Flash Flood, Arkansas
- When
- December 23, 8:20 PM CST to December 24, 2:30 AM CST
- Where
- Arkansas County, Countywide
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 34.291, -91.375 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flooding in Arkansas, December 23 to 24, 2002
Heavy rains fell over parts of southeast Arkansas and produced flash flooding. Rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches were common, with the ground already saturated from precipitation earlier in the month.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 over parts of southeast Arkansas and produced flash flooding. Rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches were common, with the ground already saturated from precipitation earlier in the month. A number of roads throughout Arkansas and Desha Counties were covered by high water for several hours. Portions of some roadways were also washed out.
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 Dec 23, 6:30 PM CST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 23, 6:30 PM CST, 1 hour 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 630 PM CST MON DEC 23 2002 QUICK UPDATED ISSUED TO CORRECT THE WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE. MESSAGE REWORDED TO WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY AS OPPOSED TO SNOW ADVISORY TO BETTER REFLECT CURRENT TRENDS. .LZK... AR...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES ARZ003>006... ARZ012>013. FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES ARZ056>057...ARZ062>069. SNOW ADVISORY FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES ARZ007...ARZ014>016...ARZ023>024. 56
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 23, 12:15 PM CST, 8 hours 5 minutes before
ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-241100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 1215 PM CST MON DEC 23 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... RAIN WILL OVERSPREAD ARKANSAS TODAY FROM SOUTH TO NORTH. ALONG THE NORTHERN EDGE OF THE PRECIPITATION...A BAND OF SLEET IS EXPECTED. IN NORTHERN ARKANSAS...PRECIPITATION WILL START OFF AS SNOW BEFORE CHANGING BACK TO RAIN. IN SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF THE STATE...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NOTED. LATER TONIGHT...COLDER AIR WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE STATE FROM THE NORTH. RAIN WILL CHANGE TO SNOW IN NORTHERN ARKANSAS...WITH SEVERAL INCHES OF ACCUMULATION POSSIBLE. FARTHER SOUTH INTO CENTRAL ARKANSAS...MOISTURE WILL BE LIMITED BY THE TIME THE COLD AIR ARRIVES...SO ONLY A FEW SNOW FLURRIES ARE IN THE FORECAST. IN THE SOUTH...RAIN MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES TONIGHT...WITH FLASH FLOODING POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... A CHANCE OF SNOW WILL LINGER INTO TUESDAY MORNING FOR NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ARKANSAS...WITH LITTLE ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION EXPECTED. ANOTHER DISTURBANCE WILL BRING A CHANCE OF FLURRIES ON THURSDAY. OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH SUNDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT IN SOUTH ARKANSAS FOR FLOODING CONCERNS...AND MAY BE REQUIRED TONIGHT IN NORTH ARKANSAS FOR WINTER WEATHER CONCERNS. 54
The radar
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:21 UTC.
Event by event
2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash Flood, Desha
- When
- December 23, 9:30 PM CST to December 24, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Desha County, Countywide
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 33.833, -91.254 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, December 23, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, December 23, 2002
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, December 23, 2002
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Mississippi, December 23 to 24, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, December 23, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Louisiana, December 23, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Texas, December 23, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Oklahoma, December 23, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Kansas, December 23 to 24, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Texas, December 23 to 24, 2002
- Winter Storm in Arkansas, December 23 to 24, 2002
- Hail in Texas, December 23, 2002
More
Every storm in Arkansas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, December 2002
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: 5324835, 5324836.