Freezing fog developed over the Arkansas River in central Arkansas on the morning of the 12th.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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.
Freezing fog developed over the Arkansas River in central Arkansas on the morning of the 12th.
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 Dec 12, 5:30 AM CST, 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 530 AM CST WED DEC 12 2012 .AVIATION... HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN IN CONTROL OF OUR WEATHER WITH CLEAR SKIES AND VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD. AT KHRO AND KBPK WINDS WILL BE SLIGHTLY STRONGER AT AROUND 8 KNOTS OUT OF THE SOUTH. ELSEWHERE LIGHT WINDS OUT OF THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST ARE EXPECTED. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 321 AM CST WED DEC 12 2012/ SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT OVER THE COMING DAYS...HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE REGION WILL SLOWLY SHIFT TO THE EAST. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR SOUTHERLY/SOUTHEAST WINDS TO RETURN...AND TEMPERATURES TO SLOWLY WARM. LATE IN THE WEEK...A WARM FRONT WILL MOVE NORTH FROM THE GULF AND APPROACH THE REGION FROM THE SOUTHWEST. MOISTURE WILL INCREASE...WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BECOMING POSSIBLE BY FRIDAY NIGHT. LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY GENERAL UPPER AIR PATTERN FAIRLY CONSISTENT AND IN GOOD AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE MODELS AND THEREFORE WENT WITH A GENERAL BLEND BETWEEN THE MODELS. LONG TERM STARTS WITH COLD FRONT MAKING ITS WAY THROUGH ARKANSAS BRINGING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE MODELS HAVE BEEN FAIRLY CONSISTENT IN BRINGING THE SURFACE LOW TO THE NORTH OF THE STATE WITH THE DRY SLOT WORKING INTO THE STATE LATE ON SATURDAY WITH THE MAIN UPPER LOW ALSO SWEEPING THROUGH NORTH OF THE STATE. IN THE LONG TERM...THE MAIN DISAGREEMENT WITH THE MODELS WAS DURING SUNDAY EVENING WHEN THE GFS TRIES TO DEVELOP A SFC LOW IN TEXAS WHICH TRACKS TO THE SOUTH OF ARKANSAS. DID NOT QUITE BUY INTO THIS SOLUTION YET...HOWEVER DID INTRODUCE SOME LOWER POPS TO SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS DURING THIS TIME FRAME AS THE FRONT THAT MOVED THROUGH THE STATE ON SATURDAY IS EXPECTED TO STALL JUST TO THE SOUTHEAST OF THE STATE. THIS STALLED FRONT MAY PRODUCE SOME PRECIPITATION AS AMPLE MOISTURE LOOKS TO BE IN PLACE DUE IN PART TO SOUTHERLY WINDS COMING OFF THE GULF. MONDAY NIGHT...A POSITIVE TO NEUTRAL TILTED UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL SWING THROUGH ARKANSAS WITH SURFACE LOW AT THE SURFACE MOVING THROUGH THE STATE. MODELS ARE HINTING AT SOME WRAP AROUND PRECIP WITH TEMPERATURES COLD ENOUGH TO PRODUCE SOME WINTRY PRECIP EARLY TUESDAY ACROSS NORTHERN ARKANSAS WITH PRECIPITATION ELSEWHERE EXPECTED TO BE ALL RAIN. AT THIS TIME...MOISTURE WITH THIS SYSTEM IS NOT SIGNIFICANT AND IT SEEMS MODELS ARE BEGINNING TO TREND A BIT DRIER WITH THIS SYSTEM...SO WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR IN FUTURE FORECASTS. FIRE WEATHER... DRY WEATHER WILL BE NOTED DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...WITH LITTLE CLOUD COVER AND MINIMUM HUMIDITY AT OR BELOW 40 PERCENT. BY THE END OF THE WEEK...MOISTURE WILL INCREASE OUT AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING STORM SYSTEM. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH THE SYSTEM LATE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... BATESVILLE AR 49 27 55 32 / 0 0 0 0 CAMDEN AR 53 23 58 31 / 0 0 0 0 HARRISON AR 50 27 55 34 / 0 0 0 0 HOT SPRINGS AR 52 26 56 31 / 0 0 0 0 LITTLE ROCK AR 51 27 55 32 / 0 0 0 0 MONTICELLO AR 52 28 59 35 / 0 0 0 0 MOUNT IDA AR 51 22 58 26 / 0 0 0 0 MOUNTAIN HOME AR 51 26 57 30 / 0 0 0 0 NEWPORT AR 49 29 56 34 / 0 0 0 0 PINE BLUFF AR 50 29 55 34 / 0 0 0 0 RUSSELLVILLE AR 51 22 56 26 / 0 0 0 0 SEARCY AR 50 23 54 29 / 0 0 0 0 STUTTGART AR 49 29 55 34 / 0 0 0 0 && .LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...57 / LONG TERM...225 AVIATION...225
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 348 AM CST WED DEC 12 2012 ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-131115- 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- 348 AM CST WED DEC 12 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...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY LATE FRIDAY NIGHT AND INTO SATURDAY THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH THE STATE WITH CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME OF WHICH MAY BECOME SEVERE. HOWEVER...THIS IS FAR FROM A SURE THING WITH QUESTIONS INVOLVING THE AMOUNT OF AVAILABLE INSTABILITY. THIS SITUATION WILL CONTINUE TO BE MONITORED IN THE COMING DAYS. MONDAY NIGHT...YET ANOTHER SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO SWING THROUGH ARKANSAS WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME WINTRY PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE NORTH EARLY ON TUESDAY. MODELS STILL VARY WITH THE AMOUNT OF AVAILABLE MOISTURE WITH THIS SYSTEM AND WILL ALSO NEED TO CONTINUE TO BE MONITORED IN FUTURE UPDATES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. && VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 freezing fog. Local standard time, as filed.
Freezing fog caused havoc during the morning commute on the Interstate 440 bridge over the Arkansas River. Numerous accidents occurred on the icy road, blocking the entire interstate at times.
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, December 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: 416229.