Several heavy rain events in late March kept multiple locations along the White River and Ouachita River above flood stage through parts of April.
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.
Several heavy rain events in late March kept multiple locations along the White River and Ouachita River above flood stage through parts of April.
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 Mar 31, 11:35 PM CST, 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATE FOR AVIATION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 1235 AM CDT SUN APR 1 2012 .AVIATION... MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED AT ALL TAFS OVERNIGHT. LIGHT MVFR FOG WILL BE SEEN AROUND CENTRAL TO SOUTHERN TAFS...WITH KM89 ISOLATED POSSIBLE IFR FOG CONDITIONS TOWARD SUNDAY MORNING. WINDS SOUTH 2 TO 5 KNOTS OVERNIGHT. ON SUNDAY...EARLY MORNING PATCHY FOG WILL DISSIPATE AFTER SUNRISE AND VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED ALL DAY. WINDS WILL BE SOUTH INCREASING TO 7 TO 18 KNOTS LATE MORNING AND INTO THE AFTERNOON. CONVECTION POTENTIAL VERY LOW DUE TO UPPER HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE BUILDING IN OVER THE AREA. TEMPERATURES WILL BE VERY WARM WITH MID TO UPPER 80S WITH A FEW 90 READINGS POSSIBLE. (59) && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 246 PM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012/ SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT RELATIVELY LITTLE CHANGE MADE TO THE SHORT TERM. UPPER RIDGING WILL BEGIN BUILDING ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. THERE IS A DECENT AMOUNT OF INSTABILITY SITUATED ACROSS ARKANSAS...BUT BELIEVE THERE IS LITTLE CHANCE OF CONVECTION DEVELOPING TONIGHT AS ATMOSPHERE REMAINS CAPPED. HAVE LEFT THE 15-20 POPS ALONG THE SOUTH AND EASTERN PARTS OF THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH EARLY EVENING...BUT WOULD BE FAIRLY SURPRISED IF ANYTHING DEVELOPED. TEMPERATURES TODAY HAVE CLIMBED INTO THE LOW TO 80S STATEWIDE THIS AFTERNOON. MOS GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SAY THERE WILL BE A 5-8 DEGREE INCREASE IN HIGHS ON SUNDAY VERSUS TODAY. IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT TEMPERATURES WILL PUSH...OR POSSIBLY EXCEED...90 DEGREES ON APRIL FIRST. IT IS ALSO HARD TO IGNORE MOS GUIDANCE...ESPECIALLY GFS MOS...WHICH HAS BEEN CALLING FOR THESE TYPE TEMPERATURES FOR THREE DAYS NOW. WITH ADMITTEDLY A BIT OF RELUCTANCE...HAVE UPPED HIGHS FOR TOMORROW TO 90 DEGREES FROM RUSSELLVILLE TO LITTLE ROCK AND SOUTHEAST TO PINE BLUFF AND MONTICELLO. ELSEWHERE HIGHS AROUND 87 DEGREES WILL BE COMMON. WILL NOT ADVERTISE ANY PRECIP TOMORROW AS BUILDING UPPER RIDGE SHOULD FIRMLY CAP THE ATMOSPHERE. MOVING ON...THE MUCH TALKED ABOUT SYSTEM FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK HAS CONTINUED...AND...I MIGHT ADD...AS EXPECTED...SLOWED DOWN IN THE MODELS. IT NO LONGER APPEARS AS IF ANY PRECIP ASSOC WITH THE CLOSED LOW WILL MAKE IT INTO ARKANSAS ON MONDAY AT ALL. THE UPPER TROUGH THAT WILL EVENTUALLY CUTOFF TO FORM THIS CLOSED LOW IS STILL SITUATED OFF THE PACIFIC NW COASTLINE THIS AFTERNOON. I IMAGINE ONCE THIS TROUGH COMES ON SHORE TOMORROW...THAT THE AGREEMENT AMONGST NUMERICAL MODELS WILL IMPROVE CONSIDERABLY AND THE TIMING WILL BE BETTER HANDLED. HAVE INCREASED POPS GRADUALLY AFTER MIDNIGHT MONDAY NIGHT...LIMITING THEM TO ABOUT 40 PERCENT ON TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT TO ACCOUNT FOR PROBABLE TIMING CHANGES OVER THE NEXT 2-3 MODEL RUNS. ONCE BETTER AGREEMENT IS SEEN IN THE MODELS...THE CONFIDENCE TO INCREASE POPS TO LIKELY OR EVEN CATEGORICAL LEVELS WILL ARISE AND MORE DEFINITIVE DECISIONS REGARDING TIMING/AREAL COVERAGE OF PRECIP WILL BE MADE. AGAIN...EXPECT THIS TO OCCUR WITH THE AFTERNOON PACKAGE ON SUNDAY. ON A SIDE NOTE...BECAUSE OF THE DELAYED TIMING...HAVE INCREASED HIGHS ON MONDAY. TEMPS WILL NOT BE AS WARM AS WHAT THE REGION SEES TOMORROW...BUT SHOULD ONLY BE 1-3 DEGREES COOLER...STILL IN THE MID TO UPPER 80S. OBVIOUSLY TUESDAY WILL BE COOLER WITH INCREASING CLOUDS AND RAIN CHANCES...GENERALLY THE UPPER 70S TO AROUND 80. REGARDING SEVERE WEATHER WITH THIS EVENT EARLY NEXT WEEK...SEVERE WEATHER CHANCES ARE A BIT LOWER THAN THEY SEEMED YESTERDAY. AS THIS LOW APPROACHES THERE WILL BE WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ON TUE. IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE THAT SOME OF THEM WILL BE SEVERE...BUT THE CHANCES FOR WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER APPEAR LOW AT THIS POINT. LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THE UPPER RIDGE WILL BE SLOW TO BREAK DOWN NEXT WEEK. BY WEDNESDAY AN UPPER LOW WILL BE IN THE PLAINS AND THE RIDGE WILL BE MOVING INTO THE EASTERN U.S. THE UPPER LOW IS EXPECTED TO TRACK NORTH OF ARKANSAS THURSDAY AND ANOTHER RIDGE BUILDS OVER ARKANSAS THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH ARKANSAS WEDNESDAY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE FRONT MOVES INTO ALABAMA BY THURSDAY. HOWEVER THERE WILL BE ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY ACROSS THE NORTH SECTIONS OF THE STATE THURSDAY ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER LOW. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN FOR FRIDAY WITH A POSSIBLE WEAK COLD FRONT ON SATURDAY. WILL MENTION A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FOR SATURDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL BE ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD. && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 920 PM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-011000- 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- 920 PM CDT SAT MAR 31 2012 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...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A MUCH LARGER STORM SYSTEM WILL DEVELOP IN THE SOUTHERN PLAINS FOR THE BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING A COLD FRONT TOWARDS THE REGION TUESDAY. WHILE THE SYSTEM IS SEVERAL DAYS AWAY...THERE WILL BE AT LEAST SMALL CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS...AND IT APPEARS SOME STORMS COULD BE STRONG. .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. 58/63
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Ouachita River at Camden was on its way down from heavy rainfall in late March.
Heavy rainfall at the end of March pushed the White River at Augusta above flood stage through the 20th of April.
Heavy rainfall at the end of March pushed the White River at Georgetown above flood stage through the 8th of April.
Heavy rainfall at the end of March pushed the White River at Clarendon above flood stage through the 21st of April.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, April 2012
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: 370737, 370740, 370741, 370745.