A cold front moving through Arkansas sparked a few severe thunderstorms on the 17th.
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 cold front moving through Arkansas sparked a few severe thunderstorms on the 17th.
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 17, 9:44 AM CST, 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 1044 AM CDT FRI AUG 17 2012 .UPDATE... 15Z SURFACE ANALYSIS INDICATES THE COLD FRONT HAS REACHED A LINE FROM MOUNTAIN VIEW...TO NEAR FORT SMITH. CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BE FAVORABLE FOR REDEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON SOUTH OF THE BOUNDARY. HAVE MADE ADJUSTMENTS TO FORECASTS THROUGH 12Z/18 BASED ON OBSERVATIONAL TRENDS. 55 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 656 AM CDT FRI AUG 17 2012/ DISCUSSION... UPDATE FOR THE 12Z TAF DISCUSSION BELOW. AVIATION... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THE NE QUARTER OF ARKANSAS THIS MORNING...COINCIDING WITH THE TIP OF THE UPPER JET AND LIFT SOUTH OF THE FRONT. THIS AREA...ALONG WITH ASSOC FRONTAL BOUNDARY...WILL SLIDE SOUTH THROUGH THE DAY. TRIED TO MODEL IN TWO DISTINCT PERIODS OF CONVECTIVE SHOWERS IN TAFS...ONE WITH THIS EARLY MORNING AREA OF STORMS...AND THEN ANOTHER THIS AFTERNOON AS FRONTAL BOUNDARY MOVES THROUGH. HAVE TEMPO GROUPS MENTIONED THIS MORNING FOR CENTRAL SITES...BUT GIVEN UNCERTAINTY IN COVERAGE DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS HAVE ONLY ADVERTISED VCSH FOR BOTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SITES. ELSEWHERE...KHRO AND KBPK WILL HAVE MVFR CIGS TO CONTEND WITH THROUGH MID MORNING BEFORE BOUNDARY LAYER OVERTURNS AND CIGS LIFT TO VFR LEVELS. ONCE MVFR CIGS LIFT...DRIER AIR BEHIND FRONT SHOULD MEAN CONTINUED VFR LEVELS THROUGH REMAINDER OF PERIOD FOR NORTHERN SITES. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 304 AM CDT FRI AUG 17 2012/ DISCUSSION... MAIN CONCERNS THIS FORECAST CYCLE ARE CHANCES OF RAIN OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS...AND ANY CHANCE OF SEVERE STORMS. TEMPS WILL BE CLOSER TO NORMAL. WILD FIRE DANGER REMAINS HIGH DUE TO ON GOING DROUGHT. EARLY MORNING CONVECTION MOVING EAST OVER PARTS OF EASTERN AND NORTHERN AR...AND DID HAVE SOME POTENTIAL LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING LATE THURSDAY NIGHT. SURFACE ANALYSIS HAS THE COLD FRONT JUST SAGGING INTO FAR NW AR AROUND 06Z AND TO THE NE NEAR THE MO AND AR STATE LINE. EXPECT THE COLD FRONT TO CONTINUE TO SLOWLY SAG SOUTH INTO AR AND HELP WITH CONVECTION INITIATION. ALOFT NW UPPER FLOW HAS SOME SHORT WAVE ENERGY IN IT AND HELPING DEVELOP CONVECTION OVER SOUTHERN MO. ATMOSPHERE OVER AR REMAINS MOIST AND UNSTABLE AND WILL ADD TO CONVECTION TODAY AS THE COLD FRONT SAGS SOUTH. 00Z KLZK SOUNDING HAD AN LI OF -10...CAPE 3700 J/KG WITH PRECIP WATER VALUE OF 1.83 INCHES. STILL DO EXPECT AN ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE STORM TODAY OVER AR ESPECIALLY THIS AFTERNOON TO EVENING WHEN SOME DIFFERENTIAL HEATING CAN HELP INSTABILITY. SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT WILL LOWER MORNING POP BASED ON LATEST TRENDS EXCEPT IN THE NE WHERE CONVECTION OVER SOUTHERN MO WILL MOVE INTO NE AR. THEN BRING BACK POP UP IN THE AFTERNOON AS THE COLD FRONT SAGS THROUGH AR. SOME SHORT WAVE ENERGY IS SEEN IN MODEL RUNS IN THE UPPER NW FLOW AND WILL MOVE OVER AR THROUGH THE DAY. POP FORECAST GRADUALLY LOWERS A BIT WITH THE MAIN CORE GOING SOUTH LATER TODAY AND INTO SATURDAY. ON SATURDAY THE BOUNDARY HAS NEARLY STALLED OVER SOUTHERN AR AND AS SOME SHORT WAVE ENERGY MOVES OVER AR POP FORECAST COMES UP OVER CENTRAL TO SW AR. ADDITIONAL SHORT WAVE ENERGY IS SEEN IN THE UPPER NW FLOW SO POP CHANCES REMAIN UP SATURDAY NIGHT. ON SUNDAY...THE OVERALL CHANCE OF RAIN IS EXPECTED TO MOVE MORE SOUTH AS THE UPPER TROUGH DEEPENS A BIT AND SHOULD PUSH THE FRONT MORE SOUTH AND SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO NORTHERN TO CENTRAL AR. LATER SUNDAY TO MONDAY...THE SURFACE RIDGING SHOULD BECOME MORE DOMINATE AND DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED. TEMPS THROUGH THE PERIOD WILL BE MUCH CLOSER TO NORMAL...WITH A BIT LOWER THAN NORMAL IN AREAS WITH MORE CLOUDS AND RAIN. LONG TERM...TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY UPPER PATTERN IN THE EXTENDED WILL FEATURE AN UPPER TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN CONUS AND N UPPER RIDGE IN THE WEST. THE UPPER RIDGE WILL BROADEN AND SHIFT EAST A LITTLE AS THE EASTERN TROUGH SHIFTS OFF THE EASTERN SEABOARD. HOWEVER...UPPER DISTURBANCES WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION DURING THE LONG TERM PERIOD...KNOCKING UPPER HEIGHTS DOWN AND KEEPING TEMPS HELD BELOW SEASONAL NORMS. AS FOR RAINFALL...WILL KEEP THE FORECAST DRY AT THIS POINT IN TIME. BUT IF YOU BELIEVE THE EUROPEAN MODEL...A STRONG DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE SOUTH THROUGH THE PLAINS AND TRY TO PINCH OFF INTO A CLOSED LOW OVER ARKANSAS. THIS COULD VERY WELL PRODUCE SOME ELEVATED SHOWER ACTIVITY. BUT...THE GFS SHOWS A WEAKER DISTURBANCE WITH NO RAIN...AND THE EURO QPF FIELDS SHOW NO RAINFALL...SO WILL SIDE WITH A DRY FORECAST. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BATESVILLE AR 84 62 82 62 / 50 20 20 20 CAMDEN AR 90 68 87 68 / 60 60 60 40 HARRISON AR 83 59 82 62 / 30 10 20 20 HOT SPRINGS AR 88 66 86 66 / 50 50 50 30 LITTLE ROCK AR 87 66 85 65 / 50 40 40 30 MONTICELLO AR 90 68 87 68 / 60 60 60 40 MOUNT IDA AR 89 66 86 66 / 50 50 50 30 MOUNTAIN HOME AR 83 59 82 61 / 50 10 20 20 NEWPORT AR 84 63 83 62 / 50 20 20 30 PINE BLUFF AR 89 67 86 67 / 60 50 50 40 RUSSELLVILLE AR 86 63 84 64 / 30 30 40 30 SEARCY AR 85 64 83 64 / 50 20 30 30 STUTTGART AR 87 66 85 65 / 60 40 40 30 && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && AVIATION...99
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 855 AM CDT FRI AUG 17 2012 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-181015- 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- 855 AM CDT FRI AUG 17 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS...AHEAD OF A SLOW MOVING SURFACE BOUNDARY. INSTABILITY AND WIND SHEAR ARE EXPECTED TO BE SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM MID AFTERNOON TO EARLY EVENING. THE SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL WILL BE GREATEST ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM MENA...TO STUTTGART. DAMAGING WIND GUSTS ARE THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH ANY STORMS THAT REACH SEVERE LEVELS...WITH LARGE HAIL A SECONDARY THREAT. FIRE DANGER REMAINS HIGH ACROSS THE STATE. RAINFALL RECEIVED OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS...AND YET TO BE RECEIVED TODAY...WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TO ERASE DROUGHT CONDITIONS. FURTHERMORE...RAINFALL WILL BE SPOTTY IN NATURE AND WITH THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AREA...SOME WILDFIRE STARTS DUE TO LIGHTNING STRIKES WILL BE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A COLD FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH THE STATE TODAY...BUT MAY HANG UP NEAR THE ARKANSAS AND LOUISIANA BORDER TONIGHT AND INTO SATURDAY. THIS WILL PROVIDE A FOCUS FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT AGAIN ON SATURDAY. CONVECTIVE THREATS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND POSSIBLY SOME LOCALIZED FLOODING DUE TO HEAVY RAINS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED...MAINLY BETWEEN 2 PM AND 9 PM. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS. 55
The Memphis radar (KNQA), 128 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:43 UTC.
2 hail, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck an electric substation, knocking out power to more than 3000 customers.
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: 392179, 392181, 392598.