Arkansas, 2003

Flash Flood in Arkansas, June 12, 2003

June 12, 2003 · NWS LZK · 1 event in 1 county or zone

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

Where it happened

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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 Jun 12, 2:55 AM CST, 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 12, 2:55 AM CST, 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
355 AM CDT THU JUN 12 2003

LOTS OF RAIN OVERNIGHT ACROSS SOUTHERN ARKANSAS...WITH WIDESPREAD
FLASH FLOODING. WEAKENING BOW ECHO HEADING INTO WESTERN SECTIONS OF
THE STATE EARLY THIS MORNING. THE BOW WILL ACT AS THE BACK EDGE OF
PRECIPITATION...WITH RAIN PRETTY MUCH ENDING FROM WEST TO EAST THIS
MORNING. RAIN WILL NOT END FOR LONG.

LOOKS LIKE WEATHER PATTERN WILL NOT CHANGE MUCH IN THE COMING DAYS.
SYSTEMS ALOFT FROM PLAINS WILL TAP INTO MOIST/UNSTABLE AIR ACROSS
ARKANSAS...WITH SEVERAL PERIODS OF SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE
WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK.

APPEARS THAT STORMS WILL BRING SPOTTY SEVERE WEATHER AT TIMES.
ALSO...PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES OVER 1.50 INCHES. THIS WILL MAKE
STORMS MORE EFFICIENT RAIN PRODUCERS...AND FLASH FLOODING CERTAINLY
A POSSIBILITY. WILL HAVE TO MONITOR INCOMING SYSTEMS FOR PLACEMENT
OF FLASH FLOOD WATCHES IF NECESSARY.

OTHERWISE...TYPICAL SPRING-LIKE PATTERN WITH LATE NIGHT/MORNING
THUNDER FOLLOWED BY CLEARING/WARMING IN THE AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES
FAIRLY TYPICAL FOR MID-JUNE...WITH DAYTIME READINGS IN 80S/NEAR 90
WITH MID 60S/LOWER 70S AT NIGHT.

FCSTID =   46
HRO   84  68  83  66 /  60  50  50  40
LIT   88  71  88  71 /  70  40  50  40
HOT   88  71  88  70 /  60  50  50  40
PBF   88  72  88  72 /  70  30  40  40

.LZK...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 11, 1:30 PM CST, 13 hours 40 minutes before
ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-121000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
230 PM CDT WED JUN 11 2003

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING
HOURS ACROSS SOUTHERN ARKANSAS. A FEW OF THE STORMS COULD BRIEFLY
REACH SEVERE LEVELS.

A FRONTAL SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO STALL NEAR THE ARKANSAS AND MISSOURI
BORDER TONIGHT. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP
NEAR THE FRONT...WITH PRECIPITATION MAINLY AFFECTING THE NORTHERN
HALF OF THE STATE. STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE MOST ACTIVE AFTER
MIDNIGHT...WITH A FEW STORMS POSSIBLY BECOMING SEVERE.

LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT. THE
ATMOSPHERE IS VERY MOIST...AND THIS WILL ALLOW STORMS TO PRODUCE
RAINFALL MORE EFFICIENTLY. ONE TO TWO INCHES OF RAIN MAY OCCUR IN
LESS THAN AN HOUR IN SOME CASES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THIS PATTERN OF UNSETTLED WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR
SEVERAL MORE DAYS. THE STALLED FRONT NEAR THE ARKANSAS AND MISSOURI
BORDER WILL MEANDER FOR COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE MOVING TO THE NORTH.
YET ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE PLAINS OVER THE
WEEKEND BEFORE STALLING ACROSS THE REGION. GIVEN THE PATTERN...
CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS ARE MENTIONED IN THE FORECAST THROUGH
EARLY NEXT WEEK.

SPOTTY SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED IN THE COMING DAYS...WITH
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS THE PRIMARY THREATS. LOCALLY HEAVY
RAIN IS ALSO LIKELY...WITH FLASH FLOODING POSSIBLE IN SOME AREAS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TONIGHT...WITH SEVERE WEATHER
POSSIBLE MAINLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF ARKANSAS.

44

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 141 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:08 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Pike

When
June 12, 3:10 AM CST to 4:10 AM CST
Where
Pike County, Newhope
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.164, -93.656 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rains caused some flooding to occur along U.S. Highway 70 at Newhope.

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 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, June 2003

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: 5362925.