkansas. After weeks of critically dry conditions across the state, the widespread nature of this morning’s storm band means that a broad swath of the state is picking up beneficial moisture that will begin chipping away at the significant rainfall deficits that have built up over recent weeks…