Event narrative (NOAA)
Two people were in a canoe, traveling from an island on Lake Ouachita to the shore near Brady Mountain, when gusty winds and large swells caused the canoe to capsize. One person, a 20 year-old male, swam to shore, but the other person, a 19 year-old male, drowned. Wind gusts at the time were measured at 18 knots at the Hot Springs airport, about 15 miles from the scene of the accident. Winds at the airport had gusted as high as 25 knots late in the morning. The Garland County Sheriff's Office indicated that swells were about 2 1/2 feet at the time the accident occurred.
Other notable strong wind events in Arkansas
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database. Deaths and injuries are those NOAA classifies as direct. Damage is the reporting office's estimate at the time and is not inflation-adjusted. This is a catalogue record, not a forecast.