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 19, 3:59 PM CST, 3 hours 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 359 PM CST TUE MAR 19 2002 RAIN TAPERED OFF A BIT IN NORTHERN/WESTERN ARKANSAS THIS AFTERNOON...BUT FLASH FLOODING HAS ALREADY OCCURRED. SEVERAL COUNTY ROADS COVERED BY WATER NORTH OF WALDRON...RUSSELLVILLE AND MELBOURNE...WITH SOME ROADS IMPASSABLE. MORE RAIN TO COME TONIGHT. FRONTAL BOUNDARY REMAINS PARKED OVER SOUTHERN ARKANSAS...WITH A HUGE TEMPERATURE CONTRAST ACROSS THE FRONT. READINGS IN THE LOWER 50S ACROSS NORTHWEST ARKANSAS...BUT IN THE LOWER 80S IN THE SOUTHEAST. WARMTH/MOISTURE BEING THROWN OVER THE BOUNDARY...WITH WIDESPREAD RAIN ON THE COOL SIDE OF THE FRONT. STORM SYSTEM WILL DEVELOP TO THE SOUTHWEST ALONG THE FRONT TONIGHT... WITH THE SYSTEM FURTHER FOCUSING HEAVY RAIN ALONG AND NORTH OF THE STALLED BOUNDARY. IT APPEARS THAT THE FRONT WILL DRIFT SLOWLY SOUTH OVERNIGHT...WITH HEAVY RAIN DEVELOPING OVER MUCH OF THE STATE EXCEPT FOR MAYBE THE SOUTHEAST. HEAVIEST RAIN OVERNIGHT WILL BE ACROSS WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS IN AREAS LIKE MENA AND MOUNT IDA...WHERE OVER 4 INCHES OF RAIN MAY FALL. FLASH FLOOD WATCH WILL BE POSTED OVERNIGHT FOR MOST OF ARKANSAS EXCEPT FOR THE SOUTHEAST. ON WEDNESDAY...STORM SYSTEM WILL SLOWLY EXIT THE REGION TO THE EAST...WITH RAIN ENDING FROM NORTH TO SOUTH. A SECONDARY COLD FRONT WILL ARRIVE THURSDAY FROM THE NORTH...WITH A SHOT OF ARCTIC AIR TO END THE WEEK. BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES LIKELY THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY NIGHT ACROSS ARKANSAS. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD ACROSS THE STATE FROM THE NORTH BEHIND THE FRONT...WITH DRY WEATHER IN THE FORECAST THURSDAY THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEKEND. THE HIGH WILL MOVE EAST THIS WEEKEND...WITH A CLOCKWISE FLOW PRODUCING A SOUTHERLY WIND AND A BIG WARMUP. BY EARLY NEXT WEEK...THE SOUTHERLY WIND WILL BRING MORE MOISTURE AND A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY/TUESDAY. FCSTID = 46 HRO 43 51 39 51 / 100 60 0 10 LIT 53 57 41 62 / 100 80 20 10 HOT 52 58 41 62 / 100 70 20 10 PBF 55 59 43 64 / 100 80 30 10 .LZK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES ARZ003>007...ARZ012>016...ARZ021>025...ARZ030>034...ARZ037>047... ARZ052>056...ARZ062...ARZ066.
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 66 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:22 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rains caused flash flooding to occur over a large part of White County. Between 1 and 3 inches of rain fell over the county resulting in numerous roads to be flooded for several hours.
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: 5287049.