State of the Weather Address

We're inching closer to autumn and we're poised to break a couple yearly records and it has everything to do with precipitation.

Little Rock has received 45.84'' of rain so far this year and that's just 3.91'' away from reaching our average yearly rainfall. As of today, the period January 1st through August 26th is the 10th wettest in Little Rock weather history.

If we only have average rainfall September through December, this will end up as the 12th wettest year in Little Rock weather history. Remember, October through December typically turns very wet with November the wettest month of the year according to the averages. Many may think of spring as the wettest, but not here! November barely edges April out with an average of 5.28''. 5.14'' typically falls in April.

How about snow, or the lack of snow! Sadly, this is personally sad since you know I love a good snow.

Only a trace has fallen this calendar year in Little Rock. 2019 ties 17 other years with only a Trace! If we don't receive any snow late this year, 2019 will go into the history books as one of the least snowiest years in recorded weather history. That's amazing since earlier this decade we were breaking all kinds of snowfall records.

In an average year, we have 33 tornadoes in Arkansas. We're up to 28 this year with our secondary severe weather season to go. There's a good chance we'll exceed this average. The good news... NO fatalities due to tornadoes. However, 12 have been injured.

Flash flooding has killed 3 in Arkansas so far this year. A 76 year old man died in Jackson county on February 22nd. On May 28th, a 64 year old man died in Sebastian county. Just this past Saturday, a 47 year old woman died in Fort Smith in a flash flood.

Lightning has injured 1 person in Arkansas this year. On February 19th, a man working at the Little Rock airport was struck by lightning as he was stepping off a plane.

Remember hurricane Barry? The remnant moisture brought incredible rainfall to southwest Arkansas. 16.17'' fell within a 24 hour period in Dierks. That's a state record! The 3 day total there was 16.59'' which is the most rainfall in Arkansas associated with a tropical system.

What does the rest of the year hold for us? One thing to count on! We'll be here to cover it for you!

Thanks for trusting KATV Channel 7, the Team With The Most Experience.