Flooding in Arkansas, March 20, 2002

Name: Flooding in Arkansas, March 20, 2002
Start: 2002-03-20T02:00
End: 2002-03-20T16:00
Location: Arkansas

March 20, 2002 · NWS TSA · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The Arkansas River near Van Buren rose above its flood stage of 22 feet at 2 am March 20th. 0 feet at 10 am the same day.

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 TSA wrote it up.

The Arkansas River near Van Buren rose above its flood stage of 22 feet at 2 am March 20th. The river crested at 23.0 feet at 10 am the same day. The river fell below its flood stage at 4 pm the same day.

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 Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 19, 9:05 PM CST, 4 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 19, 9:05 PM CST, 4 hours 55 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
905 PM CST TUE MAR 19 2002

UPPER LOW NOTED OVER WEST TEXAS WHILE WIDESPREAD SHOWERS CONTINUE TO
MOVE ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.  00Z MESOETA
SUGGESTS HEAVY PRECIP MAY CONTINUE INTO THE EARLY MORNING
HOURS...BEFORE FINALLY SHIFTING EASTWARD TOWARD SUNRISE.  CURRENT
WATCH CONFIGURATION MAINTAINS A GOOD DEPICTION OF EXPECTED HEAVY
RAIN AXIS AND ASSOCIATED FLOODING THREAT SO NO CHANGES NEEDED.  WILL
REDUCE POPS OVER NORTHWEST ZONES IN LINE WITH RADAR
TRENDS...OTHERWISE FORECAST IN GOOD SHAPE.

FCSTID = 7

.TSA...
AR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TUESDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES
ARZ001>002...ARZ010>011...ARZ019>020...ARZ029.

OK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TUESDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES OKZ049...OKZ053...
OKZ068>076.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 19, 8:30 PM CST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
830 PM CST TUE MAR 19 2002

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0830 PM    SOPER                     OK   FLOOD
03/19/02   CHOCTAW                        HIGHWAY 70 UNDERWATER WEST
                                          OF SOPER AND NEAR BOSWELL.
                                          HIGHWAY 109 UNDERWATER AT
                                          SEVERAL LOCATIONS BETWEEN
                                          ORD AND FROGVILLE.
                                          EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
                                          REPORT.

MANNING

Event by event

2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Crawford

When: March 20, 2:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Flood, Sebastian

When: March 20, 2:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Sebastian forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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, March 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: 5286879, 5286880.