Weather in Little Rock in August

A hard month. August asks something of you. Go in knowing what. Daytime highs average 35.1 °C and the afternoon is not negotiable — outdoor plans move to early morning or evening.

August ranks 12 of 12 — near the bottom of Little Rock's year. October is the month that works, and the swing between the two is 41 points, which is a different holiday rather than a slightly better one.

Rain on 13 days, 3 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for heat management rather than style: shade, water, and a schedule that gives up on the middle of the day.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 17 days clear 35 °C, so a serious heatwave is normal rather than notable. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest August day reached 46.2 °C and the coldest night fell to 12.8 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 74 mm — roughly 69% of the month's rain in one day.

August is moderately variable: 11 mm in the driest year against 256 mm in the wettest, around an average of 107 mm. Roughly two Augusts in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 1.2 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity is unremarkable at 67%.

How August sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 35.1 °C in July, 35.1 here, 31.2 in September. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much. Rain is the thing that moves: September brings 5 days less of it, so pushing the dates later buys drier weather.

Daylight in August

13.5 hours of daylight, losing 0.9 hours across the month. That is between Little Rock's extremes of 14.5 and 9.8 hours, so days are long enough not to constrain the plan.

An inland climate

With no coast nearby, the year swings a fair way — 35.6 °C between the warmest afternoons and the coldest nights, wider than any coastal city at this latitude would manage.

How busy it gets

Off season. The genuine off season: cheapest by a distance, with the caveat that some tours and restaurants close entirely.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

August in Little Rock versus nearby

If Little Rock is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. New South Memphis is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, the same number of rain days. Shreveport is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 2 days less rain.

So: August is a compromise. October is 41 points better and is what Little Rock is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Little Rock

See all twelve months in Little Rock, or where else to go in August.