Arkansas, 2001

Flash Flooding in Arkansas, November 28 to 29, 2001

November 28 to 29, 2001 · NWS LZK · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Heavy rains fell across much of southeast Arkansas on the evening of the 28th and continued into the early morning hours on the 29th. The rains occurred over the same areas, resulting in flash flooding.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS LZK wrote it up.

Heavy rains fell across much of southeast Arkansas on the evening of the 28th and continued into the early morning hours on the 29th. The rains occurred over the same areas, resulting in flash flooding. There were scattered reports of roads covered by water, with several roads closed until the water receded.

What forecasters said that day

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 Nov 28, 3:18 PM CST, 4 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 28, 3:18 PM CST, 4 hours 17 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
318 PM CST WED NOV 28 2001

FORECAST CONCERNS...PRECIP CHANCES...HEAVY RAIN THREAT AND TEMPS.

ANOTHER WET DAY OVER THE FA THIS AFTN. NEXT UPPER SYSTEM PRODUCING
LARGE AREA OF RAIN AND EMBEDDED TSRA OVER THE STATE. PRECIP HAS
BEGUN TO SLACKEN OFF OVER NWRN AR. LATEST SFC/MSAS DATA SHOWS
FRONTAL BOUNDARY OVER MS AND LA WHERE TEMPS HAVE SOARED WELL INTO
THE 70S. MEANWHILE...TEMPS IN THE 30S TO LOWER 40S OVER THE FA.
SUBFREEZING AIR RUNNING ALONG AND NORTH OF A KHRO-KFYV LINE.

MODELS ARE STILL IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH OVERALL TRENDS. UPPER LOW
COMING OUT OF SRN TEXAS IS PROGGED TO TRACK NEWD ACROSS AR ON
THURSDAY AND THEN LIFT INTO THE OHIO VALLEY ON FRIDAY. THIS WILL
KEEP WET WEATHER IN THE FCST THRU THURSDAY AND INTO THURSDAY NIGHT.
USED A BLEND OF THE ETA/AVN FOR THIS FCST.

APPEARS THAT THERE WILL BE A LULL IN THE RAINFALL LATER TONIGHT AND
FIRST UPPER IMPULSE LIFTS NEWD. EXPECT PRIMARY FOCUS OF HEAVIER
RAIN/SCATTERED TSRA TO BE OVER SERN AR TONIGHT CLOSER TO SFC BNDRY.
CURRENTLY HAVE A FLASH FLOOD WATCH OUT FOR TONIGHT OVER SERN AR AND
THIS STILL LOOKS GOOD. MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL STAY OVER LA
AND MS THIS EVENING. AFTER COORDINATING WITH SURROUNDING WFOS...
DECIDED TO LEAVE AR OUT OF WW 836.

TEMPS WILL BE A TOUGH CALL TONIGHT AND BEYOND. EXPECT READINGS TO
REMAIN NEARLY STEADY TO CURRENT LEVELS FOR MOST AREAS. SOME
LOCATIONS IN NRN AR STILL HOVERING AOB 32F. CALLS TO LOCAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT INDICATE NO TRAVEL PROBLEMS ATTM. WITH SOIL TEMPS STILL
RATHER WARM...FEEL THAT ICING ON ROADS WILL BE MINIMAL AND WILL LET
THE FREEZING RAIN ADVY EXPIRE AT 4 PM.

WITH UPPER SYSTEM PULLING OUT OF THE AREA THURSDAY NIGHT...RAINFALL
WILL END FROM THE S AND W. WILL LEAVE SOME LINGERING CHANCES OF RAIN
IN THURSDAY EVENING MOST AREAS...WITH CLOUDS DECREASING LATER.
EXPECT DRIER CONDITIONS ON FRIDAY WITH DRIER SWLY WIND FLOW.

IN THE EXTENDED...INCREASING SWLY FLOW WITH HOLD TEMPS UP FRIDAY
NIGHT. NEXT COLD FRONT PROGGED TO MOVE THRU THE REGION ON SATURDAY.
WITH LIMITED MOISTURE...PLAN TO KEEP THINGS DRY WITH FROPA.
MODERATING TEMPS EARLY NEXT WEEK. NEXT FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE FA
ON WED...BRINGING A CHANCE OF RAIN.

THANKS TO WFO TUL...SGF AND JAN FOR FCST COORDINATION.  ..44..

.LZK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS TONIGHT...
       ARZONES 57-63>65-67>69.

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:35 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Arkansas

When
November 28, 7:35 PM CST to November 29, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Arkansas County, Southeast Portion
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.291, -91.375 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Desha

When
November 28, 7:40 PM CST to November 29, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Desha County, Countywide
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
33.833, -91.254 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Drew

When
November 28, 7:47 PM CST to November 29, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Drew County, Countywide
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
33.589, -91.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Arkansas in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, November 2001

Sources

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: 5274023, 5274024, 5274025.