Arkansas, 2002

Flash Flooding in Arkansas, May 27, 2002

May 27, 2002 · NWS LZK · 2 events in 1 county or zone

2 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
1
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 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 May 27, 2:51 PM CST, 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 27, 2:51 PM CST, 9 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
351 PM CDT MON MAY 27 2002

LOW PRESSURE CONTINUES OVER NEW MEXICO WITH WEAK HIGH PRESSURE OVER
THE EASTERN U.S. AS A 500 MB HIGH BUILDS OVER THE SOUTHWEST U.S. ON
TUESDAY...NORTHWEST FLOW WILL INCREASE ACROSS THE STATE. THE ZONAL
FLOW WILL COME TO AN END AND A MID LEVEL TROUGH WILL SET UP OVER THE
CENTRAL PART OF THE U.S.

SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW AN MCS OVER OKLAHOMA THAT CONTINUES TO MOVE
EASTWARD TOWARD ARKANSAS. SOME THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED IN
WESTERN ARKANSAS ALONG AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY FROM PREVIOUS STORMS.

SKIES WILL BE MOSTLY CLOUDY ACROSS THE STATE TONIGHT. WESTERN
SECTIONS WILL HAVE THE BEST CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH A SHORT
WAVE MOVING THROUGH THAT AREA. NORTHWEST ARKANSAS WILL BE THE FOCUS
FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ON TUESDAY WITH ANOTHER SHORT WAVE
MOVING ACROSS THE NORTHWEST. MULTIPLE VORT MAXES WILL MOVE THROUGH
THE WESTERN HALF OF THE STATE THROUGH THURSDAY. PREFER THE DRIER ETA
OVER THE WETTER AVN BUT STILL THERE SHOULD BE PLENTY OF MOISTURE TO
WORK WITH.

WILL MAINLY STAY CLOSE TO THE FWC TEMPERATURES.

FCSTID = 51
HRO   66  84  62  85 /  30  40  30  30
LIT   66  84  62  85 /  30  40  30  30
HOT   67  82  62  81 /  30  40  40  40
PBF   68  85  65  86 /  20  30  30  30

.LZK...
AR...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 27, 10:30 AM CST, 4 hours 30 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...REPORTS FROM SUNDAY AFETRNOON
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK, AR
1130 AM CDT MON MAY 27 2002

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

0300 PM    CARTHAGE                  AR   WIND DAMAGE
05/26/02   DALLAS                         TREES DOWN ON HIGHWAY 229.
                                          REPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT

0330 PM    PINE BLUFF                AR   .75 INCH HAIL
05/26/02   JEFFERSON                      REPORTED BY PUBLIC

0405 PM    ALMYRA                    AR   .75 INCH HAIL
05/26/02   ARKANSAS                       REPORTED BY PUBLIC

0430 PM    3 W CASSCOE               AR   .75 INCH HAIL
05/26/02   ARKANSAS                       REPORTED BY PUBLIC                                       ENFORCEMENT

46
Local storm report, May 27, 10:30 AM CST, 4 hours 30 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED REPORTS FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK, AR
1130 AM CDT MON MAY 27 2002

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

0300 PM    CARTHAGE                  AR   WIND DAMAGE
05/26/02   DALLAS                         TREES DOWN ON HIGHWAY 229.
                                          REPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT

0330 PM    PINE BLUFF                AR   .75 INCH HAIL
05/26/02   JEFFERSON                      REPORTED BY PUBLIC

0405 PM    ALMYRA                    AR   .75 INCH HAIL
05/26/02   ARKANSAS                       REPORTED BY PUBLIC

0430 PM    3 W CASSCOE               AR   .75 INCH HAIL
05/26/02   ARKANSAS                       REPORTED BY PUBLIC

46

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 55 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Scott

When
May 27, 3:00 PM CST to 3:45 PM CST
Where
Scott County, 1 mi NE of Y City
Reported by
POST OFFICE
Coordinates
34.861, -94.063 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rains caused flash flooding to occur just to the northeast of Y City. Several county roads in the area were covered by high water for a short period of time.

Flash Flood, Scott

When
May 27, 3:30 PM CST to 3:35 PM CST
Where
Scott County, 18 mi WSW of Waldron
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
34.861, -94.063 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A 65 year old female was driving across a low-water crossing when the vehicle was washed off the road. Her two grandchildren were also in the car at the time but were later rescued. She got out of the car and was swept about a half mile downstream and drowned.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Flash Flood, Scott2002-05-2765FemaleIn WaterDirect

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

More

Every storm in Arkansas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, May 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: 5295902, 5295903.