A slow-moving upper level low pressure system to the west of Arkansas periodically ejected smaller areas of low pressure into the state. Each of these set off some thunderstorms, and several of these storms were severe.
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 slow-moving upper level low pressure system to the west of Arkansas periodically ejected smaller areas of low pressure into the state. Each of these set off some thunderstorms, and several of these storms were severe.
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 Apr 2, 1:41 PM CST, 1 hour 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 241 PM CDT MON APR 2 2012 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT A SYSTEM ALOFT IN NORTHEAST TEXAS WILL MOVE THROUGH ARKANSAS OVERNIGHT. AN MCS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SYSTEM WILL BUILD INTO THE SOUTHWEST HALF OF THE STATE THROUGH THIS EVENING BEFORE WEAKENING AND BECOMING MORE SCATTERED. SOME STORMS COULD BE SEVERE EARLY. OTHERWISE...THE PATTERN WILL BE A LITTLE MORE ACTIVE IN THE NEAR TERM AS A CUTOFF LOW IN THE SOUTHERN PLAINS WOBBLES TOWARD ARKANSAS THROUGH THURSDAY. SURROUNDING THE SYSTEM...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE IN THE FORECAST. IT APPEARS PRECIPITATION WILL BE MOST WIDESPREAD AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM TUESDAY NIGHT/WEDNESDAY MORNING. WENT WITH LIKELY POPS DURING THIS TIME FRAME. ANOTHER ROUND OF THUNDER IS POSSIBLE MAINLY NORTH AND EAST OF LITTLE ROCK ON THURSDAY AS THE SYSTEM TRACKS ALONG THE ARKANSAS AND MISSOURI BORDER AND EVENTUALLY EXITS THE REGION. THE PERIOD WILL END WITH A BRIEF PERIOD OF COOLER/MORE SEASONABLE AIR THAT WILL BE AROUND FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD. && .LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY SLOW MOVING UPPER LOW THAT WILL BRING PRECIP DURING THE SHORT TERM PERIOD WILL HAVE MOVED TO THE SE OF AR AT THE START OF THE LONG TERM...WITH UPPER LEVEL RIDGING IN PLACE ACROSS THE CENTRAL CONUS. DRY CONDITIONS AND CLOSER TO NORMAL TEMPS WILL BE SEEN FOR FRI...WITH NW FLOW ALOFT. BY SAT...EXPECT TEMPS TO REBOUND WITH THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE SHIFTING EAST...WITH UPPER FLOW BECOMING SW. MENTION INCREASING POPS ACROSS THE NWRN COUNTIES AS COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NW LATE SAT. HOWEVER...THE MAIN ENERGY WILL REMAIN FAR TO THE NORTH AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVES ACROSS THE NRN PLAINS INTO THE GREAT LAKES REGION. THIS WILL CAUSE THE FRONT TO STALL OVER THE NRN HALF OF THE STATE FOR SUN. THIS FRONT WILL ONLY REMAIN STALLED BRIEFLY AS ANOTHER...STRONGER UPPER WAVE DIVES SE INTO THE MID MS RIVER VALLEY REGION LATE IN THE LONG TERM...PUSHING THE FRONT SOUTH OF THE STATE AT THE END OF THIS FORECAST PERIOD. WILL CONTINUE WITH AT LEAST SLIGHT CHANCE POPS THROUGH THE REST OF THE LONG TERM. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BATESVILLE AR 64 81 61 77 / 20 50 60 60 CAMDEN AR 64 82 64 79 / 50 40 60 50 HARRISON AR 61 80 58 75 / 20 50 70 50 HOT SPRINGS AR 64 81 63 78 / 50 40 60 50 LITTLE ROCK AR 64 82 63 78 / 40 40 60 50 MONTICELLO AR 65 84 64 79 / 50 40 60 50 MOUNT IDA AR 63 80 62 78 / 50 40 60 40 MOUNTAIN HOME AR 62 81 59 76 / 20 50 60 50 NEWPORT AR 64 82 61 78 / 20 50 60 60 PINE BLUFF AR 65 83 64 79 / 50 40 60 50 RUSSELLVILLE AR 63 80 61 77 / 40 50 60 50 SEARCY AR 64 81 62 78 / 30 40 60 60 STUTTGART AR 64 82 63 79 / 30 40 60 60 && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...46 / LONG TERM...62
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 1250 PM CDT MON APR 2 2012 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-031000- 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- 1250 PM CDT MON APR 2 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM NORTHEAST TEXAS INTO WESTERN LOUISIANA WILL BUILD INTO THE SOUTHWEST HALF OF ARKANSAS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME OF THE STORMS COULD BE SEVERE SOUTHWEST OF MENA AND PINE BLUFF. THE MAIN CONCERN WITH THE STORMS WILL BE STRONG TO DAMAGING WINDS. ISOLATED STORMS COULD PRODUCE QUARTER SIZE HAIL OR LARGER. STORMS WILL TEND TO WEAKEN AND BECOME MORE SCATTERED AS THEY SPREAD ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE REGION TONIGHT. THE CONCERN FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL DECREASE AS THE NIGHT PROGRESSES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A STORM SYSTEM AND COLD FRONT FROM THE PLAINS WILL APPROACH THE AREA ON TUESDAY AND GRADUALLY MOVE ACROSS ARKANSAS THROUGH LATE THURSDAY. THIS SLOW MOVING SYSTEM WILL BRING A FEW ROUNDS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION. THERE WILL BE SOME RISK OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...BUT AT THIS TIME IT IS A BIT UNCERTAIN WHEN THE BEST PERIOD WILL BE AND FUTURE FORECASTS WILL FINE TUNE THIS THREAT. THE MAIN THREATS OF ANY SEVERE STORMS WILL BE STRONG WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. ALSO SOME AREAS OF HEAVY RAIN WILL BE NOTED. THE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO FINALLY PUSH EAST OF ARKANSAS BY FRIDAY AND END THE CHANCE OF RAIN. DRY WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL RETURN ON FRIDAY...THEN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED IN THE SOUTHWEST HALF OF ARKANSAS THROUGH THIS EVENING. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS. 59/46
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 143 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:05 UTC.
11 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Several trees were blown down on Arkansas 274.
Several trees were blown down.
Lightning struck a house, setting a fire. The siding, roof line, and electrical wiring were damaged, and the house was filled with smoke.
Golf ball size hail covered the ground.
A hailstone measuring 2.25 inches was still on the ground 11 hours after it fell. At the height of the storm, the hail piled up as much as 8 inches deep.
Windows and skylights were broken at Two Rivers High School.
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: 364202, 364203, 364204, 364205, 364229, 364206, 364213, 364207, 364208, 364209, 364214, 364210, 364211, 364212.