A series of heavy rainfall events occurred throughout November and early December, which kept parts of the White and Cache Rivers above flood stage through December.
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.
A series of heavy rainfall events occurred throughout November and early December, which kept parts of the White and Cache Rivers above flood stage through December.
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 Nov 30, 8:50 PM CST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 850 PM CST WED NOV 30 2011 .UPDATE... HIGH PRESSURE CONTINUES TO SLOWLY MOVE EAST INTO TENNESSEE. LIGHT SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL BRING MOISTURE SLOWLY BACK INTO ARKANSAS TONIGHT AND THURSDAY. A FEW HIGH CLOUDS WILL AFFECT NORTH ARKANSAS OVERNIGHT. ONLY UPDATED HOURLY GRIDS BASED ON OBSERVATIONS AND TRENDS. MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT. FORECAST IS ON TRACK AND NO UPDATE NEEDED. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 530 PM CST WED NOV 30 2011/ AVIATION...00Z TAF CYCLE VFR CONDS WL PREVAIL THRU THE PD. HIGH CLOUDS WL PASS ACRS THE FA FM TIME TO TIME. LGT WINDS OVERNIGHT WL BCM MAINLY SELY AT 5 TO 10 MPH ON THU. /44/ PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 250 PM CST WED NOV 30 2011/ SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT AFTER A COLD START TO THE MORNING...TEMPERATURES REBOUND NICELY ACROSS THE STATE...AS SOUTH WINDS BROUGHT WARMER AIR INTO THE REGION. AS THE HIGH SLIDES SOUTHEAST TONIGHT...COOLER TEMPERATURES WILL BE ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS...WHILE NORTHERN SITES WILL BE WARMER THAN THIS MORNING. ALL IN ALL...READINGS WILL BE IN THE UPPER 20S ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA. SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL CONTINUE THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY...BRINGING A WARMING TREND TO THE STATE...ALONG WITH MOISTURE. A WEAK FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS MISSOURI THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY...BUT WILL NOT MAKE MUCH PROGRESS INTO THE NATURAL STATE...IF ANY AT ALL. WHILE THE CLOUD COVER ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FRONT MAY REDUCE HIGHS A FEW DEGREES FRIDAY...OVERALL TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE 50S TO THE LOWER 60S. AS LARGE CUTOFF LOW ACROSS THE DESERT SOUTHWEST OPENS AND MOVES EAST FRIDAY NIGHT...SENDING THE NEXT RAIN MAKER FOR ARKANSAS EAST ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. HAVE SPED UP TIMING OF RAIN STARTING ACROSS THE STATE...BUT OTHERWISE GOING FORECAST HANDLED THE COMPLICATED SITUATION WELL. TEMPERATURES WILL BE DIFFICULT SATURDAY...AS SOUTH WINDS WILL BRING MID TO UPPER 60S TO SOUTH ARKANSAS...WHILE NORTHERN ARKANSAS MAY NOT CLIMB OUT OF THE LOWER 50S. IN REGARDS TO RAIN CHANCES...HAVE SMALL CHANCES ACROSS THE WEST SATURDAY MORNING...BUT MUCH OF THE RAINFALL WILL HOLD OFF UNTIL LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING HOURS. THE UNSETTLED CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE LONG TERM...WITH ANOTHER PROLONGED RAIN EVENT POSSIBLE. LONG TERM...SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY MEDIUM RANGE MODELS ALL CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE A RATHER UNSETTLED PERIOD WITH THE POTENTIAL OF ANOTHER...WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAIN EVENT. MODELS HAVE FALLEN INTO TWO CAMPS THIS AFTERNOON WITH THE QUICKER SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTED BY THE GFS AND THE SLOWER SUITE OF MODELS LED BY THE ECMWF. WITH SIGNIFICANT RIDGING EXPECTED OVER THE SOUTHEAST CONUS...SLOWER SOLUTION SEEMS TO MAKE SENSE AND WILL LEAN TOWARDS THE ECMWF SOLUTION THIS AFTERNOON. AFOREMENTIONED RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE LOCATED OVER THE SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES AS A STRONG...POSITIVELY TILTED... UPPER TROUGH EXTENDS ALL THE WAY FROM THE UPPER MIDWEST TO THE DESERT SOUTHWEST. NORTHERN PART OF THE TROF WILL DAMPEN OUT WITH THE SOUTHERN PART CLOSING OFF INTO AN UPPER LOW. PLENTY OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL BE IN PLACE WITH PWATS WELL OVER AN INCH ACROSS MOST OF THE STATE COME SUNDAY MORNING AND RAIN WILL LIKELY BE OCCURRING. SEVERAL PIECES OF ENERGY ARE EXPECTED TO KICK PUT OF THE ADVANCING TROUGH AND TRAVERSE THE BOUNDARY SUNDAY AND MONDAY BEFORE THE UPPER LOW FINALLY KICKS THE FRONT THROUGH. IF THE FRONT REMAINS IN ITS EXPECTED LOCATION...SEVERAL INCHES OF RAIN CAN NOT BE DISCOUNTED MAINLY SOUTH AND EAST OF A PARAGOULD TO LITTLE ROCK TO MENA LINE. OF COURSE...BEING THIS FAR OUT THE EXACT AREA THAT WILL SEE THE HEAVIEST OF THE RAIN WILL LIKELY CHANGE. THE RAIN WILL END MONDAY NIGHT/EARLY TUES WITH COOLER AND DRIER AIR COMING BEHIND THE DEPARTING FRONT. ONLY LIQUID PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. COLDER AIR DOES ARRIVE WEDNESDAY MORNING BUT ONLY AFTER THE DEEPEST MOISTURE HAS BEEN SHUNTED EAST. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BATESVILLE AR 28 53 32 54 / 0 0 0 10 CAMDEN AR 28 60 35 61 / 0 0 0 10 HARRISON AR 28 57 33 53 / 0 0 0 10 HOT SPRINGS AR 28 58 35 58 / 0 0 0 10 LITTLE ROCK AR 29 56 33 58 / 0 0 0 10 MONTICELLO AR 32 58 33 63 / 0 0 0 10 MOUNT IDA AR 26 58 36 57 / 0 0 0 10 MOUNTAIN HOME AR 26 56 32 53 / 0 0 0 10 NEWPORT AR 28 53 31 55 / 0 0 0 10 PINE BLUFF AR 32 57 33 60 / 0 0 0 10 RUSSELLVILLE AR 26 57 34 57 / 0 0 0 10 SEARCY AR 27 54 32 56 / 0 0 0 10 STUTTGART AR 29 55 32 57 / 0 0 0 10 && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && 51
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 800 AM CST WED NOV 30 2011 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-011100- 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- 800 AM CST WED NOV 30 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL SET UP OVER THE SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES BY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. MEANWHILE...A COLD FRONT WILL PUSH INTO ARKANSAS FROM THE PLAINS THIS WEEKEND. THE HIGH WILL SLOW THE PROGRESS OF THE FRONT...WITH AREAS OF RAIN DEVELOPING ACROSS THE REGION. RAIN WILL BE MOST LIKELY ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST HALF OF THE STATE FROM LATE SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. PRECIPITATION MAY CONTINUE INTO MONDAY IF THE FRONT FAILS TO EXIT THE AREA. RAIN COULD BE HEAVY AT TIMES IN THE SOUTH AND EAST...WITH AMOUNTS OVER TWO INCHES POSSIBLE. THIS WILL ALL DEPEND ON THE FRONT...AND HOW LONG IT STALLS. DETAILS WILL BECOME MORE CLEAR AS ADDITIONAL DATA IS RECEIVED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS. 46/56
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Additional heavy rainfall as well as routed water from upstream dams kept the White River at Augusta above flood stage throughout December.
Additional heavy rainfall in December as well as routed water from upstream dams kept the White River at Clarendon above flood stage throughout December.
A series of heavy rain events in November and early December caused the Cache River at Patterson to remain above flood stage throughout December.
National Weather Service employees surveyed the Cache River and observed that parts of Arkansas 37 were inundated south of Grubbs. This was during the period when the Cache River at Patterson was above major flood stage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, December 2011
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: 354261, 354262, 354263, 356650.