The system aloft began exiting to the north on the 21st, with rain becoming less widespread. Even so, there was plenty of residual tropical moisture making scattered storms more efficient rainmakers on the 22nd.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 episode as NWS LZK wrote it up.
The system aloft began exiting to the north on the 21st, with rain becoming less widespread. Even so, there was plenty of residual tropical moisture making scattered storms more efficient rainmakers on the 22nd.
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 Aug 22, 1:51 PM CST, 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 251 PM CDT FRI AUG 22 2008 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA ON KLZK RADAR. SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW THE SCATTERED CONVECTIONS OVER THE REGION. AN UPPER LEVEL LOW CONTINUES OVER THE DAKOTAS...AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE REMAINS OVER THE NORTHEAST U.S...AND TROPICAL STORM FAY CONTINUES TO SPIN OVER NORTH FLORIDA. A WEAK UPPER TROUGH WILL DISSIPATE OVER ARKANSAS SATURDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE OUT OF THE PLAINS SATURDAY AND STALL NEAR THE MISSOURI BORDER SUNDAY. AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL BUILD OVER THE SOUTHWEST U.S. SUNDAY AS FAY MOVES WEST ALONG THE GULF COAST. MODELS DIFFER ON THE MOVEMENT OF THE REMNANTS OF FAY. NAM IS MUCH FASTER WITH THE MOVEMENT THAN THE GFS. WILL USE THE GFS FOR NOW. FAY WILL THEN BE FORCED TO THE NORTHEAST DUE TO THE BLOCKING RIDGE TO THE WEST. WILL KEEP RAIN CHANCES LOW FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY...WITH HIGHEST POPS IN THE SOUTHEAST. WILL KEEP TUESDAY DRY FOR NOW AS THE SYSTEM SHOULD BEGIN MOVING NORTHEAST BY THEN. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN NEAR NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD. && .LONG TERM...TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY ACTIVE AND PROGRESSIVE PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH REMNANTS OF TROPICAL SYSTEM FAY CONTINUING TO BE IN THE MIX INITIALLY BEFORE ATTENTION TURNS TO A STRONG MID LEVEL TROF ADVANCING FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. MEDIUM RANGE MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT EARLY IN THE PERIOD BEFORE DIVERGING LATER ON. BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GFS AND ECWMF CONCERNS THE MOVEMENT OF THE AFOREMENTIONED PACIFIC TROF. GFS NOW GENERATING A LARGE CUT OFF LOW IN THE BASE OF THE TROF WHICH IS A MARKED DIFFERENCE VERSUS THIS TIME YESTERDAY WHILE ECMWF MAINTAINS AN OPEN WAVE AND MOVES THE ASSOCIATED FRONT THROUGH CONSIDERABLY FASTER. WITH GFS MAKING SUCH A DRASTIC CHANGE AND ECMWF REMAINING CONSISTENT...WILL TREND TOWARDS ITS SOLUTION AFTER BLENDING THE MODELS INITIALLY. PERIOD INITIATES WITH WHATS LEFT OF FAY SOMEWHERE OVER OR NEAR THE ALABAMA/MISSISSIPPI BORDER WITH HIGH PRESSURE TO ITS NORTH. MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT IN FINALLY CARRYING THIS FEATURE INTO THE OHIO VALLEY. MEANWHILE...A RATHER DEEP UPPER TROF WILL BE LOCATED OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES/WESTERN HIGH PLAINS WITH ASSOCIATED FRONTAL BOUNDARY SLICING THROUGH THE CENTRAL PLAINS. WILL NEED TO HOLD ON TO SCATTERED POPS AS FRONTAL SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH THE STATE LATE THURSDAY THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY. IF CURRENT THINKING COMES TO FRUITION...WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE SOME STRONG TO POSSIBLY SEVERE STORMS AS SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH. HIGH PRESSURE RETURNS FOR DAY SEVEN AS BROAD RIDGING RETURNS OVER THE AREA. IF GFS DOES ACTUALLY END UP VERIFYING...THEN ALL BETS ARE OFF. TEMPERATURES WILL BE CLOSE TO LATE AUGUST NORMALS ACROSS THE AREA. THIS TRANSLATES TO HIGHS FROM THE MID 80S TO LOWER 90S AND LOWS GENERALLY IN THE 60S. TEMPS MAY BE A LITTLE COOLER ON DAY 6 WITH CLOUD COVER ASSOCIATED WITH FROPA BUT OVERALL MAV/MEX NUMBERS LOOK REASONABLE. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BATESVILLE AR 70 89 70 91 / 20 20 20 20 CAMDEN AR 71 91 72 92 / 20 20 20 10 HARRISON AR 69 88 67 90 / 20 20 20 20 HOT SPRINGS AR 70 91 71 92 / 20 20 20 10 LITTLE ROCK AR 71 90 71 92 / 20 20 20 10 MONTICELLO AR 72 91 71 92 / 20 20 20 10 MOUNT IDA AR 70 91 71 92 / 20 20 20 10 MOUNTAIN HOME AR 69 88 68 90 / 20 20 20 20 NEWPORT AR 71 90 71 91 / 20 20 20 20 PINE BLUFF AR 72 90 71 92 / 20 20 20 10 RUSSELLVILLE AR 70 90 70 91 / 20 20 20 20 SEARCY AR 71 90 71 91 / 20 20 20 10 STUTTGART AR 72 90 72 92 / 30 20 20 10 && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...51 / LONG TERM...56
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 245 PM CDT FRI AUG 22 2008 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-231000- ARKANSAS-BAXTER-BOONE-BRADLEY-CALHOUN-CLARK-CLEBURNE-CLEVELAND- CONWAY-DALLAS-DESHA-DREW-FAULKNER-FULTON-GARLAND-GRANT-HOT SPRING- INDEPENDENCE-IZARD-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-LINCOLN-LOGAN-LONOKE- MARION-MONROE-MONTGOMERY-NEWTON-OUACHITA-PERRY-PIKE-POLK-POPE- PRAIRIE-PULASKI-SALINE-SCOTT-SEARCY-SHARP-STONE-VAN BUREN-WHITE- WOODRUFF-YELL- 245 PM CDT THU AUG 21 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE AREA THROUGH TONIGHT. THE COVERAGE AND INTENSITY OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL DECREASE AFTER SUNSET. THE ATMOSPHERE REMAINS SATURATED AT THIS TIME AND ANY THUNDERSTORM WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN. THIS MAY RESULT IN WATER OVER ROADS AND THE PONDING OF WATER IN LOW LAYING AREAS. FLOODING OF LOW WATER CROSSINGS IS ALSO EXPECTED. HOWEVER...WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WIDELY SCATTERED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL PERSIST IN OUR FORECAST SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY...THEN THERE WILL BE A BREAK IN THE PRECIPITATION MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. BY THE MIDDLE OF THE WORK WEEK...THERE WILL BE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS APPROACHING THE FORECAST AREA FROM THE EAST...BEING TRIGGERED BY THE REMNANTS OF FAY. NO WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS. 32/56
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 95 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:18 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Two cars stalled due to high water at the intersection of Arkansas Highway 22 and 2nd Street.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, August 2008
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: 125326.