The approach of a cold front triggered several severe thunderstorms in northern and central Arkansas during the afternoon and evening of the 16th. The atmosphere over Arkansas was warm, humid, and unstable at the time.
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 approach of a cold front triggered several severe thunderstorms in northern and central Arkansas during the afternoon and evening of the 16th. The atmosphere over Arkansas was warm, humid, and unstable at the time.
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 16, 11:48 AM CST, 39 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 1248 PM CDT THU AUG 16 2012 .AVIATION... RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF STORMS OVER THE PAST HOUR SUGGESTS THAT STORMS IN N AND CENTRAL AR THIS AFTERNOON WILL DEVELOP QUICKLY. FOR NOW...WENT WITH VCTS. WILL WATCH AS THE STORMS FORM AND AMD TAFS AS NECESSARY. EXPECT THAT CONVECTION WILL DIE OUT THIS EVENING AND PROBABLY WAIT UNTIL FRI AFTERNOON BEFORE SHOWING MUCH DEVELOPMENT AGAIN. PATCHY LOW CLOUDS FOR A FEW HOURS AROUND SUNRISE FRI WILL CREATE PATCHY MVFR CONDITIONS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 640 AM CDT THU AUG 16 2012/ DISCUSSION... UPDATED FOR THE 12Z TAF DISCUSSION BELOW. AVIATION... STILL EXPECT SCATTERED CONVECTION AROUND THE STATE TODAY...WITH BEST COVERAGE UP NORTH INITIALLY. HAVE TEMPO GROUPS IN NRN SITES BUT WILL STAY WITH PROB30 GROUPS FOR KHOT...KLIT...AND KPBF AS CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT A LITTLE LESS CERTAIN THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT. MAIN COLD FRONT WILL MOVE IN LATER TONIGHT FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS...AND HAVE INCLUDED VCSH TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS AT KLLQ AND KBPK 06Z ONWARD. CONDITIONS WILL BE MAINLY VFR...THOUGH STRONGER STORMS WILL LIKELY BRING BRIEF MVFR CONDITIONS. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 313 AM CDT THU AUG 16 2012/ DISCUSSION... MAIN CONCERNS THIS FORECAST CYCLE ARE CHANCES OF CONVECTION TODAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND...AND ANY CHANCES OF SEVERE STORMS. TEMPS WILL BE CLOSER TO NORMAL VALUES. WILD FIRE DANGER CONTINUES TO BE HIGH TO EXTREME DUE TO ON GOING DROUGHT. SURFACE ANALYSIS HAS THE WEAK WARM FRONT FROM AROUND KFSM TO NEAR KLIT AND SE TO AROUND KLLQ. ATMOSPHERE IS WARMER AND MORE MOIST SOUTH OF THE BOUNDARY...WHILE LESS AND COOLER NORTH. 00Z KLZK SOUNDING HAD A PRECIP WATER VALUE UP NOW TO 1.56 INCHES...WITH A SE TO SW SURFACE TO 5K FT WIND WITH WARM ADVECTION. ONLY PATCHY CLOUDS WERE SEEN THIS EARLY MORNING...WHILE SHORT WAVE ENERGY WAS MOVING OVER IA WITH CONVECTION AND OVER N TX WITH CONVECTION. SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT OVERALL A SLIGHT CHANCE OF CONVECTION THIS MORNING WITH LIMITED SHORT WAVE ENERGY OVER AR. POP CHANCES GO UP OVER NORTHERN AR IN THE AFTERNOON WITH ADDITIONAL EXPECTED SHORT WAVE ENERGY AS THE FRONT POSSIBLY LIFTS NORTH. RAISED TO SLIGHT CHANCE OVER SOUTHERN AREAS WITH MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS AND IF THE BOUNDARY STAYS OVER CENTRAL AR. BETTER CHANCES OF CONVECTION TONIGHT AND FRIDAY AS THE FRONT SAGS SE INTO AR...AND ADDITIONAL SHORT WAVE ENERGY MOVES ACROSS AR WITH THE UPPER NW FLOW. SLIGHT CHANCES OF SEVERE CONVECTION WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE FRONT AND UPPER ENERGY THIS EVENING AND INTO OVERNIGHT. WIND AND HAIL MAIN THREATS. ON FRIDAY THE FRONT IS EXPECTED SLOWLY SAG INTO CENTRAL AR WITH ADDITIONAL CONVECTION. MAIN THREAT OF ANY STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL BE ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE BOUNDARY. THE FRONT CONTINUES TO GRADUALLY SAG SOUTH TO SOUTHERN AR FRIDAY AFTERNOON TO EVENING WITH CONTINUED CONVECTION. THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO REACH NORTHERN LA TOWARD LATER SATURDAY. WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE BEHIND THE FRONT THROUGH SATURDAY DUE TO SOME UNCERTAINTY IN TIMING OF FRONT. MODELS DO DRIFT THE FRONT TO NEAR NORTHERN LA BY SUNDAY MORNING TAKING MUCH OF THE CONVECTION WITH IT. BUT ALSO DUE TO UNCERTAINTY SOME CHANCE OF RAIN WILL BE KEPT OVER PARTS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AR. TEMPS WILL BE AROUND NORMAL VALUES TO ABOVE NORMAL IN AREAS THAT SEE SUN...WHILE AREAS WITH CLOUDS AND RAIN...BELOW NORMAL. LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A MOSTLY DRY AND COOLER THAN NORMAL FORECAST REMAINS INTACT FOR THE LONG TERM. UPPER LEVEL FLOW OVER THE MID SOUTH WILL CONTINUE TO BE LARGELY OUT OF THE NORTH. WITH LACK OF MOISTURE RETURN OFF THE GULF AND NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT...THE FORECAST IS A DRY ONE. A COUPLE OF IMPULSES MOVING THROUGH THE REGION WILL PROVIDE SOME INCREASED HIGH CLOUDS BUT OVERALL MOSTLY SUNNY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BATESVILLE AR 93 67 85 61 / 20 50 50 20 CAMDEN AR 94 69 92 67 / 20 20 50 60 HARRISON AR 96 64 82 58 / 40 50 50 20 HOT SPRINGS AR 94 69 90 66 / 20 30 50 40 LITTLE ROCK AR 94 71 88 67 / 20 30 50 40 MONTICELLO AR 94 70 91 68 / 20 20 50 60 MOUNT IDA AR 94 68 91 64 / 20 30 50 40 MOUNTAIN HOME AR 95 65 83 59 / 30 50 50 20 NEWPORT AR 93 69 86 63 / 20 50 50 20 PINE BLUFF AR 93 71 89 67 / 20 30 50 50 RUSSELLVILLE AR 94 69 88 65 / 20 40 40 20 SEARCY AR 94 70 86 65 / 20 40 50 30 STUTTGART AR 94 71 88 66 / 20 30 50 50 && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && AVIATION...28
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 916 AM CDT THU AUG 16 2012 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-171015- 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- 916 AM CDT THU AUG 16 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SOME SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT...PRIMARILY...NORTHERN ARKANSAS TODAY. SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE...WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND SOME LARGE HAIL BEING THE MAIN THREATS. THESE STORMS WILL BE OUT AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT THAT WILL APPROACH THE STATE FROM THE NORTH LATER TONIGHT. MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED WITH THE FRONT OVERNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A COLD FRONT WILL HAVE MOVED INTO THE STATE DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS ON FRIDAY. THERE MAY BE A BIT OF A LULL IN THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY ALONG THE FRONT EARLY FRIDAY MORNING...HOWEVER THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD FLARE BACK UP DURING BY THE EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS. AGAIN...SOME STORMS COULD REACH SEVERE LIMITS...WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL BEING THE PRIMARY THREATS. IT APPEARS THAT THE FRONT COULD LINGER IN THE STATE INTO SATURDAY. IF THIS HAPPENS...THERE COULD BE A FEW SEVERE STORMS IN SOUTHERN ARKANSAS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... COVERAGE OF SEVERE STORMS MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TO WARRANT SPOTTER ACTIVATION. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS. 28
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 28 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:27 UTC.
9 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was blown down onto Arkansas 10.
Docks were damaged and trees were blown down.
A roof was blown off a shed.
A few trees were blown down on Arkansas 254.
Trees were blown down, with one of the trees falling on a house.
Trees were pushed over.
Two chicken houses were damaged at Wades Crossing.
Barns were damaged.
Power lines were blown down.
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, August 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: 392185, 392599, 392187, 392188, 392190, 392194, 392195, 392197, 392198, 392206.