Winter Storm in Arkansas, December 3 to 4, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Arkansas, December 3 to 4, 2002
Start: 2002-12-03T22:00
End: 2002-12-04T12:00
Location: Arkansas

December 3 to 4, 2002 · NWS LZK · 15 events in 15 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $3.7 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 15

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.

A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain starting falling on the afternoon of the 3rd over parts of north-central Arkansas. The precipitation gradually overspread the rest of the area by that evening and continued through the morning hours of the 4th. Snowfall accumulations of 1 to 3 inches were common over north-central Arkansas, with locally higher amounts between 3 and 5 inches in the higher elevations. Farther to the south and east in northern Arkansas, snow became less common and freezing rain and sleet predominated. A major ice storm occurred with total ice accumulations ranging from 1/4 inch up to near 1 inch. Roads were snow and ice covered and hazardous during the event with numerous traffic accidents reported. Power outages were widespread due to the weight of snow and ice on tree limbs and power lines. Approximately 50,000 customers lost power at the height of the storm. Twelve counties in the Little Rock County Warning Area were declared disaster areas due to the ice, with the cleanup cost estimated around 4 million dollars.

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 3, 9:30 PM CST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 3, 9:30 PM CST, 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
930 PM CST TUE DEC 3 2002

...NO CHANGES THIS EVENING...

WINTER WEATHER SCENARIO CONTINUES TO PLAY OUT THIS EVENING.
LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS PLACES NEARLY STATIONARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY
ACROSS CENTRAL LOUISIANA WITH LOW PRESSURE TRYING TO FORM OVER SOUTH
CENTRAL TEXAS. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY CLEARING SHOWING UPPER LEVEL LOW
OVER NORTHERN NEW MEXICO.

MIXED PRECIPITATION CONTINUES IN THE WARNING AREA BUT NO REPORTS OF
SIGNIFICANT ICING HAVE BEEN RECEIVED. WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORT SOME
MINOR ICING OF TREE LIMBS AND EXPOSED SURFACES IN THE WARNING AREA.

PRECIPITATION HAD BEEN HARD TO GET GOING ACROSS PARTS OF THE
NORTHEAST WITH LOW LEVEL DRY AIR BUT PRECIP HAS INITIATED THERE AS
WELL. DRY SLOT OVER SOUTHERN ARKANSAS NOW FILLING IN AS UPPER LEVEL
JET APPROACHES THE REGION. STILL EXPECTING THE SURFACE LOW TO
STRENGTHEN AND TRAVERSE THE FRONT WITH WIDESPREAD PRECIP CONTINUING
ACROSS THE AREA.

QUICK PEEK AT THE MODELS SUPPORTS CURRENT FORECAST AND SEE NO
CHANGES. MODEL SOUNDINGS SUPPORT FREEZING RAIN EVENT OVER THE NORTH
AND JUST A COLD RAIN ELSEWHERE. TEMPERATURES ARE HOVERING A FEW
DEGREES ABOVE FREEZING OVER PARTS OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS BUT STILL
EXPECTING THEM TO REMAIN ABOVE FREEZING. STEADY PRECIP MAY END A
LITTLE EARLIER ON WEDNESDAY THAN MODELS ARE SUGGESTING AS SHARP
DRYING SEEN ON WATER VAPOR OVER CENTRAL TEXAS. WITH UPPER LEVEL
SUPPORT STILL HAVING TO PUSH THROUGH ON WEDNESDAY...PRECIP MAY BE
MORE SCATTERED IN NATURE BUT WILL LET CURRENT WORDING RIDE FOR NOW.

FCSTID =   56

.LZK...
AR...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR
ZONES ARZ003>007...ARZ012>016...ARZ023>025.

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 3, 9:45 PM CST, 15 minutes before

ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-041100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
945 PM CST TUE DEC 3 2002

...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR NORTHERN ARKANSAS TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY
MORNING...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

A WINTER STORM WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE REMAINDER OF TONIGHT INTO
WEDNESDAY FOR NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL ARKANSAS. A COLD FRONT
MOVED ACROSS ARKANSAS LAST NIGHT AND INTRODUCED MUCH COLDER AIR TO
THE NATURAL STATE. SURFACE LOW PRESSURE CONTINUES TO FORM IN SOUTH
TEXAS. THIS LOW WILL LIFT OUT AND TRAVEL ALONG A STALLED OUT SURFACE
FRONT...CURRENTLY SITUATED ACROSS CENTRAL LOUISIANA AND THE
SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES. THIS LOW WILL FORCE MOISTURE LADEN AIR UP
AND OVER THE COLD SURFACE AIR WITH THE WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION
CONTINUING. WITH TEMPERATURES HOLDING JUST BELOW FREEZING ACROSS
NORTH ARKANSAS...THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE IN THE FORM OF A WINTRY
MIX WITH SIGNIFICANT ICING POSSIBLE. THE PRECIPITATION MAY END
BRIEFLY TONIGHT BEFORE STARTING UP ONCE AGAIN.

SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS OF FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET ARE FORECAST
ACROSS THE NORTH. DRIVING WILL UNDOUBTEDLY BECOME HAZARDOUS...AND
THERE COULD BE ENOUGH ICE TO DAMAGE TREES AND POWER LINES.

THROUGH THE CENTRAL PART OF THE STATE...EXPECTATIONS ARE FOR A COLD
RAIN. SOME SLEET COULD BE MIXED IN AT TIMES TOWARDS MORNING. IN THE
SOUTH...RAIN AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST. RAIN COULD BE
HEAVY AT TIMES WITH LOCALIZED AMOUNTS EXCEEDING TWO INCHES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

WINTRY PRECIPITATION WILL CONTINUE OVER NORTHERN ARKANSAS WEDNESDAY
BEFORE THE SYSTEM ELECTS INTO THE SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES. THE
PRECIPITATION WILL TAPER OFF DURING THE MORNING AND MAY END AS A
BRIEF PERIOD OF SNOW. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF AN INCH OR TWO ARE
POSSIBLE. A MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SLEET WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE
CENTRAL SECTIONS DURING THE MORNING HOURS WITH THE PRECIPITATION
BECOMING MORE SCATTERED DURING THE AFTERNOON. RAIN AND A FEW
THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE MAJORITY OF THE DAY OVER THE
SOUTH. FLURRIES WILL BE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS THE UPPER LEVEL
SUPPORT FOR THIS STORM SYSTEM SWEEPS THROUGH.

DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED DURING MOST OF THE REST OF THE WEEK. A
CHANCE OF SHOWERS WILL BE IN THE FORECAST FOR THE WEEKEND.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

56

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

15 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Boone

When: December 3, 10:00 PM CST to December 4, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Boone forecast zone
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

Winter Storm, Newton

When: December 3, 10:00 PM CST to December 4, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Newton forecast zone
Property damage: $290,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

Winter Storm, Van Buren

When: December 3, 10:00 PM CST to December 4, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Van Buren forecast zone
Property damage: $380,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

Winter Storm, Marion

When: December 3, 11:00 PM CST to December 4, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Marion forecast zone
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 36.268, -92.684 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Searcy

When: December 3, 11:00 PM CST to December 4, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Searcy forecast zone
Property damage: $245,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

Winter Storm, Cleburne

When: December 3, 11:00 PM CST to December 4, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Cleburne forecast zone
Property damage: $920,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 35.538, -92.027 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Stone

When: December 4, 12:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: Stone forecast zone
Property damage: $360,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 35.860, -92.157 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Baxter

When: December 4, 1:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: Baxter forecast zone
Property damage: $110,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 36.287, -92.337 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Fulton

When: December 4, 1:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: Fulton forecast zone
Property damage: $136,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 36.382, -91.818 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Izard

When: December 4, 1:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: Izard forecast zone
Property damage: $130,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 36.095, -91.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sharp

When: December 4, 1:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: Sharp forecast zone
Property damage: $190,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 36.161, -91.480 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Independence

When: December 4, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: Independence forecast zone
Property damage: $220,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 35.742, -91.570 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jackson

When: December 4, 3:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Property damage: $430,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 35.599, -91.215 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, White

When: December 4, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: White forecast zone
Property damage: $270,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 35.256, -91.745 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Woodruff

When: December 4, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: Woodruff forecast zone
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 35.186, -91.243 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arkansas in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5324736, 5324821, 5324824, 5324818, 5324822, 5324825, 5324823, 5324819, 5324820, 5324826, 5324827, 5324828, 5324829, 5324830, 5324831.