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 Mar 17, 2:50 PM CST, 1 hour 28 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 250 PM CST SUN MAR 17 2002 FORECAST CONCERNS: WARM FRONT MOVEMENT/POPS...TEMPS AND HEAVY RAINFALL POTENTIAL MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. ITS THE TALE BETWEEN TWO AIRMASSES THIS AFTN...WITH WARM FRONT LOCATED VCNTY EXTREME SERN AR ATTM. BAND OF ELEVATED SHRA/TSRA CONTINUES TO SHIFT SLOLY NWD AS WELL AND HAS WORKED INTO CNTRL AR. CLOUDS HAVE BROKEN OVER NRN AR. TEMPS RUNNING IN THE 40S AND 50S NORTH OF THE BNDRY...WITH LOWER 80S INTO NWRN LA MODELS REMAIN IN DECENT AGREEMENT TODAY WITH OVERALL TRENDS FOR THIS FCST. THEY HAVE TRENDED TOWARDS A SLOWER PROGRESSION AS FAR AS THE UPPER TROF COMING OUT OF THE SWRN STATES. BEFORE THAT OCCURS...SWLY FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO DIRECT SEVERAL SHORTWAVES ACRS THE FA THE NEXT TWO DAYS...RESULTING IN PERSISTENT PRECIP CHANCES. ALSO... THE MODELS NOW FOCUSING HEAVY RAINFALL THREAT FOR MUCH OF WRN AND NRN AR STARTING LATE TOMORROW THRU TUESDAY. AGAIN WENT WITH THE ETA AND AVN SOLUTIONS FOR THIS FCST. FOR TNGT...RAIN CHANCES WILL BE FOCUSED ALONG AND N OF THE WARM FRONT...SO WILL HAVE HIGHEST POPS CNTRL AND SRN ZONES. MAY PLACE A SMALL POP OVER NRN ZONES FOR CONTINUITY...BUT NOTHING MORE THAN 20% PLANNED. EXPECT SOME COOLING OVER NRN AR THIS EVENING WITH LIMITED CLOUD COVER. CNTRL AND SRN AR WILL LIKELY SEE STEADY OR RISING TEMPS OVERNIGHT...ESPECIALLY SOUTH OF THE WARM FRONT. COULD ALSO SEE SOME LOCALIZED FLOODING LATER THIS EVENING IF RAIN AXIS STALLS OUT. HOWEVER...WITH UNCERTAINTY OF BNDRY PROGRESSION AND FFG VALUES RUNNING ARND 2 INCHES/3 HOURS...PLAN NO FFA ATTM. WARM FRONT PROGGED TO CONTINUE DRIFTING NWD MONDAY INTO TUESDAY AND SITUATE ITSELF ALONG THE EDGE OF THE OUACHITA/OZARKS BY MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. THIS WILL SET THE STAGE FOR HEAVY RAINFALL FOR LOCATIONS NORTH OF THE BNDRY. FEEL THAT PRIMARY THREAT OF FLOODING WILL BE DURING THE 3RD AND 4TH PERIODS...SO WILL NOT HEADLINE WITH A FFA ATTM...BUT WILL MENTION LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS. LATER SHIFTS WILL LIKELY HAVE TO CONSIDER POSTING A FF WATCH. TEMPS THROUGHOUT THIS FCST WILL BE A MAJOR HEADACHE. PLAN TO USE A BLEND OF NGM AND AVN MOS TEMPS FOR HIGHS. MOS LOWS LOOK REASONABLE MOST AREAS BASED ON FRONTAL POSITION. IN THE EXTENDED...UPPER TROF IS PROGGED TO LIFT OF THE SWRN STATES AND MOVES THRU THE REGION ON WEDNESDAY. ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP THRU TUESDAY AND EARLY TUESDAY NIGHT...BRINGING AND END TO THE RAIN CHANCES. DRY WEATHER FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. A PIECE OF ARCTIC AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE FA LATE IN THE WEEK. COULD SEE SOME SMALL RAIN CHANCES ALONG FROPA...BUT CONFIDENCE IN LONGER RANGE PROGS STILL NOT HIGH. THANKS TO WFO/S TUL AND SGF FOR FCST COORDINATION THIS AFTN. ..44.. .LZK...NONE.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding over the southern portion of Jefferson County. A number of roads were covered by high water. Several families had to be evacuated from their homes due to the high water in and around Pine Bluff.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, March 2002
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: 5286955.