1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Little Rock, AR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 22, 1:57 PM CST, 6 hours 3 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 157 PM CST SAT DEC 22 2001 HEAVY RAIN HAS NOT YET MATERIALIZED OVER THE CWFA. PERSISTENT BAND OF RAIN HAS PRODUCED ABOUT A THIRD OF AN INCH AT THE LITTLE ROCK AIRPORT...HERE AT THE OFFICE...AND AT SEARCY. NO HEAVIER AMOUNTS SEEN YET...BUT THE COLD FRONT IS STILL WEST OF THE CWFA AS OF THIS TYPING. DEEPEST MOISTURE IS STILL OVER LA AND TX...WITH VALUES INCREASING THROUGH TIME OVER AR. SATELLITE LOOP SHOWS CLOUD TOP COOLING OCCURRING IN SEVERAL SMALL AREAS OF WEAK CONVECTION. COLDEST CLOUD TOPS REMAIN OVER SABINE RIVER SOUTH OF SHREVEPORT. PREFRONTAL TROUGH APPROACHING THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF AR AT THIS TIME...WITH COLD FRONT NOT LAGGING FAR BEHIND. WINDS HAVE BEEN GUSTING 25-35 MPH FOR ABOUT TWO HOURS BEHIND THE FRONT AS IT CROSSES OK. WITH PARENT LOW LIFTING NORTH...STRONGEST WINDS SHOULD SKIRT NORTHERN AR...WITH A GREATER THREAT FARTHER NORTH. WILL KEEP LAKE CAUTION STATEMENTS GOING IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF NORTHWEST AR ON SUNDAY...WITH NO NEED FOR LAKE WIND ADVISORIES ANTICIPATED. WRAPAROUND CLOUDS IN COLD ADVECTION REGIME SHOULD KEEP SKIES PARTLY CLOUDY OVER MUCH OF THE CWFA SUNDAY...WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF THE SOUTHERNMOST ZONES...WHICH MAY NOT SEE THE CLOUDS. BIGGEST FORECAST ISSUE REMAINS THE COLD WEATHER BEHIND THE FRONT. MEX GUIDANCE NUMBERS JUST KEEP GETTING LOWER AND LOWER EACH RUN. AVN LOW LEVEL THICKNESS FORECASTS REMAIN VERY LOW. WILD CARDS IN THE TEMP FORECAST ARE LIKELY TO BE WINDS AND CLOUDS. CENTER OF GIANT CANADIAN ANTICYCLONE IS NOT FORECAST TO GET THIS FAR SOUTH DURING THE EXTENDED PERIOD...SO WINDS MAY NOT GO CALM ON ANY NIGHT. CLOUDS ARE CERTAIN TO BE ZIPPING BY AT LEAST OCCASIONALLY IN FAST CYCLONIC FLOW...BUT TIMING THE INDIVIDUAL SHORTWAVES BECOMES NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE AT LONGER TIME RANGES IN FAST FLOW. CONFIDENCE IN XMAS FLURRIES FORECAST FOR FAR NORTH ARKANSAS HAS EVAPORATED AND WILL BACK OUT OF IT. NOGAPS ENSEMBLE FORECAST...WHICH HAS DEMONSTRATED MUCH BETTER RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY THAN THE OPERATIONAL MRF LATELY...SAYS NO PRECIP UNTIL 2002. FIRST PERIOD CLOUDS AND POPS WILL BE HEAVILY BIASED TOWARD LAST MINUTE SATELLITE AND RADAR TRENDS. .LZK...NONE. 54
ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-231000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 400 PM CST SAT DEC 22 2001 ...COLD WEATHER COMING TO ARKANSAS... A COLD FRONT WAS ENTERING NORTHWEST ARKANSAS SATURDAY EVENING. THIS FRONT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE STATE OVERNIGHT...DROPPING TEMPERATURES BACK TO NEAR SEASONAL NORMALS. HOWEVER...SEVERAL REINFORCING SHOTS OF COLD AIR WILL INVADE ARKANSAS THROUGH CHRISTMAS DAY...BRINGING THE COLDEST AIR SINCE THE FIRST WEEK OF 2001. BY THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS...LOW TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 10 TO 15 DEGREES IN NORTH ARKANSAS...TO NEAR 20 DEGREES IN SOUTH ARKANSAS. DAYTIME HIGHS WILL ONLY REACH 25 TO 30 DEGREES IN NORTH ARKANSAS...AND 35 TO 40 DEGREES IN SOUTH ARKANSAS. PARTS OF NORTH ARKANSAS MAY REMAIN BELOW FREEZING FOR AS MUCH AS FOUR DAYS. EXTREMELY COLD TEMPERATURES SUCH AS THESE CAN BURST UNPROTECTED WATER PIPES...AND CAN KILL PEOPLE OR ANIMALS WITHOUT ADEQUATE SHELTER. PEOPLE IN ARKANSAS SHOULD TAKE PROTECTIVE MEASURES AGAINST THE UPCOMING COLD WEATHER. INSULATE WATER PIPES...KEEP FAUCETS DRIPPING DURING EXTREME COLD...AND LEAVE THE HEAT ON IN THE HOUSE IF YOU GO ON VACATION. BE SURE PETS AND LIVESTOCK HAVE PLENTY OF FOOD AND SHELTER...AND CHECK ON FAMILY MEMBERS OR NEIGHBORS WHO MAY NOT HAVE ADEQUATE HEAT. THE ELDERLY...THE VERY YOUNG...AND THE SICK ARE ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE TO HYPOTHERMIA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL TELEVISION OR RADIO STATIONS...OR YOUR CABLE TELEVISION PROVIDER FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION FROM YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 147 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:57 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding over parts of Drew County. Highway 35 between Monticello and Dermott was covered by high water for several hours.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, December 2001
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5275556.