1 PM Saturday Update... A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until 8 PM for southern Arkansas
7:30 AM Friday Update... A rare, PDS, severe thunderstorm watch, is in effect for northern Arkansas for a potent complex of storms rolling out of Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
At this point you're probably wondering what a PDS stands for. Usually, when the Storm Prediction Center is very confident about a high impact weather event, this is included in the wording to put emphasis on the concern. It stands for "Particularly Dangerous Situation." I'll keep you updated today.
1:30 PM Thursday Update... It's feeling like an Arkansas steam bath for the first time this year. The dew point is up to 71!
I thought I had problems mowing my yard. Check out the picture that came in from Watson Chapel.
Some places have already received their normal monthly rainfall and some places have doubled it. Here in Little Rock, we are 142% of normal and in North Little Rock, we are 130% of normal.
Now the bad news, more is coming. With the front in the region and more waves of low pressure, some places could see several inches more by Sunday. Some of the thunderstorms will be able to topple trees even if the winds are NOT severe strength. The ground is so saturated, expect some trees to come down and a few power outages will be possible as well.
Please keep your rain amounts coming in the comment section. Also, don't forget to send your pictures to photo@katv.com

To read more on this historic event check out this link http://tiny.cc/3urhw Make sure and watch the radar loop. Joe ~~~~~~~i is calling it a landcane.
Read what he had to say about this historic event. "Between 6 and 10 a.m. the center, full of thunderstorms passed close by to Joplin, Missouri with a 6 mb pressure fall and wind coming hard from all direction with the shift from strong southeast into the northwest with gusts close to 90. It wasn't just a burst and done, but a two-hour period that mimicked the passage of a tropical cyclone! "
His description of this weather feature mimicking a tropical cyclone is fascinating. Here is another outstanding link to see what the radar looked like as the system moved across the country. http://tiny.cc/fdRDN
The weather pattern we are in is spectacular to watch. These large thunderstorm complexes are fascinating to watch on radar. We usual don?t see these weather systems until summer time and they usual occur in the central plans with one or two occasionally effecting Arkansas. These complexes are producing strong Derecho?s. Derecho means straight in Spanish and is a widespread and long lived, violent straight-line windstorm. The winds can gust to over 100mph and can produce sustained wind over 50 mph for long period of time. Trees, roofs, and power poles can topple in these events. Mobile Homes and small structures can be heavily damaged in these events as well. It is also not uncommon to have a small tornado develop with these complexes. A Derecho can travel for hundreds of miles before they disapate. We have seen several of these over last 10 days which is very unusual.
Everyone should take a look at the one moving out of Missouri into Kentucky this afternoon. It looks like a hurricane on land. Very impressive!